Tuesday's hoops -- Adairsville, ECA boys have state tourney berths secured; Canes knock off Calhoun

The Excel Christian Academy boys basketball team secured a GAPPS (Georgia Association of Private & Parochial Schools) state tournament berth Tuesday night with a AA Region 1 semifinal win over Unity Christian School in Rome, 82-59.

The Eagles took an early lead and stayed in front throughout the night. Excel led 20-13 after one quarter; 36-23 at halftime; and 58-39 through three quarters on their way to their 23-point victory.

Jakaden Barkley led ECA with 24 points. Kyron McClendon followed with 19. Jacob Taylor scored 15 and Comari Nettles contributed 11 for the Eagles. KP Profit chipped in five points. David Jinks finished with four and Kingston Eleazor added two points for Excel.

Austin Wilkerson led Unity with 18 points. Johnny Whitley scored 12 for the Lions.

Excel (17-8) advances to the GAPPS AA Region 1 championship game Thursday night against Shiloh Hills Christian. The game will be at 8 p.m. back at Unity Christian School in Rome.

CARTERSVILLE BOYS 69, CALHOUN 61

The Canes took the lead before halftime and held off visiting Calhoun in the second half Tuesday night in a 69-61 win at the Storm Center.

Calhoun led 16-10 after one quarter but the Purple Hurricanes grabbed a 31-28 advantage by the intermission. Cartersville built their lead to a dozen by the end of the third quarter at 50-38 and outlasted the Yellow Jackets over the final eight minutes for an 8-point win.

Kaden Baldwin paced the Canes with 22 points. Cedric McClinic posted 13. Jaylen Scott scored 12 points. DJ Cain contributed eight points while Romo Pace and Tyron Milner added six apiece in the win.

Dylan Faulkner led Calhoun with 23 points. Andrew Purdy followed with 11 and Daniel Steele scored eight points for the Yellow Jackets.

The loss drops Calhoun to 12-11 on the season and 5-4 in Region 7-5A.

Cartersville (10-13, 3-6) hosts 3rd-ranked Hiram Friday night and wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon at home in a non-region game against Cedartown.

ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 55, BREMEN 42

The Adairsville boys had already locked up a top-2 seed for next week’s Region 6-AAA tournament heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with visiting Bremen, but the Tigers actually finished in a tie atop the region standings following their 55-42 win.

The Tigers’ win coupled with Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s loss Tuesday to Coahuila Creek means Adairsville and the Warriors finished their region slates with 12-2 marks.

Tuesday night Adairsville trailed the visiting Blue Devils throughout the first half.

Bremen led 14-9 after the opening eight minutes and 26-25 at halftime. The Tigers gained the lead for good by the end of the third period when they carried a 40-34 advantage to the final period.

Tay Jackson and Zach Postell led Adairsville with 14 points apiece. Tre Winters followed with nine. Xavious Nalls scored six points and Ben Abernathy added five for the Tigers.

Brody Barrow and Evan Brown led Bremen (3-19, 1-13) with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Adairsville (17-8, 12-2) will receive a double-bye in next week’s region tournament placing them in the region semifinals. That assures the Tigers a state tournament berth and means their tournament games next Thursday and Friday will determine their state tournament seeding.

HIRAM 88, CASS BOYS 45

The visiting 3rd-ranked Hiram Hornets raced to a 17-0 lead Tuesday night at Cass in a dominant 88-45 Region 7-5A win.

Hiram led 26-9 at the end of the first quarter and held a 51-30 advantage by halftime. The Hornets continued to pull away in the second half for a 43-point win.

Walt Matthews led four Hornets in double-figures with 20 points. Chase Tyler scored 17. Jay Boyd Jr. finished with 15 and Calvin Johnson added 10 points for Hiram.

KJ Rogers scored 15 points to lead the Colonels. Jakai Baldwin scored seven. Sacovie White and Jelani Hames chipped in six points each.

Hiram improved to 21-2 on the season and 9-0 in region play.

Cass (11-12, 5-4) remains tied with Calhoun for second place in Region 7-5A heading into Friday night’s regular-season finale at home against Woodland.

DALTON 56, WOODLAND BOYS 40 Visiting Dalton handed the Wildcats their 15th straight loss Tuesday night in a 56-40 Catamounts win in Region 7-5A.

Dalton improved to 16-7 on the season and 5-4 in region play.

Woodland (2-22, 0-9) finishes the regular season Friday night at Cass at 7:30 p.m.