Tuesday’s boys basketball roundup: Tigers, Colonels, Eagles secure important region wins

In high school boys basketball action Tuesday night, Adairsville, Cass, and Excel Christian Academy secured important region wins as the 2022-23 regular season begins to wind down.

Adairsville took control in the second quarter and went on to defeat visiting LaFayette 65-41 to remain in a first place tie in Region 6-AAA.

Cass moved into a second place tie with Calhoun in Region 7-5A by knocking off the host Yellow Jackets 61-50 and Excel Christian remained unbeaten in GAPPS Region 1-IAA play with a 64-58 victory at Lyndon Academy.

ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 65, LAFAYETTE 41

The Tigers used a nice defensive effort and a balanced scoring attack Tuesday night at home to beat LaFayette, 65-41, for their sixth straight win.

Following a 15-15 first quarter, Adairsville built a 36-25 advantage by halftime. The Tigers extended their lead to 55-32 by the end of the third quarter and went on to a 24-point win.

Xavious Nalls led Adairsville with 17 points. Tay Jackson followed with 13. Ben Abernathy posted 12 points. Tre Winters contributed 10 and Zach Postell added eight points for the Tigers.

Zach Barrett and Shiray Walker led the Ramblers (13-6, 9-3) with eight points each.

Adairsville (16-7, 11-1) heads to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Friday night for a first place showdown with the Warriors who are also 11-1 in Region 6-AAA.

CASS BOYS 61, CALHOUN 50

The Colonels earned an important road win Tuesday night at Calhoun and find themselves in a second place tie in the Region 7-5A standings with three region regular season games remaining.

Calhoun led the Colonels 7-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Colonels took the lead for good in the second period. Cass led 22-16 at halftime and was up 40-30 after three quarters before holding on for an 11-point win.

Dylan Faulkner scored a game-high 18 points to pace the Yellow Jackets. Caden Schild added nine points for Calhoun (12-9, 5-2).

KJ Rogers led Cass with 16 points. Sacovie White and Jelani Hames contributed nine points each. Jayden Foster and Kevin Henderson finished with eight points apiece for the Colonels.

Cass (11-10, 5-2) plays another region game Friday night at Dalton at 7:30 p.m.

EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 64, LYNDON ACADEMY 58

Excel Christian started slowly Tuesday night at Lyndon Academy trailing the Terriers 8-2 in the early minutes and 29-20 at one point in the second quarter. The Eagles made a nice run before the end of the half, however, and carried a 36-33 lead to the intermission.

Excel led 54-46 at the end of the third quarter and Lyndon kept the game close throughout the final period. In fact, the Terriers narrowed the Excel lead to 63-58 with just 45 seconds remaining before the Eagles were able to close out a six-point win.

Ethan Hughes scored a game-high 39 points including all 20 of the Terriers’ first quarter points.

Excel was led by Kyron McClendon with 19 points. Jakaden Barkley and Jacob Taylor followed with 16 points each. Kamarion Profit added 13 points for the Eagles.

The loss dropped Lyndon Academy to 11-8 on the season and 3-5 in GAPPS Region 1-IAA.

Excel Christian (15-8, 9-0) hosts Unity Christian School Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Church at Liberty Square.

DALTON 72, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 41

Dalton led visiting Cartersville 20-7 at the end of the first quarter Tuesday night and 34-17 at halftime in an eventual 72-41 win over the Purple Hurricanes.

Drew Snyder led the Catamounts with 14 points. Chaz Ramsey scored 11 and Eli Burt added 10 points for Dalton (14-7, 3-4).

Monte Tolbert was the top scorer for Cartersville with 13 points. Cedric McClinic added five for the Canes.

Cartersville (8-13, 1-6) plays at Woodland Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

HIRAM 71, WOODLAND BOYS 33

The third-ranked Hiram Hornets built a 43-13 lead by halftime and cruised to a 71-33 home win over Woodland Tuesday night.

The win by the Hornets extends their current win streak to 13 games.

Hiram (19-2, 7-0) hosts Calhoun Friday.

Woodland (2-20, 0-7) entertains Cartersville Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. tip.

NOTE: No game report was submitted.