Although they both came into the game with a record of 3-2, Harding and Chaney both have had success during the early part of the season.

Harding started the season 3-0 before dropping the next two games. On the other side, Chaney won their first two games before losing their next two contests, and rebounded on Tuesday evening against Howland.

When the dust settled at Chaney High School, the Cowboys walked away with a gritty 50-47 victory over the visiting Raiders.

Chaney coach Marlon McGaughy felt that either team could have won.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Chaney’s Sharrod Taylor, center, corrals the ball before being fouled by a pair of Harding defenders during the final few possessions of the game.

“It was a hard-fought game by both teams,” he said “I know a lot of kids over there (Harding), and kinda feel sorry for them.

“It’s a game were neither team should have lost, but we played hard as we could play.”

The Cowboys (4-2) led throughout much of the first half and held a 16-9 lead late in the second quarter. Harding didn’t score in the second frame until Aston Bates made a layup with 2:38 left in the quarter. That began a 10-3 run for Harding, who tied the game at 19 heading into halftime.

The game was tied at 46 with 24.9 seconds left in the contest, but Chaney junior Sharrod Taylor came up clutch by making a pair of free throws to give his team a 48-46 lead. He also nailed another pair of three throws on the next Chaney possession to make it 50-47 with 4 seconds left.

Taylor and the Cowboys weren’t fazed by the pressure Harding was putting on them and were focused on not letting Harding regain the lead in the closing final possessions.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Chaney’s Travis Easterly prepares to shoot a free throw.

“Adversity is something you always face, especially in life,” Taylor said. “I nailed the free throws, very confident in my shot, but the defense was most important.”

Harding (3-3) would fail to tie the game in the closing moments, and Raiders coach Keelyn Franklin talked to his team about the ebb and flow of basketball after the loss.

“We kinda have to develop more of a dog mentality.” he said “What I mean by that is, when we get that seven or eight point lead, we can’t celebrate as if we’re just going to pull away because we have the momentum.”

The Raiders are in the midst of a three-game skid, and Franklin feels that hard work is key to finding a win.

“Just continue to grind it out,” Franklin said. “I told the guys, I think out of three losses, they were a combined nine points.

“So, we could easily be 5-1 or 6-0, so we’re not going to get down on ourself, it’s six games in, and it’s all about preparing for the tournament run.”

Cameron Lawrence would chalk up 14 points for Chaney, and he credited teamwork after the win.

“No individual play today,” he said. “We all played as a team. We all picked each other up, so that’s what we’ve been trying to work on and it showed a lot tonight.

“We all came together at the end and we executed.”

D’Muntize Owens had a game-high 16 points for Harding, and Chris Williams followed behind him with eight.

McGaughy wants his team to keep going with the flow.

“Just keep fighting, just keep doing what we do, and getting better each and every game,” he said.