Canes top Titans in OT, advance to Class AAAA Elite Eight

It took overtime, but the Cartersville Hurricanes won a back-and-forth battle Thursday night at Blessed Trinity 58-56 to advance in the Class AAAA State Playoffs to the state quarterfinals.

The win by the Canes denies Blessed Trinity a trip to the Round of 8 for the first time since 2009.

The Titans had a final shot at the end.

T.J. Horton made one of two free throws with 0:18 remaining that gave Cartersville a two point lead and Blessed Trinity’s C.J. Abrams took the final shot, but his miss was rebounded by the Canes with 0:02 to seal the victory.

Cartersville led 13-8 after a low-scoring opening quarter and held a seven point lead at one point in the second quarter, but Blessed Trinity narrowed the advantage to 25-21 at halftime.

Russell Dorvee scored 11 points in the first half for the Titans. T.J. Horton had 11 in the first two quarters for the Canes.

Blessed Trinity led 35-34 after three quarters and held as much as a four point lead in the final period, but Cartersville rallied to send the contest to the extra period tied 48-48.

T.J. Horton finished the night with 24 points to lead Cartersville. Jaylon Pugh followed with 13. Russell Dorvee finished with 15 points to lead the Titans.

Blessed Trinity’s season ends with a 20-7 mark.

Cartersville (21-6) will travel to Milledgeville next Wednesday for the state quarterfinals against Baldwin (23-6). The Braves — Region 3-AAAA champs — held off Americus-Sumter Thursday night 60-57.