A slow start doomed Todd County Central in its matchup with visiting Cumberland County on Tuesday night, with a Rebel comeback bid falling just short in a 63-60 loss to the Panthers. The Rebels see a two-game winning run halted ahead of a 13th-District meeting with Franklin-Simpson on Friday, while the win snaps a four-game skid for Cumberland County.
Dominique Morrow scored 4 of the Rebels’ 12 first-quarter points, but got little help on the offensive end and they were doubled-up 24-12 after one.
In the second, Austin Rager picked up the scoring slack for the Rebels with 7, and they outscored the Panthers 15-12 to trim the halftime margin to 9 at 36-27.
Todd County Central continued to claw its way back in the third behind 8 more points for Morrow, and the Rebels were within 3 with a quarter to play.
Rager led the Rebel charge in the fourth with 7 points, with Deonte Toliver chipping in 5, but the teams tied 15-15 over the final eight minutes for the narrow Panthers victory.
Rager led Todd County with 18 points, joined in double figures by Morrow with 15 and Toliver with 11. The Rebels shot well from the free throw line, finishing 26-32 for 81%. Both Toliver and Rager enjoyed perfect nights from the charity stripe, going 9-9 and 8-8, respectively.
