The Cougar basketball team welcomed Head Coach Tyler Cannoy back to the Cougar Den after testing positive for Covid last week with a pair of JV and varsity wins over the visiting Christiansburg Blue Demons Tuesday evening.
Christiansburg took the early 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Cougars fought back to outscore the Blue Demons 22-17 in the second to lead 33-31 heading into the halftime break. Two three-pointers from Lane Nester and one each from Chandler Hollins and Kyle O’Neal helped the Pulaski County cause.
The Blue Demons continued to battle back in the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars 15-13 to send the teams in the final period tied at 46 points each. Big three-pointers from Hollins and O’Neal in the fourth, along with Nester hitting three of his five free-throws down the stretch, helped the Cougars outscoring Christiansburg 19-15 to earn the 65-61 win.
Lane Nester led the Cougars with a team and game-high 21 points. O’Neal scored 12 points and Hollins added 11 points. Tootie O’Dell chipped in nine points. Jeremiah Turner, Khalib Horton, and Marcus Reed scored four points each.
Christiansburg was led by Richard McCrea with 16 points, Kaleb Robinson with 15, Drake Gandee with 10, and Jeremiah Mills with seven points.
With the win the Cougars move to 4-11 on the season.
The JV Cougars bounced back from a road loss in Salem with an impressive 56-52 win over the younger Blue Demons.
Jalere Harlow scored 24 points to lead the Cougars. Justus Hash added eight points. Silas Sweet scored seven points. Sammy Carrasco and Johnny Anderson scored six points each. Tanner Crawford added three points and Braxton Merchant scored two in the win. The JV Cougars are now 11-3 on the season.
Gavin Dow led the Blue Demons with 13 points. Mason King added nine and Israel Black scored eight.
The Cougars will host the Blacksburg Bruins Thursday, January 19. It will be Student Appreciation Night at the high school, with middle school and high school students getting free admission with their most recent report cards. JV action will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity contest at 7 p.m.