The CAM Cougars fought like crazy all night but came up short to Martensdale-St. Marys 69-61 in the Class 1A District 14 Final in Stuart on Thursday. CAM fell behind at the end of the first 22-14, and were down by 12 early in the second period. The Cougars clawed their way back in with a 14-0 run to grab a momentary lead before Martensdale grabbed a one point edge at half 31-30. It was a two point game by the end of the third and then the Blue Devils outscored the Cougars 24-18 in the fourth to grab the win.

CAM hit six threes in the opening half, taking advantage of some open looks, but they would only hit three more the rest of the game and two of those came from Ethan Arp late as the Cougars tried to get back in it. CAM worked hard against a much larger Blue Devils squad and Coach Nick Hodges was proud of the way they played.

It was another balanced scoring output for the Cougars with 4 players finishing in double-figures. Nathan Hensley finished with 14, Ben Tibken 13, Jacob Holste 11, and Ethan Arp 10. The Cougars finished the season with a 19-5 record and lose some important seniors. Coach Hodges said they’ve been a great group.

Martensdale-St. Marys also had four double-figure scorers on the night with Jack Franey leading the team with 21. Isaac Gavin had 17, Hogan Franey 16, and Trey Baker added 12. The Blue Devils improved to 22-3 and will move on to the 1A Substate 7 Final on Saturday night against Mount Ayr in Creston at 7:00 p.m.