TERRY – Lawrence County split a varsity basketball doubleheaderTuesday night, in the Division 6-4A opener for both teams. Invarsity boys play, Lawrence County opened division play with ahard-fought 52-51 win. In the girls game, Terry broke on top earlyand held on for a 53-39 win.

In winning, Coach Preston Wilson’s Lawrence County boys improvedto 8-2 on the season, and 1-0 in Division 6-4A. Terry fell to 0-1in the division.

“It was a good road win,” said LCHS assistant coach NathanielLias, “in a hard-fought, competitive game, just the kind of gameyou expect in Division 6-4A.”

It was close throughout. Lawrence County’s 5-point halftimelead, 23-18, qualified as a big lead in this game. Terry cut themargin to 1 point in the third, but Lawrence County held on to thatslender margin in the fourth.

In the waning seconds, with his team clinging to a 51-48 lead,the Cougars’ Oliver Peyton hit 1 of 2 free throws, giving LawrenceCounty an insurmountable 4-point lead. Thus, Terry’s 3-pointer atthe buzzer was of no consequence.

A key to the Lawrence County victory was the Cougars’ improvedfree-throw shooting. In two road games last week, the Cougars wereatrocious from the charity stripe, shooting well under 50percent.

At Terry, LCHS hit a respectable 15 of 21 free throws. SeniorDominique West made 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter, for all of hispoints. Peyton led the Cougars with 21 points.

Terry 53, Lawrence Co. 29

In girls play, Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars got off to a slowstart, and fell to 0-10 on the season, 0-1 in the division. TheLady Cougars trailed 13-4 after one quarter, and 30-10 at thehalf.

“If we had played as well in the first half as we did in thesecond, we’d have had a shot at the game,” Rutland said. “We’ve gotto find a way to put four quarters together.”

Brittany Collins led Lawrence County with 12 points. Theformidable combination of Amber Brown (16) and Ariel Dawkins (15)led Terry, with that duo combining for 31 points.