Cougars lose to Cave Spring
By RODNEY YOUNG
Patriot Publishing
Sometimes when you play perhaps your best game, you still lose. That was the case Tuesday when the Cougars hosted district foe Cave Spring and lost their district opener, 69-52.
Cave Spring placed four players in double-figures for the win. They were paced by Shawn Turner and Ethan Jones with 15 points apiece. Daniel Mannon came off the bench to knock down 13 and Ashton Cornett chipped in with 10.
Pulaski County (0-6) was led by senior Tootie O’Dell with 15 points as he came off the bench. Justus Hash finished with 12 and Jalere Harlow scored 11. Braxton Merchant came off the bench to toss in nine points.
Cave Spring led 13-8 after the opening quarter and 28-18 at intermission.
The third quarter saw the Cougars fight back to tie the game at 36 with three minutes to go.
The Knights would then go on an 8-0 run to take a 46-37 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Cougars would cut the deficit to six at 54-48 with 5:30 remaining in the game, but the Knights would then go on an 8-2 run to go up 62-50 to put the game away. They would outscore the Cougars 15-4 over the last five minutes of the game.
Cougar head coach Anthony Akers said after the game in the locker room, “We played at times tonight the best we have played. Three quarters tonight we played well, but the margin of error against a team like Cave Spring is really slim. I thought Tootie, Chase (Lawrence) and Braxton had their best games. It was good to see the two seniors step their game up.”
The Cougars shot their best from the foul line, hitting 19 of 22 foul shots.
The Cougars will play at Blacksburg Friday, their last game before Christmas.
PC – 8 10 19 15 – 52
CS – 13 15 18 23 – 69
Scoring – PC – Harlow 11, O’Dell 15, Hash 12, Merchant 9, Lawrence 5; CS – Turner 15, Jones 15, Mannon 13, A. Cornett 10, C. Cornett 8, Ibrahim 6, Holbrook 2
3 -Pt. Goals – PC – 5 (Hash 2, Harlow 2, Merchant); CS – 3 (Mannon, Jones, Ibrahim)
Total FG’s – PC – 14, Cave Spring 29
FT’s – PC – 19-22, CS – 8-15
Total Fouls – PC – 16, CS – 16
Fouled Out – PC – Lawrence
Technicals – None
JV – Cave Spring 48, PC 35 ( PC – Blevins 10, Cregger 10)
December 18, 2024 @ 10:09 am
It is wonderful to see these athletes come together and play as a team! I hope this is just a sign of things to come. I believe we have solid athletes but more importantly I think we have a group of fine young men that have earned our respect and support! I think the wins will come. The character and the quality of these young men are on display every single game. No matter the score or the odds they “lace em up” and they compete! I look for great things to come! God bless you all, Merry soon to be Christmas, and Go Cougars!