A 14-0 Edmonson County run in the third quarter sent the Wildcats into a lead they never relinquished. The run was partially fueled by three Grayson County technical fouls, two of which were called on Head Coach Todd Johnston and which forced him to leave the game. The call was so unpopular with the large contingent of Cougar fans on hand that someone threw a soft-drink bottle onto the court.
After the Wildcats took a 5-2 lead in the opening moments of the first quarter, the Cougars reeled off 10 straight points and led 12-5 with 30 seconds left in the half. Grayson County led 14-8 heading into the second quarter.
Both teams were cold opening the second period, missing on each of their first three possessions, but the Wildcats (5-9) scored 10 straight afterward and went up 18-14 with 2:17 left.
The Cougars closed to within a point with a little over a minute left in the half, but Edmonson's Jon Dial hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining that gave the Wildcats a 21-17 advantage at halftime.
Grayson County came out charged up at the beginning of the third period, putting together a 9-2 run that gave them a 26-23 lead at the 5:22 mark, but that's when things began to go south for the Cougars.
Edmonson scored two baskets to retake the lead, 27-26. On the next Cougar possession, Graham Huffman was whistled for carrying the ball and the Wildcats were awarded possession.
A short time later, the Wildcats missed a shot and Grayson County was fouled on the rebound. However, Chris Elmore was called for a technical foul, and the Wildcats' Nathan Jaggers buried both free throws to make it 29-26. With the ball out of bounds following the technical, Dial hit another three to give his team a six-point lead, 32-26.
With 2:22 left, the same referee who had called Huffman for carrying the ball made the same call on Robert Skaggs, awarding the ball to Edmonson County. Johnston became very vocal at that point.
After the Wildcats' fine post man Todd Webb scored at the other end to make it 11 straight points and a 34-26 lead, the scene really got crazy. With Skaggs standing, yo-yoing the ball uncontested just past the half-court line, the same referee who had called the two previous carrying calls whistled Skaggs for the second straight time.
It was all too much for Johnston who stormed onto the court pointing at the ref, who quickly called the technical. When Johnston continued his protests, the ref called the second technical and ejected the Cougar coach. Someone in the stands on the Grayson County side tossed a bottle onto the court and play was delayed for several minutes as the mess was cleaned up.
When play resumed, Jaggers hit three of four free throws to give the Wildcats an 11-point lead, 37-26.
The Cougars refused to quit, pulling back to within four points of the lead with 3:13 left to play, but they could get no closer as the Wildcats hit 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
Webb led all scorers on the night with 21 points. Gavin Logsdon led the Cougars in scoring with 15 points, 11 of which came in the third period. Skaggs finished with 11 points and Ryan Ford had 10. Elmore finished the night with three points, while Josh Cooper and Stefan Miller had two apiece.
KHSAA rules require coaches ejected from games to sit out the next game as well, so Johnston was scheduled to miss Tuesday night's game at home against Muhlenberg South. He should return to the Cougar bench on Friday as his team travels to Owensboro to take on the dangerous Owensboro Catholic Aces. The JV contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow.
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