Fresh off Thanksgiving break, the 1-3 Durant Cougars hosted the 0-4 Lennard Longhorns.
The game started with the Cougars winning the tip-off and Nathan Moore got a layup. In Lennard’s first possession, they answered back with a layup of their own. Nathan Moore then got another layup for the Cougars. After a Lennard turnover, the Cougars’ Ethan Hood hit a 3-pointer. Lennard then turned it over with a backcourt violation. Niko Sosa made Lennard pay for the turnover with another 3. Jamarcus Randall then stole the ball and drove it in for another basket, and they were on a 14-4 run before a timeout was called. Fresh off the timeout, Lennard had a 4-0 run after making some adjustments. Nathan Moore kept attacking the paint for the Cougars with another layup. Jamarcus Randall then attacked Lennard’s paint, followed by a 3-pointer from Banner Howton to end the first quarter, with Durant leading 21-8.
Lennard started the second quarter with a nice layup, and the Cougars responded with a 3 from Alijah McFadden. Then Lennard turned it over, but so did the Cougars on the next possession. After the Lennard miss, Sosa had a fast-break layup. Sosa then got another layup. Nathan Moore then hit a nice baseline 3 for the Cougars to extend the lead. After another Lennard miss, Jamarcus Randall got to the line and went 1-2. Randall scored a fast-break layup after another Lennard turnover. Sosa then got to the line for the Cougars and went 1-2. Lennard stopped the scoring drought with a floater near the free-throw line. Lennard scored again with another basket in the paint. A timeout was called with 1:45 left in the half, with the Cougars up 34-18. Randall stole the ball and got the fast break layup. Moore swatted the Lennard free-throw attempt out of bounds, and Lennard kept possession. Moore stole the ball and had a fastbreak layup. Sosa hit a buzzer-beater 3-point shot for the Cougars, and the crowd went crazy. They went to halftime with a 41-20 lead.
Lennard got the ball to start the third quarter. They started with a post-up basket. The Cougars missed their first shot, and Lennard responded with a fast break layup. Moore got the Cougars on the board in the second half with a layup. Lennard went on a 5-0 run, and it was stopped by a Cougars steal and basket by McFadden. Lennard had an offensive rebound and the put-back basket. Lennard had a fast break layup, forcing a Cougars timeout with the home team up 45-33 with 3:01 left in the third. Lennard got a steal after the timeout, and the layup made the game within 10. It felt like momentum was swinging in favor of the away team. A timeout was called with 1:29 left in the quarter. Moore scored for the Cougars, which they needed after the timeout. McFadden hit the floater for the Cougars to extend the lead. The third quarter ended with the Cougars Moore buzzer-beater. They were up 51-36.
Lennard trailed 15 to start the last 8 minutes of the game. Moore stayed hot with a nice post move to score for the Cougars. Lennard went to the free throw line and went 1-2. Lennard then stole the ball and got a layup. Randall had a basket for the Cougars. A timeout was called with 6:13 left in the game. Sosa found Moore for a layup after the timeout. Lennard then responded with a layup before another timeout was called, this time with 4:19 left in the game. Lennard stole it after the timeout and hit a floater. Lennard then had an and one basket with 3:20 left in the game. Banner Howyon hit a 3 pointer, which the Cougars needed badly after a scoring drought. Moore then hit a fast break layup, which Lennard answered with one of their own. A timeout was called with 2:15 left in the game. After the timeout, Moore scored again. Lennard got an offensive rebound and one. A timeout was called by Lennard with 1:18 left in the game. Lennard hit the 3 after the timeout, but then Randall had a tomahawk dunk. Lennard fouled the Cougars with 13 seconds left in the game. They fouled the Cougars again with 6.6 left in the game. After the inbounds, the Cougars won 66-58.
Box Score:
Nathan Moore: 24 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Niko Sosa: 13 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists
Jamarcus Randall: 13 Points, 4 Assists, 2 Steals
Alijah McFadden: 7 Points, 8 Assists, 4 Steals
Banner Howton: 6 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Assists
Ethan Hood: 3 Points, 3 Assists
