Cougars battle hard in strong showing

The Cougars put forth a dynamite effort, playing one of their most exciting games of the season to bring an end to homecoming night last Friday, but would ultimately to guest Earle, the number two ranked 2A team in the state, 66-59.

"We played about as hard as we can play," Rector head coach Mark Manchester said. "It was a really great effort on our part to go toe-to-toe with the number two team in the state. For 29 minutes, we were better than them."

Manchester wasn't just blowing smoke, either. The Cougars came within a breath of pulling out the upset win in a game which was much closer than the final seven point differential.

Rector used the longball to get out to a solid start, sinking four from deep in the first frame en route to taking an 18-13 lead through the first quarter. Blake McCarroll started off with scorching fingertips, connecting on three treys in the opening frame, scoring all of his nine points in the quarter. Justin Duke also notched a three-ball in the frame. The period came to a close with the momentum clearly in Rector's favor as a low post stickback by sophomore Coty Banning with two seconds showing gave the squad a celebratory pep to their walk to the sideline.

It looked really good for the boys in blue as the second quarter got underway. Two clear baskets in transition by Duke in the frame's first 58 seconds sparked a 10-2 run which saw the Cougars move ahead by 13, 28-15, midway through the second period. Earle countered over the remainder of the first half, though, putting together a 14-5 run to close within 33-29 with just over eight seconds before the half.

Banning came through for Rector once again, going up for two following an offensive rebound. The putback off the glass was still on its way up when the buzzer sounded as all the eyes in the gym were fixed on the ball as it found its way flawlessly through the net, giving Rector a 35-29 advantage heading into intermission.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth struggle between the two squads. The Cougars would lead by as many nine throughout the frame, and were on pace to end the period ahead by that amount, but it was Earle's turn to strike at the quarter's end, as a three-point basket with seven seconds remaining in the period by the Bulldogs cut it to a six point Rector advantage heading into the final stanza, 49-43.

Earle closed to within two, 49-47, in the first minute of the final frame on back-to-back buckets by leading scorers Steven Meredith and Darren Weeden. Jackie Graham answered the call for the Cougars, attacking the basket and finishing with a nice up-and-under lay-up to push the lead back to four with just under seven minutes remaining. Earle controlled the offensive glass on their ensuing possession, taking advantage of four putback attempts to cut it to a one possession contest with 5:58 left. Rector managed a single free throw on each of their next two possessions, while a Meredith drive and pull-up jumper brought about a 53-53 tie with four and a half minutes to play. Graham put the Cougars back ahead with 3:44 showing, getting to the line following an aggressive drive. Weeden buries a three to give Earle their first lead of the second half, 56-55 with 3:15 left in the final frame. Graham went back to the basket for Rector, connecting on the drive, but missed the and-one. Weeden answered right back, burying another three to push Earle to a 59-57 advantage with two and a half minutes remaining. Earle missed an opportunity to extend their lead, bricking the front end of a one-in-one with just under a minute. Graham seized the board and pushed the ball ahead to Banning for two from the paint, making it 61-59 in Earle's favor.

But the Cougars would be unable to mount any other significant offense. Earle five of 10 free throws down the stretch, setting the 66-59 final in place.

Weeden's late threes were hurtful daggers which caused the Cougars to stumble.

"We let their shooter get open behind the line late and it hurt us," Manchester said. "They're a good team and their going to find a way to score. Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job against them defensively."

Manchester praised his team's ability to shoot from outside, making note of the contributions of Duke and McCarroll.

"Blake McCarroll came out and shot the lights out from behind the three point line in the first quarter. He really gave us a spark in the early part of the game which I thought carried us through the first half.

"Justin Duke gives us that shooter that we've been missing the past few years. He forces teams to step out and guard him, which is something we need."

Graham filled up the stat sheet on the night, scoring 14 while pulling down seven boards from the point guard position. He also had five assists.

"I thought Jackie did a good job for us," Manchester said. "He didn't force his way into the game, he kind of let it come to him.

"We're getting better and we're just almost at that level we need to be at to really make some noise in this conference. We played really well against Earle fro most of the night. We need to take that effort and build on it."

Duke's 15 points and Graham's 14 led Rector. Other Cougars scorers were Banning 9, McCarroll 9, Derek Wyss 7, Daniel Hester 3 and Garrett Evers 2.

Meredith led Earle with 25 points. Weeden added 16.

Rector currently stands at 13-7 overall and 7-5 in 2A-3 league play. The Cougars are currently tied for third in the conference.

Junior boys fall

The Junior Cougars were downed in their meeting with Earle, 38-22. Earle held the advantage much of the night, leading 9-6, 22-11 and 31-17 at the quarters.

The team quickness of Earle caused the young Cougars some problems with taking care of the ball.

"They were able to get after us some on defense and use their quickness to force turnovers which led to easy buckets," Rector coach Matt Mills said. "That's something we've been working on--and have improved in--but, they're just a very athletic team that can make you for any mistakes you make."

Cody Hager and Kirk Horton paced the young Cougars with seven points each. Also scoring were Tyler Kirklin 5, Brandon Stevens 1 and Zach Gilbee 1.

Loss to Turrell

Rector was downed at home last Tuesday, falling to Turrell in a close one, 66-63. Rector trailed throughout: 21-15; 30-28 and 48-40.

Duke and Graham gave a strong account of themselves for the Cougars, finishing with 27 points each. However, the dynamic duo went about their strong nights in different ways. Duke was a sniper, canning seven three-pointers for his offensive outburst, while Graham used his quick first step to get to the basket throughout.

Also scoring were McCarroll 5, Wyss 3 and Hester 1.

Bruce Delaney led Turrell with 20 points.

Junior boys

The Junior Cougars were outscored 18-7 in the fourth quarter as the fell to Turrell, 46-30. A contested 28-23 game quickly went south for Rector, as a strong showing late propelled Turrell to the win. Rector trailed 12-10 after the first quarter and 22-17 going into halftime.

Kirklin finished with 16 to lead the Junior Cougars. Other scorers were Cody Hager 8, Horton 2, Dan Blackshare 2, and Shane Newman 2.

The Cougars were on the road Tuesday, visiting conference foe Bay. The boys will take to the highway again Friday, as they visit Monette to face BIC. The boys will host CRA Tuesday for a special Seniors Night program which begins at 6 p.m. with the junior squad.