By David Grindstaff
david@wkyk.com
yanceysports.com
Cougar JV Improves To 5-3 Overall—1-0 WHC
Everything is coming together for the Heritage JV boys basketball team which won its all important opening game in the Western Highlands Conference wars and improved to 5-3 overall with wins over Hendersonville and non-conference Enka.
The Cougars had to dig deep to pick up a win over visiting Enka, playing without point guard and team captain Gray McCurry who was out of the lineup with the flu.
A total team effort allowed the Cougars to run past the Jets 58-25, using an overpowering defense and a strong inside game on offense to pull away in the second half after leading by nine points at the break.  Brennan Hockaday led the Cougar scoring with 13 points followed by Jared Sellers with 12, Nick Chandler with 9, and Colton Garland with 6.
Jared Sellers grabbed 8 of the Cougars 27 rebounds while Ethan Ray, Bryson Cooper and Job Kennedy all had strong performances on the glass with 4 rebounds apiece.
Luke Antinori did a bang-up job at the point with three assist while Brennan Hockaday dealt two assists and Ethan Ray, Andrew Hall, Nick Chandler and Colton Garland all contributed an assists each to the offensive output.
Ethan Ray, Brennan Hockaday and Colton Garland were very active on the defensive end of the court and each came away with three steals while Nick Chandler and Jared Sellers had two takeaways each in the non-conference win.
With three blocked shots Ethan Ray paced the team in swats as Jared Sellers and Job Kennedy combined to block four more0 Jet shots.
The Cougars have had to play a lot of players this season with at least one starter out in half of their games so far. Playing without starter Andrew Hall, the Cougars pounced on the visiting Hendersonville Bearcats early in Friday night’s WHC opener, constructing an 11 point lead in the first quarter allowing them to cruise after the opening stanza to a 59-36 win.
Box Score vs Hendersonville
 BRENNAN HOCKADAY—15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
JOB KENNEDY –14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots
GRAY MCCURRY –9 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals
COLTON GARLAND –9 points
JARED SELLERS 4—points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots
ETHAN RAY 3—points , 2 assists, 4 steals
LUKE ANTINORI 3—points
NICK CHANDLER 1—point,
BRYSON COOPER—1 point, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
The team will be back in action Thursday for a WHC match-up with Polk County