It was a tough team and a tough atmosphere for the Cougars to open their season as they traveled to Hillsville to face off with the Carroll County Cavaliers Monday. The end result was a 48-69 loss and an injury to a starter that will leave the already young Cougars with a key piece of their offense missing.
Despite having senior Khalib Horton on the sideline in a boot due to an injury from practice, Pulaski County was holding their own in the first quarter and trailing by just five points, 14-19, heading into the second period. With just under seven minutes remaining in the half, Lane Nester went up for a rebound and came down wrong on his ankle. He was not able to return to the floor for the remainder of the contest.
While the Cougars were able to hold the Cavs to 12 points in the second quarter, with Nester out Pulaski County was only able to add eight points to their total, bringing the halftime score to 31-22 for the Cavaliers.
The taller and more experienced Cavaliers continued to hold the Cougar offense in check in the second half, allowing only nine points in the third quarter while adding 17 to their own total. Trailing 31-48 heading into the final quarter, the Cougars kept working but were outscored 21-17 in the final period to bring on the 48-69 final score.
Sophomore Jeremiah Turner led the Cougars with 10 points. Junior Lane Nester and sophomores Chandler Hollins and Tootie O’Dell backed him up with eight points each. Senior Kyle O’Neal had six points. Junior Marcus Reed added four points. Juniors Jele Green and Joel Burchett added two points each.
The Cougar JV team started their season off with a 56-45 win over the Cavaliers. Freshman Justus Hash led the Cougars with 23 points. Freshman Jalere Harlow added 15 points and freshman Sammy Carrasco added 11 points.
The Cougars were scheduled to be back in action as a part of a Cougar and Lady Cougar quad matchup with Carroll County on Saturday. Tuesday, Dec. 13, they’ll head to Christiansburg. Friday, Dec. 16, the Cougars will travel to Radford. JV action each night begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity contest.