Cougars maul rusty knights

The Langley Middle School Cougars seventh-grade boys basketball team defeated their top rival Kings' 47-42 on Wednesday.

The Cougars got off to a very slow start, falling behind 20-2 to begin the game. They fought back to close the gap to a dozen, 22-10, by the half.

"During our half time 'discussion,' we all knew the way to get back into the game was through defense and a more intense offense," said LMS Coach Henry Pope.

"At the start of the third quarter, a different LMS team took the floor.

Riley Newman, who only had two points in the first half, began the third period with a nice drive to the bucket for a score. Newman then went outside, and hit three consecutive three-pointers in a row to cut the King's lead to nine points.

"Our interior defense was doing the job with hustle and physical play that gave the King's post players all they could handle," Pope said.

Another trey by Devin Grigsby and great post move for scores by William Hallberg, Ben Cary and Dean Freundlich and the Cougars moved in front by 11 points.

LMS held on for the 47-42 win.

Riley Newman finished the game with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. William Hallberg finished with a double double, 10 each in points and rebounds.

Ben Cary, Dean Freundlich, Grigsby and Austin Bennett completely shut down Kings' inside scoring in the second half, which allowed LMS to stay close until Newman took over as a one-man bucket brigade.

The Cougar season record is

7-1, with a final home game Dec. 12 against Lakewood.

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