The first-ever district win in the head coaching tenure of Lonnie Mason proved to be a close one Friday. His Logan County Cougars led the entire second half, twice by as many as nine points, but they had to hang on for a 67-64 win over visiting Todd Central.
Ben Wright’s free throw in the final minute of the first half put the Cougars up 34-33 at the intermission, and his free throw with a half second remaining in the game, followed by a deliberate miss, sealed the win. In between, he scored 20 more points, many of them coming in the third quarter when he was playing the post instead of a wing and dominating the lane.
Torin Graham added 15 points while Landon Stratton and Tahmir Graham added nine each.
The Cougars got a lift off the bench. Sophomore Taylor Blakemore and Tahmir Graham both got rare starts. Graham is quick and can play either inside or out. He was plagued by six turnovers and fouled out early, but he also made many significant contributions.
Blakemore contributed eight points and provided an inside presence while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds, including four on the offensive board. Because big men Wright and Clint Knight, who missed this game with an injury, spend most of each game away from the offensive basket, the Cougars are averaging only 8.5 offensive rebounds per contest.
Logan hit 1 of 10 three-pointers in this game. Both are slightly below the Cougars’ season average. They are attempting 14.3 treys per outing, hitting 4.25 a game for 29 percent. On the other hand, they are hitting exactly 60 percent of their two-point shots in their six games, including 22 of 38 against the Rebels.
So Blakemore’s availability could go a long way to filling a gap in the Cougar attack, he demonstrated Friday. He, too, has to cut down on his fouls, however.
Guard play proved to be important to the Cougars’ win, despite the team’s 23 turnovers, including 11 by the Grahams. Stratton was involved in a number of successful runouts in the third quarter. And J.R. Morrow was especially effective in getting the ball downcourt against the Rebels’ pressure.
Ten lead changes and two ties made the first half exciting. Todd’s last lead in the entire game came on a 3-pointer by Dylan Wilkerson late in the half to put the Rebels up 33-31. Wright followed with a goal to tie it and then hit that go-ahead free throw.
The second half started with a pair of goals by Wright, a Stratton free throw and a bucket by Tahmir Graham on an assist from Blakemore. After Todd’s Wilkerson hit another trey, the younger Graham scored on a rebound shot and Blakemore hit a 12-footer to make the Logan lead 45-38. Wright followed with a 17-footer and drew a charge. Blakemore then blocked a shot as the Cougars became dominant.
Todd Central’s John Michael Brown, who finished with a game-high 25 points, hit a 15-footer at the buzzer to make the score 47-40 entering the third quarter.
The lead stretched to nine twice on goals by Tahmir Graham and Wright, but then Graham fouled out with 5:23. Todd got in worse foul trouble with Luke Huff and Jalyn Henry both fouling out with almost four minutes left.
The Rebels cut the margin to three, but Stratton hit a pair of free throws and then scored on an assist by Morrow to make it 60-53 with 2:25 remaining. Gary Moore, who has been injured, gave Todd a lift on defense during Todd’s comeback before fouling out in a hurry. Coach Calvin Head’s strategy appeared to be either sending the Cougars to the foul line or frustrating them so much with tight defense that they reacted negatively. It almost worked. Logan hit just 20 of 34 free throws. The Rebels were 12 of 18, led by Brown’s 8 of 8.
Brown made a steal and scored to cut the Logan lead to one at 61-60, but Stratton hit a pair of free throws and Morrow another. Brown drove the baseline to cut the lead to two, but Wright hit a pair of free throws with 13.4 seconds. Naylor responded with a Todd goal at 0:04, but the Rebels couldn’t stop the clock until Wright went back to the line with that half-second remaining.
In support of Brown, Naylor scored 13, Huff 11 and Wilkerson 8.
Todd (2-5 after losing to Hart County Saturday) is now 0-2 in the district and plays at Butler County and Warren East Monday and Tuesday for four games in five days. Logan (2-4, 1-1) is at Warren Central Monday and then plays Thursday through Saturday in a tournament at Glasgow.
Score by quarters: 1) LCHS 16-13, 2) 34-33, 3) 47-40, Final) Logan County 67, Todd Central 64
TODD (64) Jon Michael Brown 25, Dustin Naylor 13, Luke Huff 11, Dylan Wilkerson 8, Jaylin Henry 4, Tyler Harris 2, Austin Dukes 1, Gary Moore, Bryon Stewart, William Fox
LCHS (67) Ben Wright 22, Torin Graham 15, Landon Stratton 9, Tahmir Brown 9, Taylor Blakemore 8, J.R. Morrow 4, Tucker Baldwin, Ryan Basham