Defense, big fourth quarter lift Newton County over West Lauderdale

Published 8:04 am Monday, February 2, 2026

By Brandon Shields

Strong defense and a big fourth quarter helped Newton County take the win over West Lauderdale on Friday. Photo by Brandon Shields

COLLINSVILLE — Newton County has been relying on defense.

That came up big when it needed as the Cougars used defense in the fourth quarter to get past West Lauderdale 56-34 in a key Region 5-4A matchup on Friday night.

“We’ve been beating down the door the past few games against some really good teams in 4A and just kept telling the kids to show up and every day and compete and good things will happen,” said Newton County coach Chance Young. “Eventually the games we’ve been losing will turn into wins and that was the case tonight. Proud of the guys for defending really well and making good decisions.”

It was a back-and-forth opening quarter that saw Newton County hold a slim 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter the Cougars used defense and winning the rebounding department as Newton County outscored the Knights 12-5 to take a 25-15 halftime lead.

In the third quarter every time West Lauderdale cut into the Newton County lead the Cougars had an answer. The Knights cut lead down to four at two different times in the quarter, but Newton County answered with a lay-up. The Cougars held a 37-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was the difference. Newton County outscored West Lauderdale 19-6 in the quarter that was highlighted by a 9-2 run to begin the quarter and a 10-4 run to end the game.

Brayson Jefferson had a game-high 16 points to lead lead Newton County, while Jayce Beal and Lorenzoe Gardner each added 14 points for the Cougars (8-11, 2-5 Region 5-4A).

“From start to finish I felt like that was a complete performance that we’ve had. We’re a very young team and it’s good to see them grow up. That was a big win,” Young said. “We’ve been preaching defense lately and that’s what we do. We’re going to defend and rebound and offense will come along. Down the stretch we took care of business and holding them to six points in the fourth quarter was huge.”

Kohen Peoples had eight points to lead West Lauderdale (14-8, 2-4).

“They came in and did great job of executing both offensively and defensively. They outworked us tonight,” said West Lauderdale coach Jeremy Bowen. “Give them credit. They wanted it more than we did. We got to recognize our weaknesses, get ready to work, and finish the regular season on a high note.”