Tuesday's local basketball roundup: Tigers win at LFO on Postell's OT buzzer-beater

January 10, 2024

Zachary Postell

The Adairsville Tigers earned their fourth Region 6-AAA win of the season Tuesday night at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe with a game-winning shot at the buzzer in overtime, 69-68.

Adairsville raced to an early 13-2 lead and held a 23-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Xavious Nalls scored 12 of his 22 points in the opening quarter. The Warriors chipped away at their deficit in the second period and trailed 38-28 at the intermission.

LFO outscored Adairsville 17-8 in the third period to cut the Tigers lead to 46-45 heading into the final eight minutes.

The final period saw multiple lead changes before Adairsville’s Tayshaun Jackson missed a potential game-winning shot from behind the arc as the horn sounded. The miss sent the game to overtime with the score tied at 61.

Tyrek Hames hit two free throws for Adairsville with 45.9 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 67-66 lead. An Adairsville foul with 14.1 seconds remaining set up two made free throws for the Warriors and a fantastic finish.

In the final seconds, Zachary Postell drove the lane and released a shot that bounced around the rim and in at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 69-68 victory.

In addition to his 22 points, Nalls added six rebounds and five steals. Jackson scored 19 points. Gabriel Gomez contributed 10. Postell finished with nine points and five assists. 

The loss leaves LFO with a 3-11 mark for the season and 2-4 in Region 6-AAA.

Adairsville (7-9, 4-2) hosts Bremen on Friday night and the Tigers will play at Woodland on Saturday afternoon.

CARTERSVILLE BOYS 49, DALTON 41

The Purple Hurricanes picked up an important road, region win Tuesday night at Dalton, 49-41.

DJ Cain finished with a double-double to lead the Hurricanes with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

“I’m very pleased with our defensive effort tonight,” said Cartersville coach Mike Tobin. “We showed a lot of rebounding tenacity tonight on the road.”

Nas Bennett contributed 13 points in the Canes’ win. Ced McClinic finished with six points. Reed Ezell scored five while Kaden Baldwin and Monte Tolbert added two points each.

Cartersville led at each quarter stop — 13-12 after one quarter; 25-20 at halftime; and 41-35 after three quarters — en route to their eight-point win.

“I would also like to commend our cheerleading team tonight. They were 18 strong and helped us collect the road win,” added Tobin.

Kobi Cooper led Dalton with 15 points.

Cartersville (5-9, 1-0 Region 7-5A) plays at Cass on Friday night and will host Gilmer on Saturday afternoon.

CALHOUN 60, CASS BOYS 52

The Colonels stayed close but battled from behind most of Tuesday night at Calhoun in an eventual 60-52 loss.

Cass led 17-16 after the opening eight minutes but Calhoun took control of the tilt in the second quarter and led 37-29 at the intermission. Cass again narrowed the margin to 49-46 by the end of the third quarter but the Yellow Jackets held on in the final period for an eight-point Region 7-5A win.

Jace Johns and Makadon Griffin led Calhoun (6-6, 1-0) with 12 and nine points, respectively.

Jayden Foster paced the Colonels with 20 points. Parnel Gamble and Kevin Henderson added nine each in the loss.

Cass (4-8, 0-1) hosts Cartersville in another region tilt on Friday night.

CALHOUN 52, CASS GIRLS 44

The Lady Colonels suffered a loss on the road Tuesday night in their Region 7-5A opener at Calhoun, 52-44.

The Yellow Jackets led 29-21 at halftime but Cass narrowed their deficit to just two points heading into the fourth quarter, 38-36. Calhoun eased away in the final eight minutes, however, to win the initial region game for both teams.

Tamira Feanny led Cass with nine points. Zion Hayes finished with seven. Darianna Sosa, Cadie Paez, and KK Evans each added five for the Lady Colonels.

Calhoun improved to 9-6 overall and 1-0 in region play.

Cass (11-5, 0-1) hosts Cartersville on Friday at 6 p.m.

DALTON 65, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 53

The Lady Canes had a rough second quarter Tuesday night at Dalton.  Cartersville was outscored 20-6 in the period and never recovered in a 65-53 road loss.

Grace Ridley led the Lady Catamounts with 24 points as Dalton improved to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in Region 7-5A.

Senai Camper scored 16 points to lead the Lady Canes. She added eight rebounds. Taff Bradley contributed nine points. KK Arnold pitched in with eight points. Nayel Camper and Zoie Shiflett had seven each and Ansley Griffin added six points, nine assists, and five boards.

Cartersville (7-9, 0-1) visits Cass on Friday for a 6 p.m. tip.

HIRAM 43, WOODLAND GIRLS 19

The host Lady Hornets led 24-14 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter to take a 24-point lead en route to a 43-19 Region 7-5A win over Woodland.

Hadiya Kennerly scored 12 points and Taylor Crawford added 11 for Hiram (8-7, 1-0).

Megan Schultz led Woodland with 11 points. 

The Lady Cats (7-5, 0-1) host Calhoun on Friday and will entertain Adairsville on Saturday afternoon in a non-region game. 

LAKEVIEW-FT. OGLETHORPE 66, ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 57

Region-leading Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe got 18 points from Christen Collins, 16 from Christal Collins, and 13 from Ziara Thompson Tuesday night in a nine-point Region 6-AAA home victory over Adairsville.

NaXyria Roberts scored 28 points to lead the Lady Tigers. Darby Adams and Alissa Winters followed with nine and eight points, respectively.

LFO improved to 8-5 overall and 6-0 in region play.

Adairsville (8-7, 4-2) will host Bremen on Friday in a 6 p.m. tip and will travel to Woodland on Saturday for a non-region game.

HIRAM 71, WOODLAND BOYS 48

The Wildcats lost at Hiram Tuesday night, 71-48, in the Region 7-5A opener for both teams. The Hornets improved to 8-6 on the season and 1-0 in the region.

Woodland (6-8, 0-1) hosts Calhoun in another region game on Friday night and will entertain Adairsville in a non-region game on Saturday afternoon.