It wasn’t a boxing match between Conner and Dixie Heights, but they traded plenty of blows.
The Cougars came out swinging with a 21-point lead in the first quarter, then managed to stay on their feet and secure a 68-64 win over the Colonels in Hebron.
Conner landed the first punch with an 11-0 run from the start, eventually going up 29-8. Dixie Heights answered with a 7-0 run to finish the quarter and a 26-14 run the rest of the half, cutting the lead to 43-34 at halftime.
Not once, for the rest of the game, did the Cougars give up the lead though.
“We keep talking to our guys about it being a game of runs,” Conner coach Nathan Browning said. “We’re gonna punch, they’re gonna punch, we can’t just let them keep punching, we have to punch back. Tonight was the best job we’ve done of making sure we punched back.”
The Cougars had the fighters to do it.
Brady Bushman and Chase Huff combined for over half of the team’s points scoring 19 apiece.
“We played against Simon Kenton, Elder and Harvest Prep, all good teams. They gave us punches and we didn’t fight back,” Huff said. “This time we threw the first punch and they made a run, but then we made a run too.”
To do what either team did took stamina and there wasn’t a shortage of it.
“We preach energy all the time,” Browning said. “In practice, we preach it constantly. We count high fives in practice, we make them high five constantly. They’ve got to bring the energy and be loud. We want the gym to be loud all the time.”
Though Dixie was never able to fully dig out of their early hole, they did keep Conner on their toes.
They opened up the third quarter with another 7-0 run, stayed close, and eventually cut the lead to two late in the game with a clutch three from Griffen Derry.
But despite Colonels’ surge, the Cougars’ hot shooting and confidence proved too much to overcome, as they drained 11 triples. Bushman led the way, hitting five of them, two in the final period.
“In practice, coach is always like your shot is going in,” Bushman said. “Next one is always going in, no matter what. I feel like when I’m hot and I get doubled, the next person is going to carry it on.”
With the scoreboard showing 64-62, Huff and Landon Warner each knocked down two clutch free throws for the knockout.
Joining Bushman and Huff, Finn Louden contributed 12 points, with nine coming from beyond the arc.
Griffen Derry and Hunter Seng led the charge for Dixie, each finishing with 16 points, Derry knocking down all three of the Colonels’ three-pointers. Brennan Simpson chipped in 14 points, while Owen Niehues added 12.
Dixie Heights drops to 4-3, suffering their second loss in their last three games. The Colonels won’t return to action until after Christmas, when they hit the road to face Estill County.
After dropping their last two games, Conner secures a much-needed win to improve to 2-3. Starting Saturday, the Cougars will head to Taylor Mill to compete in the Scott Winter Classic, where they’ll face Whitehall-Yearling (OH), Mason County, and Withrow University (OH) over three days.
COUGARS 68, COLONELS 64
CONNER — 29-14-10-15— 68
DIXIE HEIGHTS — 15-19-14-16— 64
Scoring
CONNER (68)—Bushman 19, Huff 19, Louden 12, L. Warner 8, Price 5, T. Warner 3, Abousaleh 2
DIXIE HEIGHTS (64) — Derry 16, Seng 16, Simpson 14, Niehues 12, Metzger 6,
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Conner 11, Dixie Heights 3
Free Throws: Conner 13/19, Dixie Heights 13/17
Fouls: Conner 17, Dixie Heights 16
Records: Conner 2-3, Dixie Heights 4-3