MONTICELLO-The Lawrence County Cougars and Lady Cougars swept avarsity doubleheader from Prentiss Tuesday night. Both LCHS teamsavenged losses suffered at Prentiss two weeks earlier.

The girls’ game was a thriller, with the teams exchanging basketafter basket in a spirited fourth quarter. Knotted at 65-65 at theend of regulation, Coach Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars pulled out an81-78 win in overtime.

Coach Preston Wilson’s Cougar boys, buoyed by the addition ofseveral football players, played their best game so far. LCHS ledby as many as 27 points at one point, then held on for a 74-65win.

The girls game was one of the most-entertaining played in theLCHS gymnasium in years. After a relatively mundane first half (PHSled 26-24), both teams broke loose in the second half, with hotshooting being the rule.

The hot shooting continued in the overtime, as the Lady Cougarsoutscored the Lady Bulldogs 16-13. Fiere Brown scored 19 of her 21points in the second half or overtime. In the decisive extra frame,Brown hit 6 consecutive free throws to ice the game. SamanthaShowers scored 19 of her 21 in the second half.

Khatara Taylor had 14 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals for theLady Cougars, who improved to 4-6 on the season. Showers led inrebounding with 6. Brittany Collins had 4 assists and 3 steals.

For Wanda Ard’s Lady Bulldogs, three players (Johnson 23, Hall21, and Jones 16) combined to score 60 of the team’s 78 points.

Wilson’s Cougars looked like a different team.To a certain extent, they were. Football players Mathew Wells,Brandon Middlebrook, Jared McCarthy,and Blake Stalans made theirdebut, adding considerably to Lawrence County’s depth andathleticism.

The first half was just about perfect for the Cougars, who lost80-72, at Prentiss in the earlier contest. This time, LawrenceCounty jumped to a 48-23 halftime lead, even though 13 differentCougars saw action in the first half.

Leroy Fifer and Cazlyn Peyton led LCHS with 15 points each.Fifer had a double-double, as he also grabbed 11 rebounds, and hehad 3 steals. Newcomer Wells was a force inside, grabbing 6rebounds along with his 6 points.

The Cougars improved to 2-6 with the win. Prentiss fell to2-2.