Hornets taken out by fiesty Cougars

The third time wasn’t the charm for Orange County Saturday night at the Siegel Center in Richmond. Despite a third-quarter comeback, Courtland was able to pull away from the Hornets in the fourth for an 82-65 victory.

The win, the Cougars’ third of the season over Orange, puts Courtland in the Group AA, Division 4 state semifinals Tuesday night at the Siegel Center. Courtland will play the winner of the quarterfinal game between Tabb and Charlottesville. Orange ended its season with a16-12 record.

Like it had most of the season, Orange’s athletic duo of Quintin Hunter and D.J. Brown led the Hornets in scoring. Hunter, who will play football at the University of Virginia next fall, scored 26 points and Brown, who signed on to play baseball at James Madison next year, hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 22 points.

But neither Orange star could do enough to make up for the performance of Courtland’s Josh Hairston. The Duke-bound junior scored a game-high 34 points, including 11 of 15 from the free throw line.

Courtland jumped out to a solid lead to open the game and led 17-8 at the end of one quarter and held a 39-28 lead at the half. But the Hornets outscored Courtland in the third period and cut the lead to just six points, 57-51, by the end of the third.

But Courtland regained control in the fourth and cruised to the victory.