Cougars pull away for 47-28 win in final

Whobrey's 17 points pace win

News-Gazette Sports Reporter

dbrown@gcnewsgazette.com

Paced by Rance Whobrey's 17 points, the seventh-grade Cougars pulled steadily away from Muhlenberg South Thursday to claim the championship of the Green River Valley Conference, 47-28.

The Cougars used a 9-0, second-quarter run to break open a tight game and send them into the lead for good. In addition to his 17 points, Whobrey added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Grant Akridge had probably his best game of the season to help the Cougars take the GRVC crown. Akridge scored nine points and led the team on the boards with nine rebounds. He also added an assist to his night's work.

Point guard Braxton Williams also had a fine night for the Cougars. Williams scored six points, but led the team in assists and steals with four each.

The Cougars (23-4) started quickly, scoring the first five points of the game, but the Suns' Braxton Drake hit a three and a lay-up to tie things at 5-5 at the 3:29 mark of the first quarter. Drake led the Suns (10-9) in scoring on the night, finishing with 16 points.

The teams then exchanged baskets the rest of the period and the score was still tied, 9-9 heading into the second quarter.

Drake opened the scoring in the second period with a 15-footer at the 5:17 mark to give his team its only lead of the night at 11-9. The Cougars responded with nine unanswered points, capped off with a three-pointer by Bryce Basham, and the Cougars led 18-11 and they never trailed again. They led 20-13 at the half.

A lay-up by South's Justin Hawkins at the 5:09 mark of the third quarter cut the lead to six points, 23-17, but three-pointers by Basham and Whobrey and 1-of-2 free throws by Akridge ran it up to 13 points, 30-17 with 3:19 left in the period.

The Cougars led by as many as 14 points in the third, but the Suns scored the last three points of the third quarter and the first point of the fourth to slice it back to a 10-point game, 35-25 with 5:33 remaining to be played. That would be as close as they would get. The Cougars scored the final six points of the game to close out their 19-point win.

Basham finished the night with eight points, while Ethan Saltsman had five. Blake Decker added two points to close out the Cougar scoring.