Prior to the start of South Junior High’s ninth-grade boys basketball game against Kansas City Ward Wednesday night, Cougars coach Scott Petry barked at his team for lack of focus during pregame drills.

It took three quarters, but his team got the message, and the Cougars rallied from a five point fourth quarter deficit to win the game, 46-43.

Cougars guard Marcus Ray scored seven of his nine points in the final period, including a three-pointer to tie the game at 36 with six minutes to play.

“I felt like that if we were close enough and we came out with a lot of heart, we’d come back and win,” Ray said.

Until the fourth quarter, Ray misfired on all but one of his shots from the floor. But he wasn’t about to quit shooting the basketball.

“Coach said just keep shooting, and when I was open I just shot the ball,” Ray said.

Shooting the basketball is something Petry has tried to encourage his team to do more of throughout this season.

“They are so tentative,” Petry said. “I told them to shoot the ball. You can’t win if you don’t score. And you can’t score if you don’t shoot the ball.”

In the first half, the Cougars (2-5) were turning down a lot of open shots for additional passes that resulted in turnovers. But in the second half, the Cougars shot the ball seemingly at will.

Facing a 2-3 zone defense, the Cougars found openings on the perimeter, and guard Michael McCabe hit a three to give the Cougars a 25-24 lead.

The Cougars continued shooting from the outside, and often times on the shots they missed, post players Cornelius Edwards and Dimitri Melton controlled the backboards and scored on easy put-backs.

Melton led the Cougars with 10 points, and Edwards led the team with 11 rebounds. But during the fourth quarter with Melton resting on the bench, Edwards knew he had to pick up his game.

“I just wanted to go out there and make sure I did everything right and not making any mistakes,” Edwards said.

Earlier in the game, Edwards drew some unkind words from Petry for not fronting his man defensively. But making mistakes was something Edwards did little of in the final quarter.

With under a minute to play, and his team clinging to a 45-43 lead, Edwards’ intensity level rose. and he controlled the game defensively.

Three times in the final 30 seconds Edwards swatted away or deflected three Bishop Ward passes that disrupted their offense.

With 11 seconds to play, Ward shot missed, and Ray came down with the rebound and was fouled, sending him to the line for a one-and-one. Ray missed the first shot, and Ward grabbed the rebound and called timeout, setting the game up for a wild finish.

With momentum on Ward’s side, it seemed the Cougars might once again fall just short of winning the game. But the Cougars’ defensive pressure caused Bishop Ward to travel with the basketball, turning the ball back over to South.

With 1.3 seconds to play and momentum back on their side, McCabe stood at the foul line in position to give the Cougars a four-point lead by hitting two free throws.

McCabe made the first but missed the second attempt. Ward grabbed the rebound but was unable to throw up desperation shot and the Cougars escaped with their second win of the season.

The win had both players and coaches looking forward to the Warhawk Invitational, which was only a few weeks away.

“Our goal is to do well in the Warhawk Tournament,” Petry said. “That’s what we’re working for today. We don’t really have a win goal. We want to win the Warhawk.”