Cougars battle valiantly in five overtime thriller

Members of the 2008-09 Rector Cougars include, from left: Front--Matt Williams, Jacob Chronister, Blake McCarroll, Zac Traylor and Cody Hager. Middle--Cory Hager, Clinton Haley, Zac Burleson, Coty Banning, Chris Tripp, Seth Parsley and coach Mark Manchester. Back-- Kamryn Smith, Kirk Horton, Daniel Blackshare and Tyler Kirklin. (Not pictured is Justin Duke) [Click to enlarge]

It was a night many basketball fans in the area won't soon forget.

The Cougars of Rector and the Riverside Rebels battled each other for nearly a solid hour of basketball, needing more than the usual four quarters to determine a winner in the second round of the 2A-3 District Tournament last Tuesday in Caraway. In fact, the teams needed five additional overtime periods in order for an outcome to take place.

Unfortunately, despite a tremendous effort, the Cougars came up just short, falling 70-68 in the knock-down, drag-out contest.

The two teams were nip and tuck nearly every step of the way. Rector held a slim 12-11 lead after the first quarter, but the squads went into halftime knotted up at 18-18. Rector emerged from the third frame with a 32-30 advantage, but regulation concluded with a 39-39 tie. The first four overtimes were not enough to separate the two teams with scores of 45-45, 52-52, 58-58 and 62-62 resulting in a whopping five extra frames. The players spent 57 minutes of actual game time on the floor.

With both teams tied at 68-all, Riverside's Tyler Warhurst made two free throws with just eight seconds left in the final overtime.

A shot attempt by Justin Duke of the Cougars was blocked, bringing an end to the contest.

Though any loss stings, the effort shown by both teams indicates just how bad both the Cougars and Rebels wanted to extend their season and advance to the regional tournament hosted by Cedar Ridge at Newark.

"It hurts," Cougar head coach Mark Manchester said. "To go out there and play as hard as we did through four quarters and five overtimes and not come away with the win is tough. Our guys are competitors and they want to win. They proved that by how hard they played. They scraped and fought all night long against a tough opponent like Riverside."

While the result was less than ideal, Manchester said he was proud of his team's showing on the court.

"We were out there giving it everything we could. After playing for that long, you're just exhausted. My guys never quit. They never gave up. That says a lot about who we are as a team."

Duke led Rector with a game-high 28 points on the night. Blake McCarroll finished with 19. Coty Banning notched 13 in the game. Tyler Kirklin and Kirk Horton had six and two points, respectively.

Warhurst's 22 paced Riverside. Cody O'Gwinn and Cameron Casey scored 13 each for the Rebels.

Riverside lost to eventual champion East Poinsett County in the semifinals last Thursday.

The loss brought the season to a close for the Cougars. Rector finished with an overall record of 13-11.

The Cougars bid farewell to seniors Duke, McCarroll, Jacob Chronister and Matt Williams.

"Our seniors have meant a lot to this team and our entire program," Manchester said. "We're going to miss everything they bring to the court, but we know they're going to go on from here and continue to make us proud."