8th-ranked Cass boys start season with road win; Cartersville girls narrowly defeated

Zaylan Chaney (shown in a game last season) paced the Colonels with 24 points in their win at Woodstock.

The Class AAAAA 8th-ranked Cass boys basketball team started its 2020-21 campaign Saturday with a 73-56 win at the Woodstock Wolverines of Region 5-AAAAAAA. The Colonels led 21-16 after a fast paced first quarter and held a 37-29 advantage at the intermission. The two teams matched the other’s 14 points in the third quarter for a 51-43 score before Cass eased away down the stretch for a 17-point victory. Zaylan Chaney led Cass in the scoring column with 24 points. Braxton Benham followed with 21 points, including a 9-for-9 performance at the charity stripe. C.J. Pipkin tallied nine points for the Colonels. Ethan McIntyre and Jelani Hames contributed six points each. Tyler Martin finished with four points and Jackson Hale added three.

Woodstock (0-1) was led by Ezekiel Pettway with 28 points including four shots from beyond the three-point arc.

Cass (1-0) plays Class AAAAAA 6th-ranked Allatoona Monday at 12:30 p.m. in the Woodstock Thanksgiving Tournament.

ARMUCHEE 40, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 38

The Lady Canes took a 32-25 lead to the final eight minutes Saturday at Armuchee, but the host Lady Indians outscored the Cartersville girls 15-6 in the fourth quarter for a two-point win in both teams’ season opener. Cartersville got back into the game with a strong defensive performance in the third quarter. The Hurricanes limited Armuchee to only one point in the period. Armuchee led 17-12 after the opening quarter and were ahead 24-21 at halftime.

Julia Williams paced the Indians with 11 points. Jaslyn Edwards and Chloe Purdy added eight and seven points, respectively, for the hosts. Lehla Thomas led Cartersville with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jamiya Moore totaled nine points. Kierra Milline had six. Lexie Henderson contributed three points, while Sequoya McConnell and Ansley Griffen added two points apiece for the Canes.

Cartersville (0-1) hosts Sonoraville Tuesday at 6 p.m. at The Storm Center.

PAULDING COUNTY 91, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY BOYS 67

The Excel boys lost at Class AAAAAA Paulding County Saturday 91-67 in a non-region game. Paulding County, who fell by one point to Hiram Friday night, improved to 1-1. The Eagles (0-2) host Atlanta International Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

MODEL 48, WOODLAND GIRLS 28 The Woodland girls were locked in a tie with Model at halftime, but the Blue Devils dominated the second half on their way to a 48-28 win over the Wildcats Saturday at the Armuchee Thanksgiving tournament. Jordan Thompson led Woodland with 11 points. Abigail Taylor scored nine.

The Wildcats play Adairsville Monday in the tournament.