The Grayson County High School Cougars conquered the challenge in front of a throng of supporters that painted Rupp Arena orange in the first round of the Sweet 16.
Winning the program’s second game in history in the Sweet 16, in its fourth overall appearance, Grayson County powered past the Taylor County Cardinals 73-64.
It was a 19-6 run over the final 5:40 of the third quarter that proved to be the difference in the ballgame, as the Cougars, fueled by two 3s from Caden Gaither and one trey from Spencer Langdon, went from down 35-32 to up 51-41.
Defensively in the third, the Cougars forced four turnovers and limited Taylor County to only two rebounds (that’s not a misprint), while Grayson County snagged eight boards, as the Cougars steadied themselves defensively.
The Cougars additionally pushed the Cardinals off the three-point line, taking away one of Taylor County’s strengths, as the Cardinals shot nearly 40 from distance on the year.
“That third quarter was about as good as it gets for us,” Cougars head coach Travis Johnston said. “We were able to take them off the three-point line during the third quarter and into the fourth.”
The contest began slowly, as both squads fought nerves and a shooting background the players have never experienced. The Cougars, though, won the first quarter battle 12-9.
Taylor County, though, scored seven straight points to start the second stanza, to take its largest lead of the contest, 16-12, at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter. The Cougars answered the call only 20 seconds later as sharpshooter Jack Logsdon buried a 3 to bring the Cougars within one.
Following a Taylor County free throw, Logsdon nailed another trey to put the Cougs up 18-17. Not to be outdone, Jagger Mardis answered a Taylor County 3 with a trey of his own to put Grayson County up 21-20.
Caden Gaither slammed home an electrifying dunk off a steal, followed by a Brody Armstrong two-pointer in the paint to give the Cougars a 25-24 halftime advantage.
The Cougars committed only five turnovers in the game, while forcing nine, as Grayson County beat the Cardinals 12-0 in points off turnovers.
Up by eight at the end of three quarters, the Cougars made four of nine shots from the field in the fourth and more importantly, Grayson County closed out the Cardinals by making 14-16 free throws over the final two minutes of the contest, including the state’s top free throw shooter, WKU signee Logsdon, calmly and methodically nailing eight straight freebies.
Armstrong led the Cougars’ balanced scoring attack with 18 points, while Logsdon had 16 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, four big blocks and four assists. Mardis, on 5-10 shooting, also had 16 points. Gaither was 5-6 from the field and netted 12 points and a game-high three steals.
Langdon scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting. Chase Baunach chipped in with two steals in limited action, as the defensive menace pressured the Cardinals in his normal fashion.
Grayson County will take on either Great Crossing or Danville Christian at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
In the Sweet 16’s day session, St. Xavier beat Covington Catholic 75-61 in a battle of top 5 teams, while North Laurel handled Warren Central 52-38.
(Headline photo: Grayson County’s Brody Armstrong nails a shot from the elbow in the Cougars 73-64 victory over Taylor County)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
