Don’t blame the Logan County Cougars, their coaches or their fans if two repetitive sounds are keeping them awake at night lately. It could be recurring nightmares of officials’ whistles blowing and nets swishing.
Both contributed mightily to the Cougars’ magnificent season coming to an end 79-66 Friday in the Fourth Region Tournament at Diddle Arena.
Barren County didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half Friday and still led by eight points at the intermission. Coach Warren Cunningham’s Trojans (22-8) made up for it in the second half, hitting a doubly astounding 28 of 32 foul shots. Both the number of free throws attempted in one half and the number of them hit could very well be regional records.
Wade Coomer had three of the four misses, but he hit eight foul shots in that 16 minutes. Kaleb England hit all seven of his tries while Billy Jackson and Nick Mabe each were four for four.
What made it even more eye-popping was that the Cougars weren’t trying to foul. The best officials the First Region had to offer were offended when any part of a Cougar touched any part of Trojan. The foul line was the friend of the officials and the Trojans.
On the other hand, that same stripe 15 feet away from the basket and Coach Lonnie Mason’s Cougars were not compatible.
The Cougars shot 24 free throws, four fewer than the Trojans hit, but Logan got only 13 of them to fall. Senior Ben Wright—one of the greatest free throw marksmen in LCHS history—hit his typical 6 of 7 at the line, but the rest of the team went 7 of 17.
Barren County, comprised of an assembly of guys who are well-schooled in basketball fundamentals, also shot well from 3-point range. They were 7 of 13 from outside the arc with Jacob Jones hitting 2 of 3, Jarod Coomer and Mabe each 1 for 2, and England 1 for 1.
The Cougars also hit seven treys, but they missed 17. Freshman point guard Austin Rayno was 3 of 7 and Wright, a post player, 2 of 5.
Before Barren County established a campsite at the foul line in the second half, the game was close. There were five lead changes and a tie in the first quarter. Things looked good for the Cougars when Wright drew Wade Coomer’s second foul and hit a pair of free throws with 6:23 remaining in the first half. Coomer already had 11 of the winners’ 21 points, but Logan trailed by four and figured to gain ground with the Trojan star on the bench.
Instead, Barren roared ahead 34-19 before Rayno hit a 3-pointer. The Cougars pulled to within eight on a pair of free throws by senior Tahmir Graham. They had a chance to pull even closer when Dalton Furlow was fouled a split second before the halftime buzzer, but his front end of the bonus try wouldn’t stay in the goal.
Graham had 10 points and Wright 8 at the intermission. In addition to Coomer’s 11, Mabe had 9 for the Trojans.
The third quarter ended with Barren County leading 55-43. Cougars Noah Whittinghill and Taylor Blakemore each had four fouls with all of Blakemore’s coming in that quarter. The Trojans shot 13 foul shots in the period, hitting 12.
Logan cut the margin to single figures on goals by starting guards Tucker Baldwin and Garrison Rosser, and Jose Garcia’s 3-pointer followed by another trey from Baldwin cut the lead to 57-53 with 6:12 remaining. The Cougars were back in business!
After Graham scored on an assist from Wright, and then Wright followed with a goal of his own, the Cougars were only two points behind at 59-57 with almost five minutes remaining.
Then a couple of long range shots failed to fall for Logan while all those unguarded 15-footers by the Trojans kept snuggling comfortably in the twines.
Rayno fouled out while Blakemore, Whittinghill, Baldwin and Wright each finished with four personals. Blakemore was one of Logan’s top weapons when things were going well the last two seasons. On this night, however, he played just 12 minutes, finishing with 4 points and a single rebound.
Wade Coomer scored 24, multi-faceted guardMabe 19 and England 14 in the win. For Logan, seniors Wright and Graham each scored 18 and freshman Rayno 11 in their 19-9 season closer.
Barren County plays Bowling Green at 6 p.m. in Monday’s opening semifinal with Warren Central and Monroe County meeting in the second game.
Score by Quarters: 1) BCHS 18-15, 2) 36-28, 3) 55-43, Final) Barren County 79, Logan County 66
BCHS (79) Wade Coomer 24, Nick Mabe 19, Kaleb England 14, Jacob Jones 8, Billy Jackson 6, Jared Coomer 3, Sawyer Matthews 3, Gavin Driver 2, Ty Hay, Branson London
LCHS (66) Ben Wright 18, Tahmir Graham 18, Austin Rayno 11, Noah Whittinghill 7, Taylor Blakemore 4, Tucker Baldwin 3, Jose Garcia 3, Garrison Rosser 2, Dalton Furlow, Kaleb Coursey, Joey Hust