Eagles beat Cougars 57-42 in regional opener

The Ohio County Eagles shook off their offensive woes from last Friday to post a solid 57-42 win over 12th District champion Grayson County in first-round action of the 2021 Boys’ Third Region Basketball Tournament at the Owensboro Sportscenter. The Eagles outscored the Cougars by a 40-15 margin over the second and third periods to build a lead Grayson County could not overcome.

Monday’s win vaults Tony Hopper’s squad into a semifinal matchup against Owensboro Catholic this Friday evening at 5 p.m. The Ninth District runner-up Catholic Aces (17-9) eliminated 11th District winner Meade County 63-57 in Monday’s first game. Meade County bowed out with a final 9-11 record.

Monday’s first period saw three lead changes, ending with Grayson County on top 12-8. But in the next eight minutes, the Eagles put up 22 points to the Cougars’ six, including 7-0 and 9-0 runs, the latter a part of an 11-2 blitz, as OCHS carried a 30-18 lead into halftime. Senior guard Q’Daryius Jennings had nine points in that second quarter, and 14 in the half, while junior forward Isaac Southard netted five more in the second.

The Eagles did not let up, pushing their lead to 48-28 by the end of three quarters, as six different Eagles marked in the scoring column. Grayson County tried to mount a late charge, cutting the deficit to 50-37 at the 4:00 mark, but were still down by 13 at 53-40 with 2:22 left. They got within 12 points at 54-42 with 1:08 still left before two free throws from OCHS junior guard Jaxon Renfrow and another from sophomore forward Elijah Decker decided the final score.

Jennings led the winners with a game-high 16 points while Decker added 11 in only his fourth game back after suffering a broken hand on Jan. 6. Chandler McCrady topped Grayson County with 14 points while Keegan Sharp tossed in 12 more in the losing effort.

Ohio Co. (13-10) 8 22 18 9—21 8/15 9

Grayson Co. (13-9) 12 6 10 14—16 5/5 15

Ohio County (57)—Jennings 16, Decker 11, Morse 8, Southard 7, Manning 6, Renfrow 6 (3-pt. FGs, Jennings 3, Decker 2, Manning, Renfrow).

Grayson County (42)—McCrady 14, Sharp 12, Blanton 7, Tomes 5, Horn 2, Hornbeck 2 (3-pt. FGs, McCrady 2, Sharp 2, Blanton).

**Game statistics: Rebounds—OC 26 (Jennings 8), GC 26 (Horn 5); Blocks—OC 2 (Bo Morse 2), GC 2 (Horn 2); Assists—OC 9 (Josh Manning 3), GC 3; Steals—OC 2 (Decker, Jennings); FG%--OC=52.5% (21/40), GC=36.4% (16/44); Fouled out—GC (Horn); TOs—GC 9, OC 6.