02/21/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELIZABETHTOWN – The phrase “sharing is caring” doesn't apply when it comes to conference championships.

That is true in the Greater Egyptian Conference.

No one wants to split up the championship pie.

Hardin County needed to win its game over Crab Orchard on Friday night to take home the league title and not have to share the top spot with the Trojans.

There was a four-way tie for the title in 2023-24 and a Trojans' triumph would have put each of the teams at 6-1 and the two Friday night combatants would have had to share the honors.

Coach Rodney Lane's Cougars, however, were having none of that in the conference finale.

Hardin County broke free from a 12-12 first quarter tie and held off Crab Orchard late in the contest to win the conference title, 65-53 in front of the home folks at Oxford Gym.

The win improved the Cougars to 16-10 overall and an unblemished 7-0 in the conference standings.

Six-foot junior Landon Fricker paced Hardin County with 21-points in the victory.

Nate Massie also came up big for the Cougars with 16-points and nine-rebounds.

Two other Hardin County standouts; 6-2 sophomore Bryden Banks and 6-foot junior Caden Heberer added 14 and 10-points respectively.

Coach Lane also got minutes from 5-9 junior Christian Winters who added four-points in the win.

“Massie has had some big games for us and Fricker always comes through when it counts,” said Coach Lane. “They will only get better.”

The Cougars out-gunned Crab Orchard 37-24 in the middle two quarters to take control and led by as many as 16 during that stretch and held off Coach Jon Brown's club.

The Trojans saw their mark slip to 5-2 in the league, 20-7 overall.

Five-eleven freshman Fisher Watts scored all 18 of his points from long range, canning six 3-pointers in the game, to lead Crab Orchard.

Senior Carter Watts finished with 14 on the night and senior Cameron Clark pitched in 10.

Six-foot senior Rylan Brotherton added six-points for Crab Orchard and sophomore Noah Kennedy (three) and senior Cameron Dawes (two) rounded out the Trojans' offense.

The Cougars jumped out to an early lead but Crab Orchard rallied to even things at the end of the first frame.

Banks and Fricker each hit 3-pointers during a 12-3 beginning for Hardin County.

But a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer from Kennedy and three baskets by Carter Watts evened the score.

Massie scored eight of his points in the second quarter for Hardin County, all on the inside by getting to the basket.

His third score in the lane was part of the conventional three-point play while being fouled by Brotherton.

The made free throw made it 21-15 Hardin County with 4:38 left in the half.

Massie also dished out a couple of nice assists during the second quarter run, feeding both Winters and Banks on cuts to the basket for scores.

Three-consecutive baskets, two by Fricker, closed the half.

In between the inside driving scores by Fricker, Heberer converted a fast break off of the Crab Orchard turnover as the Cougars went to the locker room up 34-24.

Hardin County took advantage of 11 first half turnovers by the Trojans to take control.

(CONTINUED)

A 9-2 run to open the third quarter gave the Cougars its largest spread.

Banks converted on a three-point play an then canned a 3-pointer from the top of the circle.

Carter Watts scored six of his points in the third quarter to help keep Crab Orchard from being blown out.

Clark and Dawes also scored points in the quarter and Watts added a drive for a score to close the frame with Crab Orchard down 49-36 heading to the final eight minutes.

Despite getting some long range shots to fall in the fourth quarter, the Trojans never cut the deficit under 10 in the final stanza.

Fricker scored three more times on drives to the basket while Massie delivered another assist on a fast break as the Cougars beat the Crab Orchard press for a score by Heberer, which turned into a three-point play after being fouled.

The made free throw with 2:00 remaining pushed the score to 63-48 Hardin County.

In the fourth quarter Coach Lane's club nailed down 8-of-10 foul shots, with Fricker hitting 4-of-4, to close out the championship clinching victory.

“Overall we did what we had to do. This bunch never quits,” said Coach Lane. “We're still a young team and we don't have any senior leadership. We played most of the game with juniors and a sophomore. It's great the be 7-0 and I feel good about our team.”

The Cougars ended up 24-of-52 from the field overall, 3-of-12 from the 3-point line and held a slight 30-29 rebounding edge.

One key factor was keeping Crab Orchard from getting second chances in the middle two quarters when the Cougars pulled away.

The Trojans missed 14 shot attempts in the second and third frames but gathered only one offensive rebound during that stretch.

“The thing you got to do against them (Crab Orchard) is you have to slow them down and keep them off of the offensive boards,” said Coach Lane. “Those are the things that they do really well and we took those things away from them tonight.”

Coach Jon Brown's club hit just 18-of-49 shots overall with half of the made attempts coming from the 3-point line (9-of-28).

“What I'm most proud of is this team playing tough teams, especially early in the season,” said Coach Lane, talking about his difficult schedule with the Goreville Tournament, and 2A teams Harrisburg and Massac County. “A lot of years it is after the conference tournament before we get back to a .500 record. The kids keep fighting and getting better. They go out and compete. And now we're 16-10 and conference champs.”