Tigers, Colonels earn home region wins Tuesday
The Adairsville and Cass boys basketball teams picked up home wins Tuesday night as region basketball schedules hit the mid-January mark and teams begin jockeying for seeding in February’s region tournaments.
The Adairsville boys rallied in the final eight minutes Tuesday night at home to defeat Sonoraville in come-from-behind fashion, 49-44.
The visiting Phoenix led 10-6 after one quarter, 25-20 at the intermission, and 39-33 through three quarters before the Tigers outscored them 16-5 in the final quarter for a five-point Region 6-AAA win.
Gaven Crunkleton and Savaun Henderson led the Tigers with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Malachi Gardner followed with eight points. Conner Crunkleton scored seven. T.J. Printup contributed four. Tucker Deams had three points and Jaxon Welchel added two.
Orry Darnell led the Phoenix with 15 points. Murray Somers scored 10.
The loss drops Sonoraville to 9-7 on the season and 5-4 in region action.
“We played some tough defense tonight,” said Tigers head coach Alex Disbrow. “We also made some clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the game.”
Adairsville (8-10, 5-6) is currently in sixth place in the nine-school Region 6-AAA and travels to Coahulla Creek Friday night for an 8:30 p.m. start.
CASS BOYS 68, ROME 50
Colonels head coach Sean Glaze pointed out Tuesday night following his team’s game that it wasn’t always pretty, but he was proud of his guys for their effort in a 68-50 Region 7-AAAAA victory over visiting Rome. “We ran our offense well tonight,” noted Glaze, “but we missed a ton of shots. I’m still so proud of our guys, however, because we still played with enough energy and defense to get a region win.” Cass led 20-9 after one quarter before Rome closed the gap to 25-20 at halftime. The Colonels pulled away a bit in the third quarter with a 48-33 advantage and then expanded that lead in the final period. Zaylan Chaney and Braxton Benham reached double figures for the Colonels with 23 and 17 points, respectively. C.J. Pipkin contributed nine. Alfred Washington totaled eight. Zay Jackson tossed in five points. Jordan Ford finished with three, Ethan McIntyre two, and Andrew Glaze one point. Jaylen Nelson led the visiting Wolves with 17 points. Justin Ingram scored 13 for Rome (3-14, 2-8). Cass (13-8, 8-4 Region 7-AAAAA) currently holds down the fourth place spot in the region with a two-game lead over Paulding County. The Colonels trail Hiram and Carrollton by only one game in the standings. Cass travels to challenge Carrollton Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in another important region tilt. TRION 71, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY BOYS 62 The Excel Christian Academy boys led 34-29 at halftime Tuesday night at Trion and were only down by one point — 50-49 — after three quarters, but the Eagles were outscored 21-13 in the fourth quarter and fell to the host Bulldogs, 71-62, in Region 6-A action. Jaden Hardy led Trion with 23 points. Andy Allen followed with 12 and Rob Brown scored 11 to help lead the Bulldogs (8-10, 4-5). Rayshawn Womack led ECA with 21 points. Rashard Doyal scored 15 and Jakaden Barkley 10 for the Eagles. Kalil Holley added eight points, Brenden Quillin scored six, and Trippe Anderson finished with two points for Excel. The Eagles (3-15, 2-6) play at North Cobb Christian Friday night at 7 p.m. and host Darlington Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PAULDING COUNTY 81, WOODLAND BOYS 47 The visiting Patriots led 19-10 after one quarter and 43-26 at the intermission on their way to a 34-point Region 7-AAAAA win Tuesday night at Woodland. Paulding County improved to 14-7 on the season and evened their region mark at 6-6. Woodland (2-17, 0-11) hosts region-leader Kell Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. start before traveling to HIram Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. tip.
