Observers who had witnessed the Logan County Cougars’ first seven games—all losses—knew that the nucleus is there for a competitive team which may have the most talent in what is proving to be a less-than-spectacular season in 13th District basketball. The team has height, experience and shooting ability.
Basketball experts—that’s anyone who has grown up in Kentucky, we tend to believe—said what Coach Lonnie Mason’s team needed was for the big men to play like big men and for the team to get steady play and leadership from the point guard position.
Friday, both of those needs became strengths as the Cougars beat visiting Russellville 81-75.
Big men Ben Wright, Clint Knight and Taylor Blakemore dominated the boards and the paint. Point guards Garrison Rosser and Tucker Baldwin played their roles well, and the veterans seemed to trust them more. Meanwhile off guards Landon Stratton and J.R. Morrow made their usual steady contributions, Stratton in scoring and ball-handling and Morrow in hustle all over the court.
Wright scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds. Fellow forward Knight and senior guard Stratton each scored 14 while Blakemore had a dozen each of points and rebounds. Swingman Morrow had five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Rosser—the youngest starter as a sophomore—and Baldwin, a junior, added six points and four assists each
Perhaps the biggest factor in the game in Logan’s favor was a big, fat zero. That goose egg came from frontliners Wright, Knight and Blakemore not attempting a single 3-point shot. The forwards in the past, especially last year, settled for shooting the long ball instead of taking the ball to the goal and using their height advantage. In this game, Wright repeatedly posted up smaller Panthers and put the ball in the goal. He also continued to use a special skill. Wright is as good a free-throw shooting big man as you can hope to see in high school. In this game, he went 9 for 9 at the line. Knight was taking the ball to the goal aggressively, and it kept paying off in layups.
Still Coach Phil Todd’s shorter, younger team stayed close throughout the game. The Panthers scored six of the game’s first eight points. After nine lead changes, RHS got eight straight points from senior guard Barrett Croslin and a free throw by Christian Naylor to lead 20-15 after a quarter. The lead would have been seven had a remarkable spin shot by Naylor counted, but Ricky Bellamy, who had scored the Panthers’ first two goals, was called for basket interference.
The Panthers’ last long lead came on a 3-pointer by Micah Naylor to make the margin four, but the game was tied at three stops before Baldwin hit a 3-pointer for Logan. Wright’s 18-footer at the buzzer gave the Cougars a 36-31 lead at the half.
Panther freshman center Pedro Rivera went the length of the court for a layup, and Croslin hit his second 3-pointer to tie the score one more time. Blakemore’s goal gave the Cougars the lead for keeps at 38-36. Stratton hit a 3-pointer, Baldwin canned three straight free throws, and Morrow made a good move on an offensive rebound for a reverse layup to put the Cougars up 53-43. Russellville Lee McMurry, who led his team in scoring with 17 points, put together a 3-point play to cut the Cougars’ margin to seven entering the final period.
Russellville came within three at 62-59 on a high banker by Croslin, who had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Knight responded by penetrating for a Cougar goal. Russellville never got as close as three again, although Micah Naylor’s second 3-pointer pulled RHS to within four at 72-68 with only 1:45 remaining in the game. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the two each long-range goals by Croslin and the younger Naylor were the only ones the team managed in 23 tries.
Rosser responded with an 8-footer, Wright blocked a shot, Knight dunked another penetration, and Rosser hit a free throw to put the win away at 77-69, although Panther freshman Jaylin McMurry came up with five late points.
Rivera fouled out leading to Rosser’s free throw. He had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Lee McMurry and Christian Naylor joined him in fouling out. The Cougars hit 29 of 42 free throws while Russellville was a sizzling 15 of 18.
The Cougars had a 39-30 rebounding margin to go along with the free throw advantage, but Todd’s legendary defense forced the Cougars into 23 turnovers while the Panther offense committed only 14.
A downer for the Cougars came when junior swingman Tahmir Graham, who had been out since undergoing surgery for a summer practice knee injury, saw his first action of the season. Fewer than 10 seconds after he entered the game, he went down and left the court limping.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again Friday, Feb. 7 at Jim Young Gymnasium.
Score by Quarters: 1) RHS 20-15, 2) LCHS 36-31, 3) LCHS 57-51, Final) Logan County 81, Russellville 75
RHS (75) Lee McMurry 17, Barrett Croslin 16, Pedro Rivera 16, Micah Naylor 8, Ricky Bellamy 8, Jaylin McMurry 7, Christian Naylor 3, Jason Mitchell, Paul Jones
LCHS (81) Ben Wright 25, Landon Stratton 14, Clint Knight 14, Taylor Blakemore 12, Garrison Rosser 6, Tucker Baldwin 6, J.R. Morrow 2, Lorenzo Garcia 2, Tahmir Graham, Dalton Furlow, Jose Garcia