For the second time this season, the Logan County Cougars took their crosstown rivals down to the wire on the Cougars' homecourt. And for the second time this season, the Russellville Panthers found a way to win.
Down 56-55 with two and a half minutes left, the Panthers outscored their hosts 9-3 the remainder of the game to win 64-59 in the opening round of the 13th District Tournament.
Senior Trevor Clark, who broke the Cougars' heart with a late 3-pointer for a one-point Panther win in January, hit the go-ahead basket and then tipped the ball in the goal next time downcourt, going over two would-be Cougar rebounders who thought they had him blocked out, for a 3-point lead. The margin reached five when Panther Damien Elam-- on the verge of being forced into a 10-second midcourt violation-- threw a long pass to Justin Bollenbecker, who had broken free in the lane. Bollenbecker's easy basket built the lead to 61-56 with 22 seconds showing on the clock.
Brett Sowell hit a 3-pointer to give the Cougars new life with 16 seconds, but Elam hit two free throws to make it 63-59 with 14.8 seconds. Logan got off two shots, but missed them both. Devonta Bryant got a Russellville rebound and hit a clinching free throw with 5.2 seconds. "We did a lot of things wrong, but we did shoot free throws well," said winning coach Dennis Pardue. The Panthers were 16 of 20 at the line while the Cougars got only 16 of 26 to fall.
Russellville desperately needed to hit free throws, since shots both closer in and farther out refused to fall. RHS managed to connect on only 9 of 31 second-half shots, with seven of the misses coming from 3-point range. For the game the Panthers were 22 of 60 from the field, for 36.7 percent, including going 4 of 22 from long range.
Logan hit 45.7 percent from the field, including 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. Russellville, however, got off 14 more shots, benefiting from the Cougars' 27 turnovers, including 6 by freshman point guard Torin Graham. The Panthers made only 14 miscues and doubled the Cougars on assists, 14-7.
Russellville seemed to have the game well in hand early. The Panthers ourscored the hosts 17-2 at one stage, going from an 11-11 tie to a 28-13 lead in the second quarter. The Panthers led 36-23, but Troy Graham hit a free throw and then his younger brother Torin forced a turnover and converted it into a layup to cut the Panthers' halftime lead to 36-26.
The Panthers scored 8 of the second half's first 10 points, going up 44-28 on Elam's free throws with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter. The Cougars, however, came back. Twin Lancaster hit three straight shots, and Sowell leaped over Elam, who was down low on defense, for a goal. He was fouled on the play, and his free throw cut the lead to seven. Sowell hit another shot, and Troy Graham popped in a free throw to make it 45-41. Darren Murphy gave the Panthers some breathing room by hitting a pair of free throws, but Troy Graham's three points on a steal made the RHS lead 47-44 as the third quarter ended.
Russellville's D.J. Quarles, who was the game's leading rebounder with 14 from his point guard position, stuck a rebound back in to start the fourth quarter. Reuben Rawlings-Watson, who not only got a rare start but played his most minutes of the season in his final game (28:15), scored to return the margin to three. Rawlings-Watson hit 7 of 8 field goal attempts and had 8 rebounds on the way to 16 points, tying Troy Graham for game honors.
Bryant's goal gave Russellville a four-point lead, but Torin Graham not only made a steal, but he also drew Elam's fourth foul with 6:10 remaining in the game. Then the youngster hit a pair of free throws.
After a series of missed shots and turnovers by both teams, Troy Graham tied the game at 51-51 on an assist from Sowell. Victor Hampton drove the baseline for a goal that returned the lead to RHS, but the Cougars got their first lead since 6-5 on a 3-pointer by senior Seth McReynolds, who was playing what proved to be his final game along with Sowell, Rawlings-Watson and centers Phillip Stratton and Derrod Blakey. Tyler Stratton and Jonathan Barbee are also seniors.
Clark then hit the two field goals that put the Panthers ahead for keeps.
Bollenbecker and Quarles each had 15 points with Elam totaling 11 for the winners. Elam added 7 assists and 2 steals with Bryant getting 8 points and 4 steals. Clark had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot.
The Cougars' Lancaster, a sophomore, finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds plus 2 each of assists and steals. Sowell had 8 points and 3 steals. Troy Graham had 8 rebounds and 3 steals to go along with his 16 points.
Russellville (17-8) reached the district finals for the ninth straight year. The Panthers will take on Franklin-Simpson in Friday's 7 p.m. finals at RHS. The two teams have split on the season with RHS winning with ease at home and the Wildcats taking a two-point decision at home. Both teams will advance to next week's Fourth Region Tournament at WKU's Diddle Arena.
Score by quarters: 1) RHS 16-13, 2) 36-26, 3) 47-44, Final) Russellville 64, Logan County 59
RHS (64) Justin Bollenbecker 15, D.J. Quarles 15, Damien Elam 11, Trevor Clark 9, Devonta Bryant 8, Victor Hampton 3, Darren Murphy 2, Temple, Pardue, Kennedy, Bibb, T. Hampton
LCHS (59) Reuben Rawlings-Watson 16, Troy Graham 16, Twin Lancaster 10, Brett Sowell 8, Troin Graham 4, Seth McReynolds 3, Derrod Blakey 2, Stratton, Davenport