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Published Friday, December 19, 2008 in Sports

Cougars win fifth straight

By Tommy Camp

The Newnan Times-Herald

Russell Powell scored a season-high 22 points, 20 of them in the second half, as the Newnan Cougars won their fifth straight basketball game without a loss, beating Kell at home Friday night, 58-55.

The Lady Cougars lost their game, 48-34.

Even in winning, It was a frustrating night of sorts for the Cougars.

Every time Newnan appeared to be putting some daylight between themselves and the Longhorns, Kell would knock down a couple of three-pointers and get right back on the Cougars heels.

Newnan didn't nail it down until Alan Bonner sank two free throws with 20 seconds to play to make it a five-point contest.

"Mentally we just weren't where we needed to be tonight," said Newnan coach Harold Goodman whose team was playing its third game in the last five days.

"We were able to adjust at halftime and stepped it up some in the second half.

"We played smarter defense in the third and fourth quarters than we did in the first half. That's what saved us tonight."

The Cougars trailed 28-26 at halftime, only the second time they have been behind at intermission all year, "and there were some long faces in the dressing room," Goodman said.

"They knew they hadn't come in with the right attitude."

But Powell scored the first two baskets of the half and Larry Herndon added a two-pointer sandwiched around a Kell bucket and Newnan led, 33-30.

Bryant Stewart, a thorn in the Cougars' flesh all night, tied it for the last time at 33 before Bonner and Powell gave Newnan a 40-37 lead heading into the final quarter.

Kell cut the lead to one, 40-39, in the first 20 seconds of the fourth stanza, but got no closer.

Newnan was up 56-51 with under a minute to play, but missed three straight free throws that would have pretty much iced it away.

Kell's Sean Morgan made it interesting by draining a jumper to cut Newnan's lead to 56-53 with 22 clicks left.

The Longhorns called a quick timeout, and when play resumed they fouled Bonner with 20 seconds to play.

He hit both to make it a five point contest which was shaved to three when Kell's Stewart scored with five seconds left.

Powell led all scorers with his 22, a team and personal best for him this year.

His previous high had been 19 against Stone Mountain on Thursday.

Alec Ogletree had 10 for Newnan and Bonner and Zander Ogletree scored six each.

Stewart scored 19 for Kell, which dipped to 5-5 with the loss, while Morgan finished with 10.

Stewart and Morgan were the only two Longhorns to shoot free throws all night long, Morgan sinking two of four and Stewart five of nine.

In the girls' game, Ashley Montgomery's long basket at the third quarter horn cut Kell's lead to 29-27 heading into the final quarter.

But the Lady Cougars couldn't stop Kell's Brooke Weniger who scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the last eight minutes to key her team's win.

The Newnan girls were very much in this one until the final period when Kell pulled away.

The Kell girls, now 2-8 on the season, led 8-4 after one quarter, 17-16 at halftime and 29-27 after three.

Montgomery paced Newnan, 0-7, with 15 points, the best scoring night for a Lady Cougar this year.

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