Friday hoops: Canes stay perfect, down Red Devils to reach holiday tourney finals

December 20, 2025

Kyron McClendon scored 23 points Friday night in the Hurricanes' 72-58 semifinal win over Bowdon at the SMI Carrollton Holiday Tournament.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes remained unbeaten on the season with a 72-58 victory over the Bowdon Red Devils on Friday night in the semifinals of the SMI Carrollton Christmas Tournament, played at Villa Rica High School.

Cartersville (7-0) took control in the middle two periods to pull away and never looked back, advancing to Saturday night’s championship game.

The Purple Hurricanes led 15-8 after a low-scoring first period before exploding for 21 points in the second quarter and 24 more in the third period to take leads of 36-29 at the intermission and 60-48 at the end of the third. They closed strong to seal the win.

Kyron McClendon led a quintet of Canes scorers with 23 points, knocking down six three-pointers and grabbing three rebounds with two assists. Xavier Lowe added 18 points, Nas Bennett chipped in 11 with seven boards and three assists, Wyatt Thomason scored 10 with eight rebounds, and Shakai Taylor contributed nine points and six boards.

Bowdon (5-2) got a game-high 24 points from Zayland Allen, but the Red Devils could not overcome Cartersville’s hot shooting and defensive pressure in the middle quarters.

The Purple Hurricanes will now face the Central-Carroll Lions in the SMI Carrollton Christmas Tournament championship game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. at Central-Carroll High School.

Cartersville will return to action the following weekend when they travel to the Adairsville Christmas Classic to take on Calhoun on Saturday, December 27, at 5:30 p.m.

ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 38, CHATTOOGA 27

The Adairsville Lady Tigers used a strong defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack to defeat the Chattooga Lady Indians 38-27 on Friday night.

Chattooga (5-3) struggled offensively in the early going, managing just 3 points in a lopsided first quarter as Adairsville jumped out to a 14-3 lead. The Lady Tigers extended their advantage to 19-10 at halftime before Chattooga made a push in the third quarter, taking a 22-21 lead. Adairsville responded with a 17-5 fourth-quarter surge to pull away for the comfortable victory.

Savannah Viktora led the Lady Tigers with 16 points, while Samantha Gough added 13 as the two accounted for nearly all of Adairsville’s scoring. 

For Chattooga, Addie Veatch and Gracelyn Rutledge each scored 7 points to pace the Lady Indians.

The Lady Tigers (3-8) will open play in their holiday tournament when they face McEachern in the first round of the Adairsville Christmas Classic on Saturday, December 27, at 7:00 p.m.

HARALSON COUNTY 39, WOODLAND GIRLS 26

Anna Lane Coy scored 21 points, and Hope Davis added eight, leading the Haralson County Lady Rebels to a 39-26 win over Woodland in action at the North Murray High School Mistletoe Madness Tournament.

The win snapped a six-game skid to open the season for the Lady Rebels (1-6).

A pair of freshmen did the bulk of the scoring for Woodland. Karissa Williams scored 12 points, and Destiny Jackson added eight for the Lady Cats.

Woodland (3-9) plays host North Murray on Saturday at 3 p.m. and will return to action after Christmas at Pepperell on December 30.

McMINN CENTRAL (TN) 56, WOODLAND BOYS 41

A poor shooting second quarter doomed the Wildcats on Friday in a 56-41 loss to McMinn Central (TN) at the North Murray High School Mistletoe Madness Tournament in Chatsworth.

Woodland trailed 16-10 after one quarter and was outscored 16-7 in the second period, falling behind 32-17 at the break. The Wildcats surged back to within 10 points by the end of the third period, but the Chargers held on in the final period.

Bryce Mullins led McMinn Central (5-5) with 18 points. Hunter Daffron scored nine for the Chargers.

Canden Davis and Amir Heath posted 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Wildcats.

Woodland (6-6) plays Haralson County on Saturday at 1 p.m. at North Murray. The Wildcats will travel to Pepperell on December 30.

CHATTOOGA 54, ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 37

The visiting Chattooga Indians led 15-2 after one quarter and 34-13 at halftime on Friday night en route to a 54-37 non-region win at Adairsville.

D.J. Etchison scored 18 points, and Tra’shaun Lester added 10 for Chattooga (3-4).

Brooks Rutledge led the Tigers’ scoring with 15 points. Lucas Poarch and Hank Barfield added eight and seven, respectively.

Adairsville (0-10) hosts Sequoyah on Saturday at 3 p.m. and will face Sonoraville at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 27, in the opening round of the Adairsville Christmas Classic.