Cougars advance in tourney with win over Marked Tree

Kirk Horton floats in for a layup. [Click to enlarge]

The Cougars moved one step closer to a regional tournament berth Monday night, posting a 46-32 win over Marked Tree in the first round of the 2A-3 District Tournament in Rector.

Rector took an 8-0 lead over the first three minutes of the game, collecting three-point baskets from Brandon Stevens and Zach Burleson and a bucket in the low post from Tyler Kirklin.

Freshman Allen Buchanan sandwiched another low post bucket by Kirklin and netted all four of the Indians' points for the frame within a span of 34 seconds, scoring in the paint and sinking two from the line.

From there, the Cougars rattled off a 7-0 run to end the first with a 17-4 lead.

"I thought we did a good job of setting the tone early," Rector coach Matt Mills said. "We came out ready to play and did a good job of getting into a rhythm and forcing them to play at our pace. I felt like we were in control throughout."

Marked Tree looked to build momentum early in the second quarter, as Buchanan came up with a steal near midcourt which led to a breakaway one-handed slam. Although the play appeared to energize the guests, the Cougars were able to keep their focus and went into intermission with a 27-16 lead.

In the second half, Mills made a key change on the defensive assignment, moving senior forward Clinton Haley over on Buchanan. Haley's muscular frame and deceptive speed countered the young Indian's athleticism, as the phenom was held to just one point in the entire second half.

"I thought Clinton Haley did a really good job on their talented freshman," Mills said. "He stayed right with him and kept a body on him the whole second half."

The Cougars maintained their pace throughout the rest of the game, leading 39-25 going into the fourth quarter.

Kirklin was a huge factor for Rector, imposing his will in the paint. The gifted junior played hard in the post, scoring a game-high 20 points on a variety of turnaround jumpers from the block, spinning layups and drives down the baseline.

"It makes it so much easier on us to have a guy like Tyler who we can look to when we're in a situation where we have to have a bucket," Mills said. "When you have a guy like that who has his ability to score or get to the line, it helps get your offense going and opens the floor up for the rest of the team."

Also scoring for the Cougars were Burleson 8, Kirk Horton 6, Stevens 5, Mitchell Weber 4 and Haley 3.

Buchanan led Marked Tree with 11.

With the win, Rector advanced to face fourth-seeded BIC beginning at 5 p.m. today (Wednesday). The Cougars bested BIC, 38-37, on Feb. 5.

Holcomb Win

The Cougars came away with a 55-50 win over host Holcomb last Friday night.

The win concluded the regular season for the Cougars, who were victorious in five of their final six games.

Kirklin had a big night for the boys in blue, notching a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Burleson finished right behind, scoring 15 in the win. Haley also notched a double-double, scoring 11 and pulling down 10 boards. Horton and Stevens rounded out the Rector scoring with seven and six points, respectively.

Junior Boys

The Junior Cougars were downed in their first round meeting with EPC last Wednesday, falling in a 48-47 battle.

The Junior Cougars were led by their All-Conference selections Mitchell Weber, 17 points, and Dillon Shelton, 12 points. Also scoring for Rector were Daniel White 8, Alec Scott 6 and Reed Weber 4.