Canes beat Villa Rica to win SMI consolation bracket; Eagles close out Silent Knight tourney with a victory
December 21, 2024
The Cartersville boys' basketball team defeated host Villa Rica, and the Excel Christian Academy boys beat Cherokee Christian at the Silent Knight Christmas Classic on Saturday.
CARTERSVILLE BOYS 67, VILLA RICA 62
In the consolation finals of the Carroll County Schools SMI Christmas Classic, the Purple Hurricanes held off a late rally by host Villa Rica for a 67-62 win.
The win by Cartersville was their sixth in their last seven games.
Villa Rica led 19-16 after one quarter, but the Canes held leads of 36-33 and 52-48 at the end of the next two periods. The Wildcats took a brief lead late in the game, but the Canes held off the rally for a five-point win.
Wyatt Thomason, named to the SMI All-Tournament Team, scored 26 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Nas Bennett followed with 21 points, seven boards, and three assists. Grayson Warmack and Kaden Baldwin added six and five points, respectively.
Gavin Cooley led Villa Rica with 19 points. Will Wallace contributed 14 and Jay Hart 11 for the Wildcats (5-8).
Cartersville (8-4) returns to action on December 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the Adairsville High School Christmas Clash. The Hurricanes will play Blessed Trinity in a first-round game.
EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 76, CHEROKEE CHRISTIAN 65
In a game played in Woodstock at The King’s Academy Silent Knight Christmas Classic, Excel Christian outscored Cherokee Christian 19-10 in the fourth quarter to escape with a 76-65 victory over the Warriors.
Cherokee Christian led 24-20 after one quarter and 38-36 at halftime. The Eagles led 57-55 at the end of the third quarter.
Excel had four players reach double-digit scoring, led by Evan Chappell's 22 points. Kaiyu Huffman and Carter May finished with 13 points. Jayden Jinks added 10 for the Eagles.
Caleb Blakeney led Cherokee Christian (2-6) with 23 points. Jalen Brown added 14.
ECA (8-6) returns to action on January 4 at Pinecrest Academy in Cumming at 6 p.m.
BANNEKER 71, ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 70 (OT)
A slow start hampered the Tigers Saturday at the Pope High School Holiday Tournament. Still, Adairsville surged back into contention in the fourth quarter and took the game to overtime before losing on a made three-pointer at the end.
Banneker (6-6) led 20-8 after one quarter and held leads of 31-21 at halftime and 48-34 at the end of the third quarter. The Tigers outscored the Trojans 26-12 over the final eight minutes to send the game to overtime tied 60-all.
“We played a really good second half,” said Adairsville head coach Alex Disbrow. “We took a two-point lead with 0:12 to go, but they hit a well-defended three-pointer at the end to win it.”
Emmanuel Ogbeifun led Banneker with 34 points. Dontrell Tells scored 11 for the Trojans.
Xavious Nalls poured in 33 points for Adairsville. Ben Abernathy contributed 16 points, and Tre Winters added 10.
The Tigers (4-6) will play Ringgold on December 27 in the first round of the Adairsville Christmas Clash in an 8:30 p.m. tip.
BOWDON 74, WOODLAND GIRLS 27
The Lady Red Devils improved to 2-3 on the year with a 74-27 win over Woodland on Saturday in a consolation game at the Carroll County Schools SMI Christmas Classic at Villa Rica.
Woodland’s Alana Carnes was named to the SMI All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Cats (1-15) will visit Unity Christian School on December 30 for a 6:30 p.m. tip.
BOWDON 76, WOODLAND BOYS 63
In a consolation game Saturday at the Carrollton SMI Christmas Classic, Woodland led early but trailed by halftime and eventually lost to Bowdon at Villa Rica High School 76-63.
The Wildcats led 19-12 after the opening eight minutes, but the Red Devils held leads of 39-33 at halftime and 56-46 through three quarters en route to a 13-point win.
Kaiden Prothro scored a game-high 23 points to lead Bowdon. Jacob Brown added 15.
Tylen Metcalf, named to the SMI All-Tournament Team, led four Wildcats in double figures with 15 points. Isaiah Livsey and Jayden Metcalf finished with 13 points. Elijah Morris added 10 for the Wildcats.
Bowdon improved to 3-2 on the season.
Woodland (3-11) plays at Unity Christian School on December 30 at 7:30 p.m.
