The Grayson County Cougar basketball team competed in the inaugural Central Hardin Summer Jam on Friday and lost a pair of tight games.
In the early game, they lost at the buzzer to Warren Central before having a comeback fall just short against Bardstown.
The Cougars were playing shorthanded as rising senior Brody Armstrong is out for the summer with an injury, and leading returning scorer Jack Logsdon sat out the second game for precautionary reasons.
Warren Central
In what had to have been one of the games of the entire tournament, Grayson County fell in the opening round to Warren Central after the Dragons hit a last-second shot.
The Dragons got the game started on fire, leading 8-0 before Spencer Langdon put the Cougars on the board with 17:00 minutes remaining in the first half. They would fight back to tie the game at 15, and that’s when the back-and-forth would begin.
From that point on, neither team would lead by more than four points, an advantage that Grayson County held twice early in the second half.
After Warren Central would use a quick 8-0 run to jump up 45-42, Jagger Mardis hit a deep three to tie the game at 45.
The closing minutes saw the two teams exchange free throws, three-pointers, and more, as if it truly was a heavyweight boxing fight.
With 1:30 remaining and the Cougars down a pair, Jack Logsdon was fouled and hit the free throw to tie the game at 56.
Warren Central would proceed to run the clock down before taking a timeout with nine seconds remaining. The play turned into a baseline jumper that was banked in over the outstretched arm of Logsdon as time expired.
Mardis led the Cougars in scoring with 24 points to go along with four rebounds, with Langdon adding 16 points and eight rebounds.
Bardstown
Following the heartbreaker, Grayson County laced up their shoes again to face Bardstown. Without Logsdon and Armstrong, it was going to be a challenge.
In the first half, they turned to their two leaders in Langdon and Mardis, who combined for 23 of the 25 points in the half.
A Langdon basket put them on top 23-15 with 5:14 remaining, forcing a Bardstown timeout.
The Tigers had a huge answer as they exploded on a 14-2 run to close the half up four on the Orange and Blue.
Early in the second half saw many of the struggles continue for Grayson as they fell behind by nine points before Mardis stopped the bleeding with a jumper in the lane.
The Cougars would use the next 10 minutes of game action to try and chip away at the lead, and the goal was successful.
Kyle Higdon picked the pocket of the Tigers and looped the pass ahead to Kamden Sanders, who dropped the ball through the net with 3:20 remaining to give Grayson County the lead 47-46.
It was one that was short-lived, as a quick 8-0 run by Bardstown ended the hope of a Cougar victory and ended their run in the tournament, falling by a final tally of 54-49.
Mardis once again led them in scoring with 22 points, with Langdon adding 14.
Grayson County will close the summer portion of its schedule this week with a trio of stops. On Monday, they will travel to Ohio County before a trip to North Bullitt on Tuesday.
Friday and Saturday will see them compete in the KABC Summer Shootout in the Lexington area.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
