Colonels knock off 9th-ranked Blessed Trinity; Cass girls remain undefeated

Zaylan Chaney scored five of his 21 points in the overtime periods Tuesday night as the Colonels beat 9th-ranked Blessed Trinity, 83-78 in double-overtime.

The Cass boys opened Region 7-AAAAA play Tuesday night at home in thrilling fashion and knocked off 9th-ranked Blessed Trinity in double overtime, 83-78. The Colonels trailed much of the night, but rallied in the fourth quarter to send the game into an extra session and outlasted the Titans in the second overtime for a five-point win.

Blessed Trinity led 21-18 after one quarter and held a 42-37 lead at halftime. Cass narrowed the margin to 51-46 heading into the fourth quarter and caught the Titans at 65-65 at the end of regulation.

C.J. Pipkin scored nine of his 26 points in the overtime periods to lead the Colonels. Braxton Benham followed with 22 points. Zaylan Chaney posted five of his 21 points in the extra periods and Andrew Glaze finished with 11 points for Cass. Blessed Trinity (9-4, 0-1) got 27 points from senior point guard Jax Bouknight. Fellow senior Jonathan Franchi scored 26 points for the Titans.

Cass (9-4, 1-0) plays next in a non-region game at Class AAA 8th-ranked Cherokee Bluff Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Colonels next region game is next Tuesday when they host Cartersville.

LADY COLONELS IMPROVE TO 13-0 WITH FIRST REGION WIN

Haley Johnson paced Cass with 15 points, five steals, and five assists Tuesday night in their 65-49 win over visiting Blessed Trinity.

The Cass girls basketball team played without their junior pre-season, all-state guard/forward Claire Davis Tuesday night in their Region 7-AAAAA opener and used a big third quarter performance to defeat visiting Blessed Trinity, 65-49. Cass held narrow leads of 10-8 after one quarter and 25-20 at halftime, before outscoring the Lady Titans 28-9 in the third quarter to carry a 53-29 lead into the final quarter. Haley Johnson led the Lady Colonels’ scoring with 15 points. She also finished with five steals and five assists. Londaisha Smith followed with 14 points and six steals. Mikaela Jackson was next with nine points. Keara McDaniel scored seven for Cass. Justice Bennett and Gracie Elkins contributed six points apiece. Ariana Hames and Makyera Baldwin tossed in three each and Amaya Ford added two points. The loss dropped Blessed Trinity to 2-9 on the season and 0-1 in region play. Cass head coach Burt Jackson said after the game he expects Davis to return to the lineup Saturday when the Lady Colonels (13-0, 1-0) play a non-region game at Cherokee Bluff in Flowery Branch at 4 p.m.