(Leadwood, MO) The Kingston Cougars hold off the West County Bulldogs in a Regular Season Small School Conference Game Friday night at West County High School, 57-45.
The Cougars maintain their lead in the MAAA Small School Division with a 2-0 record in league play, but Kingston head coach, Paul Hamilton, says the game had more than just Conference Play Implications.
Kingston’s Cody Yates paces all scorers in the win with 27 points, while Mason Nelson added nine points and 13 rebounds. Coach Hamilton adds Nelson was an instrumental piece in the win.
The Cougars and Bulldogs went back and forth early on. Kingston led after the first quarter 13-10, and maintained the lead at halftime 23-18.
West County’s Jaxon Campbell and Carter Reed each hit shots from beyond the perimeter sandwiching a pull-up jumper from the left elbow by Cody Yates drew a timeout by Kingston.
The timeout settled the Cougars down, but the Bulldogs maintained the pace, pressuring Kingston and got the deficit to within four by the end of the third.
Paul Hamilton’s Cougars hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, while West County was 12-for-22 from the courtesy stripe in the game. Kingston made just 12 of their 20 free throws taken.
Kingston’s Brendan Yates contributed eight points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Levi Hale’s 11 points paced West County scorers in the loss.
The Cougars improve to 10-3 overall and lead the Small School Division by half a game, they will play at Crystal City Tuesday. West County falls to 6-6, and 0-1 in small school play and will battle Jefferson Tuesday at home.