Playing the game at Cave Spring Middle School due to renovations at the Cave Spring High School the Pulaski Co. Cougars played the Knights toe-to-toe, but three missed foul shots and three huge turnovers in the final minute proved costly. Costly in that the Cougars came out on the short end of a 63-57 loss.

Cave Spring got 20 points from center Parker Huffman and 10 from senior Crawford Enyart for their senior night at the middle school. The win clinched the regular season championship for them as they improved to 18-4 overall and 11-1 in the River Ridge. They will be off till next Wednesday in the semi-finals of district tournament play.

The Cougars (6-13, 2-9) got 19 points from Dillon Porter and Benjamin Poe chipped in with 12. Down 58-57 and with the ball Cougars’ Gage Mannon took an open jump shot that bounced of the rim but a foul was called. Mannon stepped up to the line but missed both freebies with 33.7 seconds left. That was after Poe had gotten fouled and he connected on one of his two foul shots, that would have tied the game. The Cougars then fouled and the Knights hit both to go up 60-57 with 27 seconds left on the scoreboard clock.

On their next possession, the Cougars would turn the ball over without getting a shot off but their defense would get a Knights turnover. Once again the Cougars would not get a shot off as they threw the ball out of bounds. ” We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the district and for 31 minutes we took it to them, said Cougar head coach Andrew Hart. ” I’m very proud of our effort, fight and hustle. We missed some foul shots and turned the ball over the last minute of the game. We needed to make one or two more plays for a different outcome.” Coach then added,” We have improved but we still have problems putting the ball into the basket.”

The Cougar junior varsity got dismantled by the young Knights 59-20. Charlie Urgo knocked down four three’s as he finished with 23 points. Jacob Tozier pitched in with 10 points. The Cougars got five points from David Hunley and four from Grayson Deu. The Cougars will be back on the road tonight ( Thursday) as they travel to Salem, to take on the Spartans. Junior varsity tips at 5:30 and varsity twenty minutes after the JV game.

CS- 19 17 12 15-63

PC- 16 22 9 10 -57

CS- Huffman 20, Enyart 10, Bowling 3, Pendleton 3, Jasarevic 9, Rosarion 9, Duncan 2, Mills 5, Cagle 2

PC- Porter 19, Poe 12, McCloud 6, Gray 3, Roberson 3, Bourne 5, Russell 2, O’Dell 2, Miller 5

Total FG’s – CS – 24, PC – 24

Total FT’s – CS- 13-20, PC – 5-11

3-PT. Goals – CS- 2- (Jasarevic, Bowling) , PC – 4- ( Gray, Roberson, Bourne, Miller)

Total Fouls- CS- 11, PC – 14

Top 8- makes playoffs- based on winning percentage

1. Jefferson Forest 17-2
2. Charlotteville 13-5
3. Pulaski Co. 14-6
4. Carroll Co. 10-6
5. LCA 10-7
6. Wm. Byrd 10-9
7. E C Glass 10-9
8. Amherst Co. 7-9
9. Salem 6-13
10. GW-Danville 5-12
11. Bassett 1-15
12. Blacksburg 1-19

Top 8 – Makes playoffs- Based on winning percentage

1. GW-Danville 17-1
2. Jefferson Forest 17-3
3. Salem 14-5
4. LCA 13-5
5. E C Glass 12-7
6. Charlottesville 10-7
7. Blacksburg 9-10
8. Pulaski Co. 6-12
9. Carroll Co. 5-13
10. Amherst Co. 3-15
11. Wm. Byrd 2-16
12. Bassett 2-16

Pulaski Co. sent four seniors out on a winning note, as they upset the Blacksburg Bruins 65-60. The Cougars lead for start to finish in front of a noisy and raucous crowd. Dillon Porter had 18 points, 12 rebounds for a double-double. AJ McCloud tossed in 16 and senior Justin Roberson hit three-threes and finished with 14.

Blacksburg got a game-high 25 points from Grant Johnston and 21 from Cole Epperley. They had just 10 field goals from the field for the game but hit 36 of 45 free throws. The game saw 51 fouls and 72 foul shots combined by the two teams.

Pulaski Co. was up 17-11 after one quarter and 26-25 at intermission. They stretched that to a 10 point advantage going into the fourth quarter 45-35. The closest the Bruins would get was 61-58 with 33 seconds left in the game. The Cougars would hit four of eight free throws to hold onto win the game the last 29 seconds.

” We made enough plays to win,” said Cougar head coach Andrew Hart, in a happy Cougar locker room. ” I’m happy for the four seniors. I can’t ask for better people than those four players.” He then added, ” We fouled too much tonight but we battled and it’s a heck of a win for us.”

The Cougar junior varsity lost to the young Bruins 54-44 as their record fell to 11-7. David Hunley had 14 points, Peyton McDaniel 12 and J J Gulley six. The Bruins got 15 points from Mason Zoeller and Keegan Appea chipped in with 12.

The Cougars will hit the road Tuesday to take on the Cave Spring Knights. The moved will be played at Cave Spring Middle school due to renovations at Cave Spring High School. JV tips at 5:30 and varsity around 7:00 pm.

PC – 17 9 19 20-65

B-burg 11 14 10 25-60

PC – Porter 18, McCloud 16, Roberson 14, Mannon 3, Gray 1, Poe 3, Russell 1, O’Dell 5, Miller 4

B-burg-C. Epperley 21, Johnston 25, P. Epperley 8, Ma. Joyce 3, Babcock 3

Total FG’s – PC – 22, B-burg 10

3-Pt. Goals – PC – 4- ( Roberson 3, Mannon), B-burg- 4- ( C. Epperley 2, P. Epperley, Johnston)

FT’s – PC – 17-27, B-burg 36-45

Total fouls – PC – 29, B-burg 22

Fouled Out- PC – Mannon, Miller, B-burg- None