By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

SAND ROCK – Coming into Friday night’s Alabama ONE Cherokee Basketball Classic opener at Sand Rock, Collinsville boys basketball coach Jon Tidmore didn’t know what to expect from the Cherokee County Warriors.

For that matter, Warrior coach Caleb Hays didn’t know what to expect either. After all, it was Cherokee County’s first game of the season.

Tidmore said all the Panthers did was prepare for pressure and screen outs. That did the trick in Collinsville’s 49-44 victory.

“We figured they were real athletic after going to the state championship game (in football), and I figured they’d be real physical,” Tidmore said. “We just prepared to screen out and hopefully break the press a little bit.”

However it was the Warriors (0-1) who controlled the early part of the game. They held a 12-10 edge after a quarter, and built a 30-23 edge heading into halftime.

Collinsville (6-3) managed to go out in front 34-32 at the end of the third quarter and surged ahead 45-38 on a basket by Dawson Cothran with 1:09 remaining in the game.

But the Warriors continued to battle.

A pair of Eli Martin 3-pointers within the final minute kept the Warriors within striking distance. The second came with 19.3 seconds left to bring Cherokee County within three at 47-44.

Cothran helped close the door for Collinsville with a pair of made free throws with 4.6 seconds to go. He finished with 10 points for the Panthers.

“We hit enough free throws and took care of (the ball) enough (down the stretch),” Tidmore said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we were able to do that. That’s what you’ve got to be able to do at the end of a game. If Dawson doesn’t hit those free throws, they’ve got another chance to heave one in.

“(Martin’s) tough. We gave him one three on a screen. We weren’t close, but the next one we had a great hand up. He just elevated and made a shot.”

Hays said he was proud of how Martin played. He led the Warriors with 17 points, including those two 3-pointers.

“He’s a senior leader for us. He’s been working hard in the off-season. He’s one of our two (guys) who didn’t play football. He’s kind of been champing at the bit to get out here. I was proud he shot the ball like he did. I expect him to continue doing that and our guys finding him.”

Jake Middlebrooks led Collinsville with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Zach Clanton contributed 10 points, including a pair of treys. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Gavin Lang sank three treys and finished with nine points and five boards.

“We were trying to play fast and use our athleticism, but Collinsville did a great job of controlling their pace and not play into our game,” Hays said. “Jake did a great job in the post. Their shooters shot the ball well and they hit their free throws.”

Jacob Cornejo added 12 points for the Warriors. Ben Moseley rang for six points and Reid Jacoway finished with five points.

“We were in a little bit better shape than I expected we’d be coming out of football,” Hays said. “Our effort was definitely there. We’ve got a bunch of new varsity players who are kind of figuring out the speed of the game. We’ve definitely got to get a little more under control.

“We were hoping we could be aggressive, but Collinsville did a good job of breaking our press. We’ve got to do a better job on our rotations to not get hurt so bad when we are in that. We rebounded the ball. I thought we fought hard under the boards, but we didn’t shoot the ball particularly great.”

“I’d hate to have them in two weeks because they’re going to get better and better,” Tidmore said. “It was a good win.”

Collinsville takes on Spring Garden in the Classic on Saturday at 7 p.m. Cherokee County hosts Etowah on Tuesday.