The Shadow
The Parry McCluer Fighting Blues edged the Covington Cougars Thursday night at the Cougar Den 67-63 to secure the second overall seed in Monday’s Pioneer District Tournament.
In what was a back and forth contest all game long, it was the third quarter that played out to be the games turning point.
As the Fighting Blues were building momentum and built their then largest lead of the game at 41-35 in the third quarter, the Cougars would not let that momentum carry any further. Within two minutes, their deficit went from six points to a six point lead as the Cougars went on a 12-0 scoring run to take a 47-41 lead.
Then the game changed.
With 1:47 left and the Cougars leading by six points, the Cougars were whistled for an intentional foul, and two technical fouls resulting in players leaving the bench and punch being thrown.
Following the delay that lasted over a half hour, the Landon Catlett would knock down 5-of-6 free throw attempts to cut the lead down to one point.
As the third period wound down, Evan Cook drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Fighting Blues a 51-47 lead. The Fighting Blues closed the quarter scoring 10 straight points following the incident on the basketball court.
In the fourth quarter, the Fighting Blues would push their lead up to nine points.
Much like the start of the third quarter, the Cougars wouldn’t go away. Desmond Jordan with four minutes remaining knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead down to just four points.
That though would the closest the Cougars would get as the Fighting Blues maintained that narrow lead the rest of the way despite the Cougars having multiple chances to close the gap even further.
The Cougars were led by Jordan who scored a team-high 20 points, while Purcel Turner had 18.
Leading the Fighting Blues to victory was John Snider IV who had game-high 23 points. Snider IV was one of three in double figures along with Catlett who had 17, and Cook who scored 15.
Despite the loss, the Cougars will have a home first-round game which will be held Monday evening as the Cougars host the Highland Rams. The Cougars swept the regular season over the Rams, winning 81-65 in Monterey and 66-46 at home. The boys game will be a part of a double-header Monday evening as the Lady Cougars host Craig County in the girls Pioneer District Tournament at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys TRD first-round game at 7:00 p.m..
Team 1 2 3 4 Ttl
PMHS 21 18 12 16 67
CHS 20 15 12 16 63
