Cougars humbled by Patrick Henry, 78-48
By RODNEY YOUNG
The Patriot
Sometimes a team just has better players, better athletes and a better team. This was the case Tuesday as the visiting Patrick Henry Patriots thumped the Pulaski County Cougars, 78-48.
The Patriots (16-2) and ranked in the top five of Class 5 in the state was led by Brooks Derey with 22 points. He knocked down six three’s as he once again proved he’s a sharp shooter from downtown.
Abu Yarmah scored 14 and point guard Leron Lipford chipped in with 12. All nine of the dressed Patriot players got into the scoring column.
The Cougars got 16 points from senior Kyle O’Neal and 10 from Lane Nester.
Patrick Henry jumped on the Cougars early, leading 20-6 after the first quarter. They would stretch that advantage in the second quarter to take a commanding 46-15 lead into intermission.
The second half actually saw the Cougars outscore the Patriots 33-32 with a running clock for all the second half.
O’Neal scored nine of his points in the second half, while Nester scored eight of his 10 points in the half.
“Patrick Henry is really, really good,” said Cougar head coach Tyler Cannoy. “They have athletes that can play basketball and Coach Esworthy does a tremendous job with them. We were just over matched at each position.”
The Cougars saw their record drop to 4-13 and now are in ninth place in Class 4 Region D. The top eight in the region will make the playoffs.
Coach Cannoy remarked, “I was proud of how we outscored them in the second half. The guys kept battling.”
Pulaski County travels to Hidden Valley on Friday.
PH – 20 – 26 – 22- 10 = 78
PC – 6 – 9 – 18 – 15 = 48
Scoring -PC – O’Neal 16, Nester 10, Turner 7, O’Dell 5, Reed 4, Robinson 2, Hollins 2, Burchett 2, PH – Yarmah 14, Derry 22, Lipford 12, Tasco 9, Ogletree 3, Webb 7, Edwards 4, Beasley 4, Smith 3
3-PT. Goals – PC – 3 ( O’Neal 2, O’Dell) , PH – 11 ) Derry 6, Yarmah 2, Webb, Lipford, Smith )
Total FG’s – PC – 19, PH – 29
FTs – PC – 7-8. PH – 11 -15
Total Fouls – PC – 11, PH – 11
Fouled Out – None
JV – PH – 50 , PC -45
PC – Justus Hash – 15 pts, Chase Lawrence 9, PH – Jakolbi Taylor 28 pts.
Cougars fall to Blacksburg
A strong third quarter helped propel the Blacksburg Bruins to a 64-55 win last Thursday over Pulaski County.
The Cougars jumped out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter, only to see the Bruins rally in the second, to take a 30-27 lead into halftime.
Blacksburg broke the game open in the third, outscoring PCHS, 19-12 for a 49-39 lead.
The Cougars outscored the Bruins in the fourth, but by only a lone point for the final margin.
Pulaski County had balanced scoring on the night, and were led by Marcus Reed and Lane Nester’s 13 each. Kyle O’Neal added 11. Khalib Horton chipped in 9. Other scorers were Chandler Hollins, 4; Tootie O’Dell, 3 and KJ Robinson, 2.