Hot-shooting Cougras powers Poland

Barrage of 3-pointers powers Bulldogs

By MIKE McLAIN

sports@vindy.com

POLAND

If Michael Cougras had been bowling, he probably would have rolled a 300.

Put a few darts in his right hand, and he would have undoubtedly nailed several bullseyes.

The junior listened to the advice of Poland Bulldogs coach Ken Grisdale and wasn’t shy about putting up long-distance shots. Better yet for the Bulldogs, Cougras made seven 3-pointers, including four in a 14-point fourth quarter, in Poland’s 61-42 Northeast 8 win over the South Range Raiders Tuesday night.

“I have to give credit to my teammates,” said Cougras, who scored a game-high 25 points. “They were giving me the ball when I was open, and I was able to knock down open shots.”

Grisdale knows that opposing coaches will focus on seniors Daniel Kramer and Braeden O’Shaughnessy, the latter who recently became the eighth Poland player to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career. With ball movement to the open players, the opportunity will be there for others to contribute.

“We shoot the ball a ton,” Grisdale said. “They have to relax. Those are some young kids that haven’t been in varsity situations. They’re going to get shots. They have to hit shots. Mike hit a couple and he felt good about himself. I think it relaxed some other guys. Braeden especially doesn’t have to do as much.”

The scoring of Cougras and O’Shaughnessy in the second half powered the Bulldogs to a 46-27 advantage. It was quite different from the first half, when both teams managed just 15 points each.

The Raiders (3-2 and 0-2 in the conference) struggled throughout on the offensive end. Their shooting was erratic, and it seemed as if most of the 50/50 balls went to the hustling Bulldogs, who are 3-1 and 1-0 in the conference.

“They were knocking a lot of balls loose, and they were getting those loose balls,” Raiders coach John Cullen said. “And they extended a lot of possessions with rebounds. They just out-hustled us.”

South Range remained within striking distance through three quarters, trailing 36-31. The Raiders closed the gap to 36-32 on one foul shot by Jaxon Anderson, but O’Shaughnessy, who finished with 20 points, made one of his three 3-pointers. The basket began a run of seven points by the Bulldogs, capped by a 3-pointer by Cougras.

“I always have confidence every time I’m shooting, no matter how many I miss,” Cougras said. “Just keep confident, and that’s how they’re going to fall.”

Cougras wouldn’t have had the opportunity for a big scoring night if not for the ability of his teammates to find him in the open.

“We tried to spread them,” Grisdale said. “I thought Zach and Adam Kassem both did a good job of penetrating and kicking those 3s. That’s what opened it up for Michael.”

Anderson led the Raiders in scoring with 19 points. Chris Brooks finished with 11 points.