Tuesday High School Hoops: Canes lock up state tourney berth; Wildcats earn region win; ECA girls s
CARTERSVILLE BOYS 84, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 56
The Canes locked up a berth in the Class AAAA state tournament Tuesday night when they downed visiting Southeast Whitfield at the Storm Center to clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming region tournament.
Jaylon Pugh scored 20, Gabe Gridley 17, Cortney Cooley 14, Travon Davis 10, and Cade Archer seven for Cartersville.
The Canes finished the regular season 18-6 overall and 12-2 in Region 7AAAA.
Southeast Whitfield (9-15; 6-7) was led by Ty Pendley with a game-high 32 points.
Cartersville will play next in the Region 7AAAA tournament on February 12 against an opening round tournament winner. By winning the regular season region title, the Canes receive a bye to the region tournament semifinals and are assured of a top four spot regardless of their results at the region tournament. Cartersville could secure a home state playoff game with a win on Feb. 12 and will need two wins to be the region’s No. 1 seed in the state tournament. The 7AAAA tournament will be hosted by Southeast Whitfield.
SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD GIRLS 64, CARTERSVILLE 38
The Lady Canes finished the regular season 5-19 overall and 3-11 in Region 7AAAA. The Lady Raiders improved to 17-7 overall and 9-4 with their victory.
EXCEL CHRISTIAN GIRLS 31, NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN 25
The Lady Eagles found their scoring punch in the final period for a comeback win over North Cobb Christian at home Tuesday night, 31-25. The victory established a new school record for wins for the girls basketball program.
North Cobb Christian led 11-4 after one period and 17-8 at halftime, before Excel started their comeback.
The Lady Eagles cut the deficit to 21-15 after three quarters and then outscored North Cobb Christian 16-4 in the fourth quarter to win for the 11th time this year.
Brighton McCollum led Excel Christian with 10 points. She was followed by Rylie Boston with eight, Whitney Harris five, Kalli Beth Scheff four, Lindsey Mauldin two, and Anna Lane Hattaway with two points.
Moriah Hidden scored eight points to lead North Cobb Christian, followed by Caroline Bohannon and Gabby Mills with six each.
Excel is now 11-12 on the season and 5-4 in Region 6-A. North Cobb Christian slips to 13-8 overall and 7-2 in Region 6-A.
The Lady Eagles have two games remaining on their regular season schedule. Excel hosts Temple Wednesday at 4:30pm and travels to Christian Heritage Saturday for a 6pm tip.
NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN BOYS 66, EXCEL CHRISTIAN 27
Demiere Brown scored 24 points and Will Crumley added 13 as the Class A No. 1 team, North Cobb Christian, won handily at Excel Christian Tuesday night.
Chris Hale led Excel with 12 points, followed by Darius Thrower with nine, Max Rowland with four, and Dylan Drew added two points.
Excel is 12-11 overall and 6-3 in Region 6-A. North Cobb Christian improved to 19-3 overall and 9-0 in region play.
ECA hosts Temple Wednesday at 6pm and travels to Christian Heritage in Dalton Saturday.
WOODLAND BOYS 72, RIVER RIDGE 64
The Wildcats earned their first region win of the season Tuesday night at home over River Ridge, 72-64.
Woodland used a strong second half effort on both ends of the floor to secure the victory.
Jonathan Pritchett led the Wildcats in scoring with 21 points.
Woodland is now 5-17 on the year and 1-11 in region play. The loss dropped the Knights to 8-17 overall and 3-9 in 7AAAAA.
RIVER RIDGE GIRLS 38, WOODLAND 37
River Ridge led 22-11 at halftime and 28-19 after three quarters before the Lady Wildcats made their fourth quarter surge.
Gabby Bradley led Woodland with 14 points. Meredith Bailey scored six for the Cats, followed by Makayla Richardson and Lyric Curtis with five each. Hayley Roberson added four. Eryikah Pender scored two and Madgie Robinson added one.
Woodland falls to 5-18 on the season with the loss and remains winless in region play. The Lady Knights improved to 10-15 overall and 6-6 in Region 7AAAAA.
ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 58, GORDON CENTRAL 46
The Lady Tigers defeated Gordon Central for a Region 6AAA victory Tuesday night. Adairsville improved to 10-14 with the victory and 7-8 in region play.
The Lady Tigers play at Murray County Friday night.
GORDON CENTRAL BOYS 55, ADAIRSVILLE 49
The Adairsville boys slipped to 7-17 overall and 3-12 in Region 6AAA with a six point home loss Tuesday night to Gordon Central. The Warriors picked up only their second region win of the year and fourth overall.
Adairsville travels to Murray County Friday night.
