Hurricanes rally in state tourney opener to reach Sweet Sixteen

The Cartersville boys outscored Madison County 22-10 in the final quarter, including a 12-2 run to end the game, to finish off a 59-57 come-from-behind victory Friday night in the opening round of the Class 4A State Tournament at The Storm Center. The Canes trailed until the final 8.8 seconds of the second half.

The visiting Red Raiders led 15-10 after one quarter, 29-23 at the intermission, and 47-37 heading into the final period.

Isaac Gridley (photo) paced the Canes with 17 points. Perignon Dyer followed with 14. Amarai Orr and Kolbe Benham also finished in double figures with 10 points each. Marquail Coaxum scored six point and Micah Tart added two.

Adam Metts led Madison County with 15 points, but was held scoreless in the decisive fourth quarter. Dylan Carey and Traveon Latimore added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Red Raiders who finished the year with a 9-17 record.

Cartersville (16-13) advances to the Class 4A Sweet Sixteen where the Hurricanes will either travel to Southeast Whitfield or host West Hall. Those two teams meet in a first round game Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Dalton.