Cass boys reach tourney finals; Lady Colonels improve to 10-0
The Cass boys put together one of their best defensive efforts of the year Tuesday night in the semifinals and advanced to the championship game of the Campbell Holiday Classic with a 66-35 win over Hiram. The matchup of Region 7-AAAAA teams will not count in the region standings, but was the first of at least three matchups between the teams in the 2020-21 season. The two clubs will have regular season, home-and-home games and could even potentially meet a fourth time in the region tournament at the end of the season.
The Colonels were fast out of the gate Tuesday and took a 24-9 lead after the first eight minutes. Cass held a 35-21 lead at halftime and carried a 53-29 advantage to the final quarter. “On a night when we didn’t shoot it very well, the guys did a fantastic job of defending and blocking out,” said a pleased Sean Glaze after the game. “Braxton (Benham) was tremendous in taking care of the ball and getting us into the flow of our offense.” Benham did more than that. The 6-foot senior guard poured in 26 points and had three steals to help lead the Colonels. Benham made four three-pointers in accumulating the game-high total. Zaylan Chaney contributed 14 points and had 11 rebounds for a double-double while C.J. Pipkin added 10 points with five rebounds. Rounding out the Cass scoring were Ethan McIntyre with six points. Andrew Glaze finished with five. Jackson Hale had three and Sacovie White added two for the Colonels.
Jayden Clark led the Hornets (5-4) with 14 points. Cass (7-4) will play in the tournament championship game Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. against the Campbell/Brito-Miami (FL) winner.
CASS GIRLS 72, GORDON CENTRAL 26
The Cass girls won their tenth straight game to open the 2020-21 season Tuesday afternoon by routing Gordon Central 72-26 in the opening round of the Adairsville Ace Christmas Clash.
The Lady Colonels led 20-9 after one quarter; 39-18 at halftime; and were up 65-24 through three quarters on their way to a comfortable 46-point win.
Londaisha Smith led Cass with 13 points. She was followed by Claire Davis and Gracie Elkins with 12 each. Zion Hayes, Haley Johnson, and Justice Bennett finished with seven points apiece. Ariana Hames and Makyera Baldwin tossed in four each. Amaya Ford and Tatianna Christian contributed three points apiece and Keara McDaniel added one for the Lady Colonels.
Brooke Wilson led Gordon Central (1-4) with 13 points. Tayla Gunn scored eight for the Lady Warriors. Cass (10-0) advances to the tournament semifinals Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Kennesaw Mountain. The Lady Mustangs (6-2) defeated host Adairsville Tuesday night, 53-40, in overtime.
