Tourney roundup: Tigers top Canes; Cass girls reach 4th straight Christmas Clash title game
The Adairsville boys used an 18-10 fourth quarter Wednesday night to defeat Cartersville in the semifinals of the 2021 Christmas Clash and earned a 61-56 victory over their in-county rivals. Cartersville (6-3) led at each of the first three quarter stops: 17-15, 29-26, and 46-43 before the Tigers’ rallied over the final eight minutes.
T.J. Printup and Hayden Poarch led the Tigers’ offense with 29 and 20 points, respectively. Tre Winters chipped in with five. Zac Postell scored four and Tre Mitchell added three points for Adairsville. Kam Callahan led Cartersville with 19 points. Romo Pace followed with 17. Jaeden Scott, Luke Gambill, and Chaz Henderson contributed six points each. Monty Tolbert added two for the Hurricanes.
Cartersville will now face Region 7-5A rival Calhoun (5-4) in Thursday’s 3rd place game at 5:30 p.m. Adairsville (6-3) advances to the Christmas Clash championship game Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. against Chattooga (7-4).
CASS GIRLS 56, CALHOUN 52
The Cass girls outlasted Calhoun Wednesday night 56-52 in the Adairsville Christmas Clash semifinals, but the two Region 7-5A rivals set the tone for what should be an interesting battle over the next month and a half for the region title.
Calhoun (9-3) led for much of the first three quarters with the two teams exchanging the lead several times.
Cass made a late run in the first quarter to seize a 17-15 advantage after eight minutes, but Calhoun led at the break 27-24. The Lady Colonels regained the lead at the end of the third quarter 40-38 and held on down the stretch for a four-point victory.
Claire Davis scored a game-high 26 points to lead Cass. Mikaela Jackson scored eight. Miya Winston finished six points (8 rebounds, 6 assists). Keara McDaniel followed with five. Haley Johnson (11 rebounds, 4 assists) and Zion Hayes scored four points apiece. Amaya Ford added three for the Class 5A 7th-ranked Colonels.
Britiya Curtis led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points. Lauren Watson and Sa’Niah Dorsey added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Calhoun will play in Thursday’s Christmas Clash third place game against Chattooga at 4 p.m. Cass (13-1) will play another Region 7-5A rival, Blessed Trinity, in the tournament’s championship game Thursday night at 7 p.m. It will be the Lady Colonels’ fourth consecutive trip to the tournament’s finals. Cass is the three-time defending champion.
ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 47, WOODLAND 27
The Adairsville Lady Tigers bounced back from their opening round overtime loss to Blessed Trinity with a solid victory Wednesday afternoon over county rival Woodland in the Christmas Clash consolation round, 47-27.
Adairsville (8-3) led all the way building a 14-3 advantage after the opening eight minutes, 27-14 at halftime, and 41-17 through three quarters.
Alissa Winters and Aliya McBride paced the Lady Tigers with nine points each. McBride scored all of her points in the second half. Haley Stiles scored eight for Adairsville with Ya’Torrean Hale adding seven and Autumn Henderson six.
Abigail Taylor scored seven points for the Lady Cats. Megan Schultz added five for Woodland (2-10).
Woodland will play in Thursday’s 7th place game at 10 a.m. against Morgan County. Adairsville squares off with Parkview for 5th place at 1 p.m.
CASS BOYS 58, CAMBRIDGE 51
The Colonels made several key fourth quarter stops and converted their defensive efforts into points Wednesday night to hold off the Cambridge Bears for a 58-51 consolation round win at the Campbell Holiday Tournament in Cobb County. “The guys bounced back tonight,” said Cass head coach Byron Taylor. “The loss to North Cobb last night was tough. We felt like we missed a few opportunities to win that one.”
Cambridge led 19-10 after one quarter and pushed ahead 27-17 by the intermission. Cass narrowed the Bears’ lead to 45-43 by the end of the third quarter and rallied over the final eight minutes to pull out the win. Sacovie White led the Colonels with 20 points. Jelani Hames followed with 13. Jackson Hale and Ethan McIntyre both contributed eight points. Jayden Foster chipped in with four. Devin Henderson and Jashaun Brown-Whatley scored two each while Kaden Baldwin added one point for Cass.
Owen Satterfield led Cambridge (3-9) with 14 points. Zane Moore added nine for the Bears.
Cass (6-6) wraps up the Campbell Tournament Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. against Allatoona.
HEBRON CHRISTIAN 59, EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 43
The Excel Christian Academy boys suffered some cold second half shooting in a 59-43 consolation round loss Wednesday afternoon to Hebron Christian Academy. The Lions out of Dacula improved to 5-9 on the season with their win and will play Johnson-Gainesville Thursday for 5th place in the Adairsville Christmas Clash.
Excel had three players score in double digits. Jakaden Barkley finished with 14 points while Elijah Payne and Comari Nettles added 10 each for the Eagles.
ECA (6-4) will try to bounce back in Thursday’s 7th place game at 11:30 a.m. against winless Dalton Academy (0-11).
SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN 59, WOODLAND BOYS 52 (overtime)
In what turns out to be their final game at the Dalton Carpet Capital Classic Wednesday night, the Woodland boys went to overtime with Savannah Christian but fell in the extra session, 59-52.
Woodland led 15-13 after one quarter and 39-33 at halftime before trailing 47-41 heading into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Raiders 11-5 in the final eight minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime knotted at 52-all.
Savannah Christian (4-6) was led in scoring by Dalton Bunch with 14 points. Thomas Davidson followed with 13 and Peyton Cromwell added 12.
Jayden Hames paced Woodland with 17 points. Brelace Williams scored 11. Kyler Williams posted nine and Harlin Morris, who scored the Wildcats’ only two points of the overtime period, added eight.
Due to a team dropping out of the tournament due to Covid circumstances, the Wildcats will not get a third game at the tournament hosted by Christian Heritage.
The Wildcats (4-6) will return to action Thursday, January 6 when they host the Allatoona Buccaneers at 7 p.m.
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