MONTICELLO – Lawrence County swept a Division 7-4A basketballdoubleheader from visiting Crystal Springs Tuesday night. In girls’action, Coach Vicki Rutland’s Lady Cougars rolled to a 58-32 win.In boys’ play, Lawrence County got a 3-point play from BrandonDaniels with 10 seconds left, then held on for a heart-stopping44-43 win.

The Lady Cougars improved to 17-7 overall, and 6-1 in the division.LCHS led 35-20 at halftime, then continued to add to that lead inthe second half, despite substituting liberally.

Tiaria Griffin led the Lady Cougars with 20 points, 6 steals, and 4assists. Alli Harris had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Taylor Bristerscored 12 points, and added 3 assists and 3 steals.

LCHS won despite the absence of veteran point guard Tyra Griffin,who missed the game with a knee injury.

“It was a good night for our girls,” said Lady Cougar coach VickiRutland. “We sort of had a tough weekend. We needed a feel-goodgame, and I thought our players had one. Hopefully, we’ll get somegood news regarding Tyra in the next day or two.”

The Crystal Springs Lady Tigers were led by Ladonna Moore, whoscored 12 points. Tytiana Hall added 8 points.

LCHS 44, C. Springs 43

The boys’ game provided most of the night’s excitement. The gamewas close throughout. LCHS led 26-25 at the half, but scored just 2points in a slowed-down, third quarter, falling behind 31-28.

The fourth quarter was a dandy, with the two teams exchanging thelead. With Crystal Springs leading 43-41 in the waning seconds,Lawrence County’s Antonio Batiste dished to Brandon Daniels, whoscored a basket and drew a foul. He converted his free throw with10.2 seconds left.

After a timeout, Crystal Springs got a shot, but Gavin Allen’sjumper clanked off the rim, touching off a spirited LCHScelebration.

“That was a great win for our team,” said Cougar coach Pat Bridges,whose team has won four of its last five division games, afterstarting Division 7-4A play with two losses. “We’re playing withsome confidence right now and we’ve gotten ourselves back into thedivision race. We want to keep it going.”

Lawrence County improved to 14-9 overall, and 4-3 in the division.Crystal Springs fell to 15-7, and 4-3.

David Haynes led LCHS with 16 points. Brandon Daniels had 10, with8 of them coming in the decisive fourth quarter. Batiste handed out6 assists, including the game-winner.

Free-throw shooting was a key for Lawrence County, as the Cougarshit all 7 of their attempts, 4 of them coming in the fourthquarter.

Gavin Allen led the Tigers with 15 points. Roman Lofton added14.