Tough conference schedule yields two Cougar losses

The Cougars had a busy week, hosting Cross County on Friday and visiting Lepanto for a make-up game with East Poinsett County on Saturday.

Against EPC, the Cougars came up just short in an 82-78 loss.

Sophomore Ky Madden of EPC had a career game, setting the school mark for the most points scored in a game with 51.

The Cougars led most of the night. Madden's outburst, which included 18 points in the fourth quarter, was just barely able to stop Rector's push for the win. The Cougars led 14-9 after the first quarter and 39-31 at the intermission. Rector led by four, 58-54, going into the final frame.

The Cougars were not without standout performances of their own on the night. Four Rector players scored in double figures. Justin Duke and Blake McCarroll, both seniors, led the way with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Junior forward Coty Banning posted a double-double, scoring 16 and pulling down 14 rebounds. Tyler Kirklin finished with 11 points, while Zac Trayler scored two.

Though the game ended in defeat, it was a strong showing against a team in EPC that is one year removed from playing in the larger 3A regional tournament.

"Right now, we're just out here working hard everyday," head coach Mark Manchester said. "We're in that tough, grind-it-out part of our schedule right now."

Junior boys

The Junior Cougars were downed in their meeting with EPC, 55-33.

Rector trailed just 9-8 after the first quarter, but managed only two points in the second period, falling behind 30-10. The defecit grew to 42-23 going into the fourth.

Brandon Stevens led Rector with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Also scoring for the Cougars were Daniel White 4, Dustin Sparks 4, Ben Petty 2, Cody Trayler 2 and Mitchell Weber 2.

Cougars fall to T-birds

Rector was downed by Cross County 63-55 on Friday.

It was nip and tuck for the vast majority of the contest, as the two teams battled back-and-forth all night. Rector led 11-4 after the first quarter, but trailed 25-24 at the half and 41-40 after three quarters.

Banning and Duke finished with 12 points each to lead the Cougars. Also scoring were Kirklin 10, Trayler 9, McCarroll 8 and Kirk Horton 4.

Junior boys dominate

The Junior Cougars strolled through their game with Cross County, 66-10.

Rector climbed to a 15-3 lead after the first frame and turned up the heat from there, leading 38-6 at the half and 52-10 going into the fourth.

White led the way for the Junior Cougars with 18 points. Sparks and Stevens notched 12 and 10, respectively. Also scoring were Petty 8, Zack Gilbee 8, A.J. Hager 6 and Wever 4.

The Cougars were scheduled to host Marked Tree on Tuesday. From there, they will host EPC beginning at 5 p.m. Friday before welcoming Turrell at 6 p.m. Tuesday.