LEITCHFIELD - The Cougar eighth-graders got monster nights from two big men inside Thursday evening and they converted them into a 20-point thrashing of visiting Butler County, 53-33.

Wes Trail and Jacob Long dominated the Bears (3-20) on the inside all night long as the Cougars (12-7) never trailed in the game. Trail led all scorers in the game with 19 points, and added seven rebounds, an assist, two steals and two blocked shots.

Long finished the night with a double-double, scoring 10 points and leading the Cougars on the boards with 13 rebounds. Long also added an assist, a steal and one block to his totals.

The Bears tied the score at 2-2 at the 5:35 mark of the opening period and that would be the only time they were close to the lead. A Hunter Gary three-pointer at the 4:38 mark kicked off a 12-1 Cougar run, capped off by a three from J. D. Majors, that saw them take a 14-3 lead with 2:14 left in the period. They led 19-8 at the end of the period.

Trail scored eight of his points in the second quarter and the Cougar defense held the Bears to just five points as they extended their lead to 20 points, 33-13 at the half.

A Jarred Tomes lay-up at the 1:50 mark of the third quarter gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night, 29 points at 47-18. They led 47-21 heading into the fourth quarter.

Head coach George Meredith emptied his bench in the fourth quarter and the Bears were able to eat into the big lead. The Bears closed out the scoring with a 7-2 run over the last 1:55 to cut the final margin to 20 points.

Dakota Barton led the Bears in scoring with 16 points, while Josh Vincent joined him in double figures with 14.

The Cougars proved to be very unselfish on the night. They finished the game with 24 field goals, 17 of which came off of assists.

Daniel Buckles finished the night with nine points and added six rebounds and a steal. Gary had six points and two assists. Josh Hudson scored four points, Majors finished with three points and three assists, and Tomes had two to complete the scoring. Tomes added three rebounds, two assists and two steals to his totals. Brady Clemons did not score in the game, but he led the Cougars in assists with five.

donbrown00@alltel.net

Staff writer