The Logan County Cougars put together an impressive comeback Friday, cutting a 19-point deficit to 2, but they never could get to the top, eventually dropping a 73-67 decision to visiting Todd Central in the nightcap of a district doubleheader.
Coach Calvin Head’s Rebels came out ready to play. The Cougars had the home crowd shaking their heads in disbelief and a few Russellville fans asking themselves, “How did we lose to this team last week?” referring to the Cougars.
The Rebels took the lead at 3-2 on a three-point goal by Jon Michael Brown and never trailed again. Two goals by reserve Treva Dayton put Todd ahead 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Rebels added to their lead on the energy of sparkplug Dylan Wilkerson and the shooting of Austin Dukes and Tyler Harris. Wilkerson’s sideways 14-foot runner put the Rebels up 20-7 with 5:30 remaining in the half.
Logan made a run behind senior guard Landon Stratton, who passed for an assist to Taylor Blakemore, hit a free throw, and scored on a drive set up by J.R. Morrow’s steal. After a goal by Todd’s Wilkerson, Morrow got the ball to Blakemore for a goal to cut the 13-point lead to nine in less than two minutes. At halftime, the Rebels’ margin was down to six after a pair of free throws by Cougar forward Clint Knight.
The Rebels began the second half even hotter than they had started the game. They hit five 3-pointers in the first 4:15 of the third quarter—three of them by Brown and one each by Dukes and Chase Collins—to build a 49-30 lead. Brown scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the period.
The win was far from cinched, though. Coach Lonnie Mason’s Cougars came roaring back. First it was the big men. Ben Wright and Blakemore each connected on shots, and Blakemore added another on a Wright assist. Guard Tucker Baldwin drew a charge from Brown. Todd’s lead after three quarters was 54-38.
Blakemore and Knight each hit a pair of buckets. When Blakemore scored on an assist by Morrow, the lead was down to 10 with almost six minutes remaining. The Rebels took advantage of Morrow coming out of the game and built the lead back to 15 on a goal by Brown and a 3-pointer by Dukes.
The Cougar cause was helped by Dukes drawing his fourth and fifth fouls within four seconds of each other, the last coming after Wright worked hard for a tough rebound. He hit two free throws as a result. That was the start of 11 straight points by Logan. Baldwin scored on a Blakemore assist, Wright dropped in a shot on a spin shot after posting up, Baldwin forced Brown to step on the midcourt line, Wright dived for a loose ball rebound leading to a Blakemore goal, and Garcia stuck a rebound back in. The Todd lead was down to 61-57 with 1:42 remaining.
After Brown and Blakemore traded pairs of made foul shots, Baldwin completed 89 percent of the comeback, cutting the 19-point margin to two on a 17-footer with 1:01 left.
Coach Mason’s strategy was to send the Rebels to the line, but they responded by hitting enough free throws to win. Todd went 8 of 10 in that final minute, with Brown hitting six and Joseph Johnson two. The clinchers came when a Cougar missed three straight free throws, Johnson canned his two, and Wilkerson picked off a pass and took it to the basket to make the lead 71-64 with 22.9 seconds remaining.
Baldwin hit Logan’s only three-pointer of the game on an inbounds play with 11.4 seconds, but Brown followed with two more free throws for the game’s final points.
In addition to Brown’s 31 points, the Rebels got 15 from Wilkerson and 13 from Dukes. Logan was led by Blakemore with 22 points, Wright with 17 and Knight with 11.
Logan had an overwhelming 50-27 rebound margin with Blakemore getting 17 and Wright 15. Garrison Rosser and Blakemore each had 3 assists, and Morrow and Wright both added 2 steals. Drayton led Todd with 4 assists while Wilkerson and Brown each got two steals.
Shooting was the difference in the game. Todd Central hit 52 percent from the field for the game, including 7 of 16 from 3-point range. The Cougars struggled at 39.1 percent from the field including a dismal 1 of 16 from behind the arc with Knight missing all five of his tries. Additionally, the Cougars hit only 12 of 29 free throws. Even the usually accurate Wright went just 5 of 10 at the line.
Todd Central improved to 1-1 in the district, the same as Russellville. Franklin-Simpson is 1-0 and Logan 1-2.
The Cougars had a scare when Stratton had to take himself out of the game early in the third quarter and never returned after reinjuring his knee. His mother, Connie Stratton, tells The LoJo, “The doctor thinks it’s just a deep muscle bruise and inflamed PT tendon. He did X-rays and Landon does physical therapy on Monday. So hopefully all will be good soon.”
The Cougars entertain Allen County-Scottsville Tuesday in a girl-boy doubleheader. It will be carried on WRUS, as will the Russellville Panthers’ contest at Greenwood.
Score by quarters: 1) Todd 13-6, 2) 30-24, 3) 54-38, Final) Todd Central 73, Logan County 66
TODD (73) Jon Michael Brown 31, Dylan Wilkerson 15, Austin Dukes 13, Treva Dayton 6, Chase Collins 3, Jeremiah Sims 3, Joseph Johnson 2, Gary Moore, Tyler Harris
LCHS (67) Taylor Blakemore 22, Ben Wright 17, Clint Knight 11, Tucker Baldwin 7, Landon Stratton 6, Garrison Rosser 2, Lorenzo Garcia 2, J.R. Morrow, Dalton Furlow