They are also desperately seeking their shooting eye.

For the second night in a row at the annual event, the Cougars were cold shooting Cats. However what turned out to be the difference in their 71-61 win was their ability to get second chance points.

Hitting the glass for 20-offensive rebounds, Coach Rodney Lane's bunch banged their way to a 10-point win and a 2-0 beginning of the tournament and the season.

A pair of 6-foot-2 junior forwards did most of the inside damage for Hardin County.

Austin Seavers and Craig Hudson both delivered double-doubles on the night with points and rebounds.

Hudson led all scorers with 25-points and he hauled in 14-rebounds while Seavers netted 22-points and grabbed a game-best 17-boards.

This combination overshadowed a “not so good” 29-of-71 shooting effort and led to a 41-36 rebounding edge in a game which had a total of 143 field goal attempts.

Tyler Winters added 12-points and Cameron Shaw added 10-points, including 8-of-10 free throws, 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter, as Hardin County secured the win, their ninth straight win at the event going back to 2013.

“We didn't shoot the ball well all night. I don't know how many bunnies we missed but it was a bunch,” said Coach Lane. “But we shot better than last night (an overtime win over Joppa) at least. I don't know how many turnovers we had early. I don't know if we just got tired in the second half or not.”

Dongola and head coach Kevin Cox got behind early, shooting poorly on the night as well, and fell to 1-1 in the event and overall.Six-foot-one senior Kyle Cox, the coaches' son, netted 22-points in the loss while Alex Zeschke tossed in 17.

While Hardin County struggled shooting the ball, including just 12-of-22 from the foul line, the Demons were unable to get to the charity stripe enough to make a dent in the Cougars' advantage.

Dongola was just 5-of-8 from the line, 2-of-12 from beyond that arc and overall 27-of-72 (37.5 percent).

The Demons started out cold and, despite heating up in the fourth quarter, never got back the lead after a rally tied the score at 54-all in the fourth quarter.

A 3-of-16 beginning from the field put Dongola behind early.

Hardin County took advantage of the situation by crashing the glass.

Coach Lane's club was just 6-of-19 from the field, but four of those scores were offensive rebounds by Seavers and Hudson.

Three consecutive scores by Seavers, the last two on rebounds, gave Hardin County an 8-4 lead with 3:11 remaining in the opening quarter.

Another Seavers put-back and then a drive by the junior forward turned into a conventional three-point play and a 15-6 lead.

“The Seavers kid is strong underneath the basket for them,” said Coach Cox. “We have to turn around and do this again tomorrow. I know the kids are down in the dumps but tomorrow we have to play better. We have to just play better all around.”

Zeschke scored five points in a frame and his shot in the lane in the final minute close the quarter at 15-8 Hardin.

Dongola made a brief move in the second quarter to get closer.

Cox, Zeschke and junior Jordan Thompson all scored to cut the Demons deficit to just 19-14.

However Hardin County, with Hudson doing damage inside, got the lead back to double-figures by intermission.

An 11-4 run with Hudson scoring twice inside and Seavers hitting the Cougars only 3-pointer of the night pushed the lead to 30-18.

Hudson added three more baskets.

His drive down the middle of the lane for a lay up with :04 left made it 37-25 at the break.

After struggling in the first half, Hardin County guard Tyler Winters got some shots to fall in the third quarter.

Winters got three field goals to fall and his three-point play while being fouled by Thompson increased the Cougars lead to 48-37.

The defending champs appeared to have put the Demons away, with Hudson and Winters both scoring late in the quarter to make it 53-39.

At this point in the contest, Dongola began to chip away and eventually evened the score.

Cox and Thompson both scored to close the frame and the Demons gave the Cougars a devil of a time in the early part of the fourth quarter.The two baskets triggered a 15-1 run.

Cox, Thompson and senior guard Caleb Theis all scored in the scoring sprint.

Thompson grabbed two consecutive long rebounds off of missed Cougars' shots and sprinted for fast break scores.

His second such basket evened the contest at 54 with 3:59 remaining.

“I think that is where the regional and sectional games last year helped us, going through tough games and many of these kids played a lot of minute in the postseason for us,” added Coach Lane. “We haven't shot the ball very well this week but it is a win and we will take it.”

At this point a lesser experienced team may have folded.

But the kids that Coach Lane had on the floor were all part of last season's regional championship club and they showed the composure that helped lead them to that title last season.

The Cougars turned right around and went on a run of their own and when Dongola was forced to foul, Shaw made them pay.

Rose, Winters and Hudson all scored on drives to the basket and Shaw nailed six-straight free throws to nail the door shut.

His final two with :02.5 left pushed the lead back to double-figures for the win.

While Hardin County didn't shoot the ball well, either (29-of-71, 40.8 percent) the rebounding edge and the ability to convert from the foul line allowed the Cougars to continue their championship quest.

Behind Seavers and Hudson, the Cougars won the boards' battle 41-36.

The clubs were even in the turnover department at 11-each.

Both teams jump right back into action on Wednesday night.

Dongola will play South Egyptian Conference rival Joppa at 5:30 pm.

“No matter what you do, you can't dig yourself out of that big of a hole and expect to win. We need to have a least four kids in double-digits in scoring or we aren't going to win games,” said Coach Cox. “My son Kyle and Alex Zeschke scored tonight but they are going to need some help if we are going to win games this season. We just won't be competitive at all.”

The battle for the tournament crown will be played at 7 pm.

Crab Orchard, also 2-0, and Hardin County will hook up.

The Cougars won the last two match ups with the Trojans in 2014-15; winning the Thanksgiving Tournament with a 74-70 win last November and a regional title win, 43-37 last February at Norris City-Omaha-Enfield.