Cass girls open season with road win; Eagles clipped at home

Londaisha Smith had 11 points and 10 steals in the Colonels season-opening win Friday at Walnut Grove.

The Class AAAAA 6th-ranked Cass girls basketball team opened the 2020-21 season Friday night with a convincing 74-41 win at Walnut Grove in Loganville.

Claire Davis paced the Colonels with 21 points. Makyera Baldwin followed with 14. Londaisha Smith posted 11 points and had 10 steals. Cass led 27-16 after one quarter and was up 42-23 at halftime. The Colonels extended their lead to 64-30 through three quarters. Ariana Hames scored six points for Cass. Haley Johnson, Gracie Elkins, and Mikaela Jackson contributed five points each. Justice Bennett finished with four points and Amaya Ford added three points. Dorothy Nealin led Walnut Grove (0-1) with 12 points.

Next for the Cass girls (1-0) is a home game against Allatoona Tuesday at 2 p.m.

HEARTS ACADEMY 71, EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 69

The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team opened its 2020-21 season Friday night at home and led much of the way before dropping a 71-69 decision to Hearts Academy. The Eagles, under new head coach David Archer, led 19-14 after one quarter and were ahead 41-37 at halftime. The visiting Panthers from Powder Springs rallied in the third period to outscore Excel 27-14 to take a 64-55 lead into the final eight minutes and held off the Eagles down the stretch to escape with a two-point win. Christian Moore led Hearts Academy (3-0) with 20 points. Christian Smith and Tim Ridge both had 15 points for the Panthers. Ian Ward added 11. Blake Bailey led the hosts and all scorers with 23 points. He had 15 points in the first half.

Kalil Holley posted 15 points for Excel. Rashard Doyle and Tripp Anderson finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. JaKaden Barkley added eight for the Eagles.

ECA (0-1) will look to bounce back Saturday at Paulding County in a 4 p.m. tip.

The Eagles will be back home Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to host Atlanta International.