The Grayson County Cougar basketball team finished as a semifinalist this past weekend in the KABC Titans Shootout in Shelbyville.
The Cougars defeated Indian Hill (OH), Campbell County, and George Rogers Clark before dropping a game against a very talented Winton Woods (OH) squad.
The tournament, which is held annually, is run by Grayson County alum Chris Gaither. This year, it involved 126 teams in three separate tournaments.
“I thought we were really good,” head coach Travis Johnston said. “Our big three of Brody (Armstrong), Spencer (Langdon), and Jack (Logsdon) were really good. I thought we played really well.”
Grayson County played the four games without multiple key role players as Kobe Martin, Kadin Hanshaw, and Landon Haycraft were all unable to join the team.
“(Not having those guys) got some others guys some reps in that I might not have, especially up here when you are trying to win,” Johnston said. “In the season, anything can happen. We lost Kadin last year, so it is kind of the next man up. In particular, Kyle (Higdon) and Chase (Baunach) got a lot of good minutes this summer and I was really pleased.”
Indian Hill (OH)
Grayson County opened the tournament in a small church gym against Indian Hill High School, which is a wealthy suburb of Cincinnati.
The Cougars got the scoring started on a Jack Logsdon three-pointer, but after he had to leave the game after taking an inadvertent elbow from a Brave, the offense did sputter.
They would only trail once in the contest as Indian Hill took a 39-38 advantage late in the third quarter. A Logsdon turnover would follow, but Kamden Sanders would drill an open three to put them ahead 41-39.
With less than a minute left, Grayson County had a five-point advantage and turned to Logsdon who went perfect from the free throw line to clinch a 57-52 victory.
Spencer Langdon led the team in scoring with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Brody Armstrong added 17 points and eight boards while Logsdon and Sanders had 9 and 8 respectively.
Campbell County
After a short bus ride across town to Collins High School, the Cougars met up with Campbell County who lost in the quarterfinals of the KHSAA Sweet 16 to Harlan County last season.
As the game began, multiple college coaches found a seat including Western Kentucky head coach Hank Plona, Spalding head coach Kevin Gray, and Centre assistant Gavin Root.
Grayson County’s Jack Logsdon took the opportunity in front of the coaches and ran with it. The rising sophomore finished with 33 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals to help lead the Cougars to victory.
The game was tight throughout with neither side having a lead larger than six.
The Camels tied the game up with about 30 seconds left at 64. Logsdon drove down the lane and made a contested layup while being fouled. The conversion on the extra attempt put the Cougs up three with 16 seconds left.
Logsdon would proceed to steal the ball to help Grayson County clinch the 67-64 win.
Spencer Langdon had 15 points and a pair of rebounds while Brody Armstrong came away with 11 points and four rebounds.
George Rogers Clark
The Cougars were back at Collins High School for an early tip on Saturday. Standing in their way was traditional state power George Rogers Clark who is coming off a 30-3 record and a regional semifinal berth.
With the game starting at 8:00 am CT, there was legitimate concern from the Grayson County coaching staff on how they’d respond. The answer? Well, maybe with one of their better performances of the entire summer.
The Orange and Blue would go on to shoot 50% from the field and knock down 11 three pointers in a 72-51 beatdown of the Cardinals.
It was never close, as Grayson County led 7-0 forcing an early timeout; a margin that they would expand to 13 at the break.
The game was in cruise control for the rest but was not without its highlights. Spencer Langdon would hit three straight threes on as many possessions, and finish the sequence off by dishing a pass to Brody Armstrong who drilled a three as well.
Zak Bratcher also had a similar sequence. He would hit three straight threes on four possessions to help clinch a 72-51 blowout victory.
Langdon led with 24 points and five rebounds. Armstrong came away with a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards while Bratcher had 20 points including going 6/9 from downtown.
Winton Woods (OH)
After a short trek across the parking lot to Moorman Middle School, the Cougars were ready for their semifinal matchup with the Winton Woods (OH) Warriors, and Warriors they were.
Whether it was fatigue, the opponent, or a combination of the two, this one was never in the favor of the Cougars. They would shoot only 28.9% in a 68-33 loss to an incredibly talented squad.
Brody Armstrong paced the Cougars with 11 points and six rebounds but would be the only player in double figures. Jack Logsdon added eight while Spencer Langdon and Kyle Higdon each had six.
Overall, the Cougars finished 3-1 in the tournament and only lost three games throughout the summer schedule.
On the weekend, Spencer Langdon led the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Brody Armstrong averaged 15.3 and 7.0 while Jack Logsdon averaged 13.5 and 5.3.
The dead period for KHSAA athletes begins on Tuesday giving athletes a much-needed break.
Once they’re back in school, the work begins again for the Cougars to prepare for the season.
“The main thing when we get back into school is getting tougher physically and mentally,” head coach Travis Johnston said on plans after the break. “I told them to not hang their heads on this but you can’t be satisfied. You can’t be satisfied that we had a good summer, and we only lost three games, but once we get back into school it doesn’t mean anything anymore. I hope it showed them how good we can be.”
The 2024/25 season is set to begin for Grayson County in early December as the Cougars are scheduled to open the year at Washington County.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
