Clawing back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, Daviess County was 9.4 seconds away from forcing overtime. Then Grayson County’s Jack Logsdon found a wide-open Jagger Mardis, who drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to stun the Panthers 65-62 in the 3rd Region Tournament Semi-Finals.
“We switched our defense to where we were switching,” Daviess County Head Coach Neil Hayden said. “On the last play we got hung up and didn’t switch. …He made the right pass, and Jagger made a great shot. …I am proud of our effort. We just dug ourselves too big of a hole to come out of.”
Coming into the game, the Panthers wanted to stay in front of Grayson County, back up, force them to shoot jump shots, and keep them off the glass. Daviess County quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead and seemed ready to run the Cougars out of the building. After a timeout, Grayson County ended the quarter on a 17-8 run – fueled by Logsdon drilling a pair of threes.
Having scored seven points in the opening quarter, Jonathan Moss continued to fight through constant pressure, adding five points in the second quarter. Brody Armstrong was the difference maker for the Cougars, drilling a pair of threes, which included a halftime buzzer-beater to hand Grayson County a 34-28 lead.
Scoring only four points in the opening half, Michael Acton found his shot in the third quarter, adding six points. Despite Moss pouring on seven points, Grayson County entered the fourth quarter with a 54-43 lead, behind Spencer Langdon and Logsdon combining for 13 points.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mardis hit a two-pointer to extend the lead to 56-43, the Panthers’ biggest deficit of the game. Acton responded with a pair of baskets before fouling out shortly after.
Trailing 56-49 and despite being double-teamed whenever he would touch the ball, Moss began to take over the game. The senior guard wove through the lane, finished through contact, and knocked down the ensuing free throw. After Grayson County threw the ball out of bounds, Moss hit a jump shot to cut the lead to 57-54.
On the defensive end, the Panthers started to hound Grayson County, who started to struggle under the constant pressure.
Having cut the lead to 62-60, the Panthers stole a pass and found a cutting Moss, who tied the game on a layup – leading to Mardis’s dagger at the buzzer.
Moss led all scorers with 29 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He also added five assists, one steal, and one rebound.
“I can coach for 20 more years, and I don’t know if I will get someone like Moss again,” Hayden said. “He works hard, is coachable, and has gotten so much better over time. So much of the success we have had over these last three years is because of who he is.”
Acton added 14 points on an efficient 6/8 shooting, while DeAaron Watkins finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Logsdon led the Cougars with 20 points, Langdon scored 16 points, Mardis had 12 points, and Armstrong finished with 11 points.
The Panthers will be losing five seniors to graduation in Moss, Watkins, Davyn Randolph, Lemontae Ratcliff, and Kaden Payne. Hayden stated that in his 24 years of coaching, this is as connected a group of players that he has been around.
“They have meant a lot to the school and me personally,” Hayden said. “I feel like every game we went into, it’s a relief as a coach to know that you have a chance to win. All of them are great guys and will be hard to replace.”
