Cougars win on Senior Night over Abingdon
By RODNEY YOUNG
Patriot Publishing
Pulaski County hosted the Abingdon Falcons Wednesday night in the Cougar Den on Senior Night and came away with a 63-56 victory. The win halted a six-game losing skid for the Cougars.
Pulaski County got 17 points from Senior Will O’Neal and 15 from junior Silas Sweet. Senior Chandler Hollins knocked down 12 as the Cougars hit 16 of 20 foul shots.
The Cougars (5-15) fell behind early 14-2, but finished the first quarter just behind 17-12.
Abingdon would take a slim 32-31 advantage into intermission as Luke Honaker had 12 points as he finished with a game-high 19. Aaron Pomrenke chipped in with 18 and big man Aiden Woods had seven.
Pulaski County would come out after halftime and scored eight quick points before Abingdon called timeout. That was the first lead of the game for the Cougars at 34-32 with seven minutes to go in the third period.
Abingdon would battle back, scoring eight consecutive points to regain the lead, 40-37.
The Cougars would once again battle and regained the lead after the third quarter 46-42. Up 53-46 with 2:30 left in the game Chase Lawrence would rebound a miss and get a stick back and one to take their biggest lead of the game, 56-46 with 1:40 left.
The Cougars have been losing games in the last three or four minutes, but tonight they hit eight of nine free throws to pull off a big win.
“We battled, we fought, we hustled and hung on tonight, “said a happy Cougar head coach Anthony Akers. “It feels good to win at home in front of a huge crowd. We played together and we closed out a game. It just feels good to win and I’m glad for the guys, my staff and the community.”
The Cougars have three regular season games left and will now travel to Christiansburg on Friday.
The Cougar JV team clawed the young Falcons, 62-33. Caleb Cregger scored 14 and Boone Blevins knocked down 13 in the victory. Abingdon was led by Isaiah Draper’s 14 points. The Cougar junior varsity improved to 10-9 on the season as 13 players scored in the game.
Pul. Co. – 12 19 15 17- 63
Abingdon- 17 15 10 14- 56
Scoring – PC – O’Neal 17, Sweet 15, Hollins 12, Lawrence 7, Merchant 6, Turner 4, Carrasco 2- Abingdon – Pomrenke 18, Honaker 19, Woods 7, Ketron 4, Waters 3, Wallace 5
3-PT. Goals- PC – 7 (Hollins 3, O’Neal 3, Sweet), Abingdon – 8 (Honaker 4, Pomrenke 2, Wallace, Waters)
Total FG’s – PC – 20, Abingdon – 19
FT’s- PC – 16-20, Abingdon 10-15
Total Fouls – PC – 18, Abingdon – 18
Fouled Out- PC – Carrasco, Abingdon – Ketron
Technicals – None