The Shadow
The Covington Cougars knocked down 10 three-pointers to help advance themselves to Thursday’s Pioneer District tournament semifinals following a 75-57 victory over the Highland Rams on Monday evening at the Cougar Den.
The Cougars trailed for all of 45 seconds the entire game.
After falling behind 2-0, the the three-pointers starter dropping as the Cougars knocked down six in the opening period.
In the first quarter, the Cougars offense was paced by Hayden Rodgers who set the tone of the game for the Cougars offense as he scored 10 of his 12 points in the opening period. The Cougars would score 30 in the first and led by 14 points.
The Cougars also had a scoring stretch of 10 straight points within a two-minute period.
In the second quarter, the Cougars lead stretched to as much as 18 points and by halftime the team maintained a 14 point lead.
After scoring 12 points in the first half, Jayden Sammons, who led all scorers with a game and season-high 24 points continued to be a thorn in the Rams side as he would add another 12 points in the second half including four total three-pointers made.
The Rams did close the gap however to 10 points within the first two minutes of the second half.
Following a timeout by Cougars head coach Casey Burks, the Cougars picked back up where they had started the game and within a three-minute stretch went on a 12-0 scoring run which included holding the Rams in a four-minute scoring drought. The Cougars lead would grow up to as high as 23 points in the quarter and as high as 27 in the second half.
Sammons led four Cougars in double figures scoring. Along with Sammons 24 points, Dylan Williams scored 15 points along with three three-pointers, while Rodgers and Purcel Turner each had 12 points.
For the Rams, they were led by Walker Williams who scored a team-high 21 points, while Ethan Moore added 18 points. Jacob Phillips
The stage is now set for the rematch with the Cougars and the Fighting Blues on tomorrow following the Fighting Blues victory over Eastern Montgomery 62-26. Last week the Fighting Blues rallied and held off the Cougars 67-63 at the Cougar Den.
Team 1 2 3 4 Ttl
HHS 16 16 8 17 57
CHS 30 16 15 14 75
Rams Scoring: Williams 21, Moore 18, Jacob Phillips 6, Michael Campbell 5, Eli Moore 4, Zachary Armstrong 3
Cougars Scoring: Sammons 24, Williams 15, Rodgers 12, Turner 12, Mark Hunter 4, Ayden Weinger 4, Dean Anderson 2, Landon Herald 2
