Saturday's holiday hoops roundup -- Lady Colonels fall in finals; Cartersville girls and Cass boys net consolation wins

December 30, 2023 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Playing in their third holiday tournament championship game in just over two weeks, the Cass Lady Colonels fell behind early and could not catch 5th-ranked Jefferson in the finals of the Jackson County Holiday Hoopfest in Hoschton. The Lady Dragons held off a strong charge by Cass in the fourth quarter to win 51-47.

Jefferson, essentially playing in front of a home crowd, built a 22-11 advantage by halftime and extended that lead to 37-21 by the end of the third quarter.

Cass rallied in the final eight minutes to narrow the deficit but could not quite catch the Lady Dragons who improved to 12-2 on the season.

Michel Robbins scored 18 points to lead Jefferson. Karlee Law followed with 10 points and Delaney Dewitt added nine.

Zion Hayes and Kaitlyn Godwin paced Cass with 12 points each. Kiana McDaniel contributed eight points and Olivia Woods added seven. Woods was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Cass girls (10-4) return to action on Saturday at Rockmart at 1:30 p.m.

CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 34, ADAIRSVILLE 32

In the girls’ third-place game of the Adairsville Christmas Clash, Cartersville held off the host Lady Tigers 34-32.

The two teams swapped leads the entire way with Adairsville leading 6-4 after the opening eight minutes; Cartersville up 17-14 at halftime; and the Lady Tigers leading 26-24 after three quarters.

Senai Camper led the Cartersville scoring column with eight points. Taff Bradley and KK Arnold followed with seven points each. Ansley Griffin finished with four. Nayel Camper contributed three. LaKiaya Banks and Zoie Shiflett tossed in two points each and Allana Williams added one for the Lady Canes.

Alissa Winters and Aliya McBryde scored six each for Adairsville. Ziyah Hicks followed with five points. Samantha Gough and Darby Adams posted four points apiece. Savannah Viktora contributed three points while NaXyria Roberts and Lily Roberts added two each.

Alissa Winters and Naxyria Roberts were named All-Tournament for Adairsville.

KK Arnold and Senai Camper were selected for the All-Tournament team for Cartersville.

Adairsville (7-7) hosts LaFayette in a Region 6-AAA matchup on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Cartersville (6-7) hosts North Paulding on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

CASS BOYS 63, CRISTO REY-ATLANTA 52

Jayden Foster

Playing what head coach Kevin Cunningham called “our best performance of the season,” the Cass boys beat Cristo Rey-Atlanta 63-52 Saturday afternoon to win the consolation bracket of the Christian Heritage Christmas Tournament at the Riverbend Center in Dalton.

The Colonels led at the end of each quarter but did not separate from the Flames until the final minutes. Cass led 15-6 after one quarter; 26-20 at halftime; and 40-37 at the end of the third quarter before finishing off an 11-point win.

Jayden Foster and Tayvian McKibbins led the Cass attack with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jason Brown-Harmon scored nine. Parnel Gamble contributed eight points. Kevin Henderson finished with six. Derrick Sams totaled five points. Jakai Baldwin and Camari Nettles pitched in four points each and Derris Reece added two.

Jayden Crawford scored a game-high 24 points for the Flames. Ethan Minot scored 13 points and Trent Dean had 10 for Cristo Rey-Atlanta (7-7).

Cass (4-7) has a 10-day break before returning to action in the Colonels’ Region 7-5A opener at Calhoun on January 9.

CHATTOOGA 47, EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 46

Carter May

The Excel Christian Eagles swapped leads with Chattooga for most of four quarters Saturday afternoon but came up short in a 47-46 consolation loss.

The Indians trailed at the end of each quarter until the fourth where they took the lead for good with only 12 seconds remaining.

ECA led 22-13 after one quarter; 29-27 at halftime; and 38-37 at the end of the third quarter.

Koi Dodd led three Indians in double-digit scoring with 12 points. Quarry Gibson and Brock Cooper contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Chattooga improved its season mark to 3-12.

Zion Green led the Eagles’ offense with 15 points. Carter May, named to the All-Tournament team, followed with 12. Jayden Jinks scored 10 points. Kamarion Profit tossed in four points. Kingston Eleazer finished with three points and David Jinks added two for the Eagles.

Excel (2-11) returns to action on Friday at home in an 8 p.m. start against Cornerstone Prep Academy.

CALHOUN 73, ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 52

The Tigers failed to keep up with Calhoun on Saturday in a 73-52 loss in the third-place game of the Adairsville Christmas Clash.

Calhoun led 17-10 after the opening period before Adairsville narrowed the margin to 20-12 early in the second quarter. From there the Yellow Jackets went on an 11-0 run to pull away and never looked back.

Adairsville’s Gabriel Gomez scored all 14 of his points, including four shots from behind the arc, in the third quarter to chip the Calhoun lead down to ten points. The Yellow Jackets responded with three consecutive three-pointers to extend their lead once again.

Emaree Winston led Calhoun (5-6) with 23 points. Blake Hammett finished with 15 for the Jackets. Jace Johns and Bryant Arnold pitched in with 10 points each.

Benjamin Abernathy scored nine points for the Tigers. Tayshaun Jackson and Xavious Nalls contributed eight points each. Zachary Postell and Jamarian Pullam finished with six each and Barrett Fuller added one point. Abernathy and Jackson were selected to the All-Tournament team representing Adairsville.

The Tigers (5-8) will return to Region 6-AAA action on Thursday at home against LaFayette.

NORTHWEST WHITFIELD 57, WOODLAND BOYS 48

The Wildcats lost a non-region game on Friday, December 29 at Northwest Whitfield 57-48. The Bruins improved to 9-3 on the season.

The Woodland boys (5-7) have a final non-region game on Saturday, January 6 at Bowdon before starting Region 7-5A play on Tuesday, January 9 at Hiram.