After a landmark win at Todd Central by the Lady Cougars, the Logan County boys let another close game slip into the loss column Friday.
After falling behind 11-10, the Lady Cougars forced the Lady Rebels into several turnovers and went on a six-point scoring streak. That put them up 16-11 and they never trailed again. The score was 16-12 in a low-scoring defensive battle at halftime.
They had plenty of chances to fold, especially when Todd’s Ariel Johnson came to life in the fourth quarter. The Logan defense in general, and sophomores Madison Alvis and Meagann Hardison in particular, shut Johnson down for three quarters. But the veteran forward scored 10 points in that final stanza to give the two-time defending regional champions a chance to win.
The Lady Cougars built their lead to 25-17 at the end of three quarters when Hardison hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining before center Abbey Hinton put in a layup at the buzzer. The lead returned to eight three more times, twice on goals by Hinton and the third on a bucket by Megan Lindsey to make it 33-25 with 3:50 remaining.
Savannah Foister hit a goal for Todd, sandwiched between two baskets by Johnson to cut the lead to two. Hardison then hit a pair of free throws and Lindsey one, but Alicia Salazar hit a 3-pointer for the home team to make the margin two again.
Coach Scot MacAllister brought in sophomore Kapreshia Powell, who is battling a shoulder injury, to play defense, and Johnson didn’t score again.
Taleia Mason, a freshman who is playing full-time while fellow point guard Laura Hunt is out with an injury, had hit 5 of 6 free throws. She missed one with 22 seconds left but hit the second. Hardison then hit a pair of free throws to clinch the win. Faith Johnson’s goal fell in for Todd as the game ended, but it was too late.
Hardison and Hinton each scored 12 points. Lindsey added 8, Mason 6 and Powell 2. Ariel Johnson and Salazar each scored 10 for Todd. Julia Fox had 6, Demetria Rose 4, Faith Johnson 3, Foister 2 and Jayde Robinson 1.
Todd Central, which lost sharpshooter Maggie Simons early in the season, played without standout post player Claire Hart. "They think she has an ACL sprain. She will go Wednesday to see if all she needs is some rehab. She is out until docs clear her," says Ryan Craig, editor/publisher of the Todd County Standard.
The win was the first in four district games for the Lady Cougars. Todd Central is now 2-1 in district action. Coach Steve Phillips’ highly regarded team edged Logan 63-58 at LCHS in December.
Cougars fall in another OT
If it’s a Friday, the Logan County Cougars must be playing overtime. Two weeks ago on Friday, the Cougars lost a triple overtime game to University Heights Academy in the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic. The next Friday, they fell in two extra periods at Russellville in the Clash of the Cats.
This Friday they lost 58-55 in a district contest at Todd Central. This time, only one OT was needed.
The game was close throughout. Coach Calvin Head’s Rebels led by two at the half and after three quarters. It might have been a blowout early had it not been for junior guard J.R. Morrow, who scored three straight baskets for the Cougars to keep them within five at the end of the first quarter.
Coach Lonnie Mason’s Cougars took a five-point lead in the third quarter when sophomore guard Tucker Baldwin scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer to make it 42-37. But after usually high scoring Rebel guard Jon Michael Brown got his only 3-pointer of the game, Todd led 44-42 going into the final period.
Morrow hit a shot late in the game to give the Cougars a 3-point lead, but the Rebels’ Bryon Stewart hit his only 3-point attempt of the game to tie it. Torin Graham followed with a pair of free throws to give the Cougars their last lead at 55-53.
After Todd tied it, Logan’s Ben Wright, who had hit his first three free throws, missed the front end of the bonus. Luke Huff, who had gone 1 of 8 from 3-point range and 1 of 5 at the line, hit a free throw to give the Rebels the lead for keeps.
At the other end, Wright missed on a drive, and Todd got the rebound. Dustin Naylor, who was a man on the boards for the Rebels with 15 points and 13 rebounds, worked his way in for a goal. Logan’s Clint Knight wanted to attempt a long shot, but Stewart stripped him of the ball as the game ended.
Todd won despite shooting poorly. The Rebels went 3 of 17 from long range (17.6 percent) and 7 of 20 from the line. A big difference was that Logan made 20 turnovers and the Rebels just 12.
The Cougars were 8 of 19 on 3-pointers and were slightly better than the hosts at the line at 9 of 14. The problem was that they couldn’t hit 2-pointers. Despite Morrow going 4 for 4, the other Cougars hit just 7 of 28 from inside the arc.
Logan had a 39-35 rebounding margin. Wright had 8 boards, Taylor Blakemore 6, Adam Wilkins, Baldwin and Graham 5 each and Morrow 4 on a balanced stat sheet. Graham finished with 16 points and Baldwin added 10.
In support of Naylor, Jaylin Henry also had a super game with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Stewart finished with 14 points.
Logan County, which beat Todd 67-64 at LCHS, fell to 6-12 overall and 1-3 in district games that count. The Cougars entertain Allen County-Scottsville Tuesday. The Rebels improved to 6-10 and 1-2 in the district. They play Glasgow in district action at Clinton County Monday.
BOYS
Score by quarters: 1) TODD 14-9, 2) 27-25, 3) 44-42, 4) 53-53, Final) Todd Central 56, Logan County 53
LCHS (55) Torin Graham 16, Tucker Baldwin 10, Ben Wright 9, J.R. Morrow 8, Landon Stratton 8, Taylor Blakemore 2, Tahmir Graham 2, Adam Wilkins, Clint Knight
TODD (58) Dustin Naylor 15, Bryon Stewart 14, Jaylyn Henry 10, Luke Huff 9, Jon-Michael Brown 9, Tyler Harris 1, Austin Dukes, Gary Moore, Dylan Wilkerson