Friday night hoops: Cass teams sweep Raiders, Adairsville boys keep pace in their region race
January 18, 2025
Friday night featured a lot of local high school basketball action, with the Cass teams securing region victories. At the same time, the Adairsville boys, Excel Christian boys, and Cartersville girls also claimed wins.
ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 68, GILMER 54
The Tigers completed a 3-0 week Friday night with a 68-54 home win over the Gilmer Bobcats. All three wins for Adairsville were region games and moved the Tigers into a tie at the top of the current 7-3A standings.
Adairsville led 23-14 after one quarter on Friday and 36-26 at the intermission. The Tigers extended their advantage to 62-38 by the end of the third period and maintained that margin over the final eight minutes.
Tre Winters scored a game-high 32 points to pace the Tigers. Eli Pearson followed with 11. Xavious Nalls chipped in 10 points and Ben Abernathy finished with nine for Adairsville.
JD Taylor led the Bobcats with 20 points. Keegan Bryant scored 17 points, and Boston Teague added nine for Gilmer (7-9, 2-4).
Adairsville (11-8, 6-1) visits Heritage-Catoosa on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip and will host Region 7-3A co-leader Northwest Whitfield on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
EXCEL CHRISTIAN BOYS 76, ARLINGTON CHRISTIAN 62
The Eagles pulled away at home in the fourth quarter Friday night to win a back-and-forth tilt with visiting Arlington Christian of Fairburn, 76-62.
Excel grabbed a 21-17 first-quarter lead, but Arlington held a 30-29 advantage at halftime. The host Eagles then outscored Arlington 20-14 in the third quarter to take a 49-44 lead. In the final eight minutes, Excel pulled away to escape with a 14-point win.
Kaiyu Huffman led ECA with 20 points. Evan Chappell scored 19 points, and Carter May finished with 14 points for the Eagles.
Tylon Adams led Arlington (11-4) with 21 points, followed by 17 from Khalib Brooks.
Excel Christian (11-7, 3-0) hosts Praise Academy on Monday at 5 p.m. during a busy week on the hardwoods. The Eagles also host Cross Keys on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before playing at Fideles Christian on Thursday and Gordon Central on Friday. ECA will then entertain Murray County on Saturday at 4 p.m.
CASS BOYS 83, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 25
The Colonels sprinted to a 22-5 first-quarter lead and led 61-19 by the end of the third quarter to win 83-25 at home Friday night and keep Southeast Whitfield winless on the season.
Cass had 13 players in the scoring column during the Region 7-4A win.
Derrick Sams scored 15 points for the Colonels. Jaimere Anderson, Comari Nettles, and Dylan Miller finished with nine points.
“It was an overall team effort,” stated Cass coach Kevin Cunningham. “Hopefully, we can maintain this level tomorrow against North Cobb.”
Mason Williams scored six points for the Raiders (0-16, 0-9).
Cass (7-11, 4-5) visits North Cobb on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. for a non-region game. The Colonels visit Cartersville on Tuesday and Cedartown on Friday for 7:30 p.m. starts in both region games.
CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 55, ALLATOONA 15
The Lady Canes led 37-10 by halftime Friday night and cruised to a 55-15 region win at Allatoona.
KK Arnold led Cartersville in the scoring column with 15 points. She added two rebounds and one assist. Jayda Cothran scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds. Zoe McCurry finished with seven points, five assists, and four steals.
AnaDe Oliveira scored six points for the Lady Buccaneers (2-13, 0-8).
Cartersville (12-8, 8-1) hosts Cass on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and travels to Hiram on Friday for a 6 p.m. tip.
CASS GIRLS 40, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 30
The Lady Colonels overcame a low-production first half Friday night to beat visiting Southeast Whitfield, 40-30.
The Cass girls scored 23 points in the third quarter to take command after trailing 13-9 at halftime.
KK Evans scored 15 points, and Summerlyn Smith tossed in 12 to lead the Lady Colonels. Kiana McDaniel added nine points for Cass.
Johanna Ortiz posted 13 points for the Lady Raiders (3-11, 2-7).
Cass (8-9, 5-3) visits Cartersville on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Cedartown on Friday at 7 p.m.
ALLATOONA 73, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 53
Host and region-leading Allatoona led 21-6 after one quarter and 38-18 by halftime Friday night in an eventual 73-53 win over Cartersville.
Five Buccaneers scored in double figures, led by Matt McAuley and Dean Soulsby with 17 points. Dre Dupree finished with 14 points. Lewis Ngarga and Kellen Phillips added 10 for Allatoona (14-5, 9-0).
Nas Bennett returned to the Cartersville lineup to score 22 points and added seven rebounds. Wyatt Thomason finished with eight points and eight boards. Kyron McClendon contributed eight points, five rebounds, and four assists. Kaden Baldwin tossed in eight points, and Grayson Warmack added six rebounds for the Canes.
Cartersville (10-10, 5-4) hosts a Region 7-4A matchup with Cass on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before visiting Hiram on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
HIRAM 83, WOODLAND BOYS 56
The host Hiram Hornets totaled 64 points in the two middle periods Friday night to pull away from the Woodland Wildcats, 83-56, in Paulding County.
Woodland led 15-5 after the opening eight minutes before Hiram grabbed leads of 40-30 at halftime and 69-46 through three quarters.
AJ Williams led the Hornets with 22 points. Mason McKinney and Javon Leonard added 16 and 10 points for Hiram (8-11, 6-3).
Bryson Van Tonder made five three-pointers and paced the Wildcats with 25 points. Elijah Morris contributed 13 points, and Tylen Metcalf added 11.
Woodland (5-15, 1-8) hosts region-leading Allatoona on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and Dalton on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
HIRAM 65, WOODLAND GIRLS 6
The Hiram girls improved to 8-11 overall and 7-2 in Region 7-4A Friday night with a home win over Woodland.
The Lady Cats (1-19, 1-7) host Allatoona on Tuesday and Dalton on Friday. Both games are 6 p.m starts.
DOMINION CHRISTIAN 63, EXCEL CHRISTIAN GIRLS 18
The Excel Christian Academy girls dropped a 63-18 decision this past Thursday at Dominion Christian in Marietta.
The Lady Knights improved to 12-5 overall.
Excel Christian (2-9) hosts Cross Keys on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before visiting Fideles Christian on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Gordon Central on Friday at 6 p.m.
