Saturday high school hoops: Canes pound Jackets, Lady Colonels add region win
The Cartersville boys and Cass girls picked up victories Saturday in local high school basketball action.
The Canes earned a non-region win over Class AAA 8th-ranked Calhoun, while the Lady Colonels won their sixth Region 7-AAAAA game.
The Cartersville girls, who lost by a wide margin earlier in the season to 7th-ranked Calhoun, took a tight game deep into the final quarter before succumbing.
Meanwhile, the Colonels suffered a costly, Region 7-AAAAA loss at home on Saturday.
CASS GIRLS 55, PAULDING COUNTY 40
The Lady Colonels led 17-6 after one quarter and 26-15 at halftime on their way to a home, Region 7-AAAAA win over Paulding County.
Cass led by 19 after three quarters and held on for a 15-point victory.
Payton Stoddard led the Lady Colonels with 15 points and Jana Morning also reached double figures with 13 points. Kyla Michienzi and Chanel Clemmons added nine points each. Kyler Trouten contributed five points. Lyric Curtis added three points and Damia Simpson one.
The Lady Patriots slipped to 4-15 overall and 2-8 in region play.
Cass improved to 12-4 overall and 6-3 in region games.
No. 7 CALHOUN GIRLS 63, CARTERSVILLE 55
The Lady Canes battled Calhoun, the 7th-ranked girls team in Class AAA, deep into the fourth quarter Saturday at the Storm Center but came up short in an eight point loss.
The game was tied 27-27 at halftime with the visiting Lady Jackets taking a 42-39 lead after three periods. Calhoun did stretch its lead to as many as ten in the final quarter.
Jana Johns scored a game-high 23 points for Calhoun and Cassie Henderson added 19.
Madison McKinney led Cartersville with 12 points, followed by Kimora McClinic with 11, Camila Rodriguez 10, and Indian Reid with nine.
Calhoun improved to 15-3 on the season with the win.
Cartersville (6-9) hosts Troup Tuesday and Cedartown Friday in a Region 5-AAAA tilts.
CARTERSVILLE 79, No. 8 CALHOUN 49
The Purple Hurricanes routed the Class AAA 8th-ranked Yellow Jackets Saturday at the Storm Center, 79-49.
Cartersville led 19-13 after one quarter and 37-22 by halftime. The Canes extended their lead to 26 after three periods before winning by 30.
Jaylon Pugh scored 18 points to lead Cartersville. He was followed by JKobe Orr with 10, Jacorey Johns and Trase Fezzia with nine each, Daunta Bryan with eight points, and Isaac Gridley with seven.
Calhoun, who played without leading scorer Chapin Rierson, is now 12-3 on the season.
Cartersville (11-3) hosts Troup Tuesday and Cedartown Friday at the Storm Center.
PAULDING COUNTY BOYS 57, CASS 56
After trailing by 15 points in the second half, Cass rallied to take a late lead but the visiting Patriots won on a buzzer-beater, 57-56.
Cass played without C.J. Bennett and Steven Spell who were banged up after Friday’s game with Villa Rica.
Mark Chester led Cass with 15 points. Ashton Burley scored 13 and Jake Collum 12 for the Colonels in the Region 7-AAAAA loss.
Paulding County improved to 6-12 overall and 4-5 in region play.
Cass (12-5, 7-2) plays at East Paulding Tuesday and travels to region-leading Kell on Friday.
CORNERSTONE PREP ACADEMY BOYS 63, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 37
The Excel Christian Academy boys’ basketball team lost at Cornerstone Prep Academy Saturday, 63-37, in Acworth.
Cornerstone held leads of 15-10 after one quarter and 34-22 at halftime, but sealed the outcome by outscoring the Eagles 20-2 in the third period.
Romain Gaskin and William Norman led Cornerstone Prep with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Excel was led by Jacob Murray with 11 points and Taylor McDaniel with seven.
Cornerstone improved to 7-9 with the win.
Excel (0-10) plays at Christian Heritage in Dalton on Tuesday.
