sports@southwesttimes.com
RADFORD – The Pulaski and Radford boy’s basketball teams added another chapter to their epic rivalry on the hardwood Saturday. After the Cougars rallied from down double digits to take the lead late in the fourth, Radford would pull back ahead and hold on for the tough 71-67 victory.
Foul trouble would be a key issue for both squads to begin the first quarter. Pulaski’s Oliver Samples would pick up two quick fouls within 30 seconds apart. That took away a critical offensive weapon the Cougars.
The Cougars wouldn’t be the only recipients of the foul issues. Three Bobcats – Dontae Carter, William Minter, and D.J. Palmer – would all pick up two early fouls a piece.
“I told Dontae at the end of the first quarter that I wasn’t going to hold him out of the second quarter,” said Radford coach Rick Cormany. “I told him that he had to play smart. I wanted him to try to finish the half with just two. We also had William and D.J. with two. So those three guys are three of my energy guys and get my team energized are sitting there with two fouls a piece.”
Despite the losses, both teams remained close until the end of the first. That’s when Radford would score six of the final seven points, giving them the early 14-7 lead after the first.
Radford would get off to a hot start in the second quarter, going on a 12-6 run in the early moments to extend their lead to 26-13. However, the Cougars would answer that run, scoring six of the next eight points in the game, pulling back to within five, 28-23.
A couple of key threes would help the Cougars down the stretch before halftime, as both Andrew Samuelson and C.J. Burgis would connect on three pointers. Samuelson led the Cougars with nine points in the quarter. Radford would take just a 33-32 halftime lead.
Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter and the game remained tight. However, Pulaski could not tie the game or take the lead in the quarter. Radford would retain the lead after three quarters of play, 47-45.
It looked as if Pulaski was headed for a meltdown in the fourth quarter. Jolly Martin would pick up a technical foul for an altercation with a Radford player. It would be his fourth foul. Fortunately for Pulaski, Dontae Carter would miss both free throw attempts.
Just moments later though, Pulaski’s Oliver Samples would pick up his fourth and fifth fouls in a matter of seconds, which would disqualify him from the game. On his way to the bench, Samples removed his jersey and appeared headed off the court and out of the gym. A technical foul was given to the bench.
“We were doing dumb stuff all night, like getting technicals and playing loose basketball,” said Cougars coach Geoff McCulloch. “Luckily they played loose too. We put a little pressure on them and got ourselves back into a position to win the game. It’s just a little bit of mental toughness that we don’t have right now that we are trying to work on.”
Radford would go on another scoring run, building their lead up to 55-49, when Pulaski would let their emotions get the best of them yet again. C.J. Burgis would slam the basketball down before a timeout, giving Pulaski their third technical of the game. That would lead to two Carter free throws and a 57-49 lead.
It looked bleak for a Pulaski win to happen, but the Cougars didn’t give up hope. A returning Ondre Powell would power his team. After a Burgis lay up, Powell would score on back-to-back possessions. He would hit two free throws after being fouled and follow that up with a steal on the next in-bounds and dunk that sent the Pulaski crowd into a frenzy. The lead was down to just three, 58-55.
Burgis and Powell once again continue to press forward. After a Palmer lay up for Radford, the Cougars would tie the game up, as Burgis connected on a three-pointer and Powell grabbed an offensive rebound, scoring a basket. Pulaski would take the lead on the next possession on two free throws by Matthew Greene. It was their first lead since 4-3 in the first quarter.
However, it would be their final lead of the game. The two teams would play down to the wire, but Radford held the upper hand and forced Pulaski to make their shots count. After Minter scored the 69-67 go-ahead lay up for Radford, Pulaski took a timeout to set up a game-tying or winning shot with just 13.3 seconds to go.
The Cougars had two chances to score. The first was a missed three point attempt that ended up being a tie-up. Fortunately for Pulaski, the possession arrow favored them and they had one more opportunity. With just 3.7 seconds remaining, Burgis would take a three, but miss.
The clock would stop despite the ball not traveling out of bounds or a foul occurring. That left 1.2 seconds on the clock. Carter was fouled on the in-bounds and only 0.1 seconds remained. He would make both free throws, sealing the four point Radford victory.
Carter scored a game-high 22 points for Radford, while Jerome Alexander added 11 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Samuelson led Pulaski with 16 points, C.J. Burgis scored 14 points, and Ondre Powell added 12 points.
Cormany talked about his young team’s performance after the game and the poise it gives them to win such a close game over a good Pulaski squad.
“I think it was a good win for this team in that respect,” Cormany said. “I think if we had kept our composure down the stretch, we could have won by ten. We had them where we wanted them, but we just didn’t execute the press break at all. I think it is a good confidence builder for a young team. Josh Little made some big plays for us as a freshman. William Minter is a freshman, Timmy Worles played hard as a sophomore, and of course, Dontae [Carter] and Jerome [Alexander] are both juniors. We are getting better, but we have a long ways to go. Our league is tough. Everybody knows how we like to play. They will try to get us in a slower paced game. I don’t know if you find a way to get us in a slow paced game. We are going to trap you on missed buckets and made buckets. We are going to try and get that thing in a hectic pace.”
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