By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

SAND ROCK – Coming into Monday night’s basketball game against Cedar Bluff, Sand Rock boys coach Nick Traffanstedt wasn’t particularly proud of the Wildcats’ free-throw shooting.

They were just shy of 60-percent from the charity stripe for the season.

Following a 15-of-19 performance, including 9-of-10 in the final 55 seconds, Traffanstedt is glad the Wildcats’ shooting percentage at the line is on the rise.

Sand Rock held on for a 70-58 victory over one of their county rivals. The Wildcats built as much as a 15-point advantage with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter before Cedar Bluff caught fire.

The Tigers went on a 12-0 run behind its pressure defense in a two-minute span, including 3-pointers by Eli McFry and Hunter Stallings. Carter Dillingham also had a pair of buckets during the run.

But following a timeout in the action with 1:19 to go, Sand Rock settled back down behind the free-throw shooting of Ty Traffanstedt and Domminck Clausen. Traffanstedt was 5-of-6 from the line while Clausen connected on all four of his shots in the game’s final minute.

“We’ve been in some battles, some close games, but 80 percent free-throw shooting is going to get you a win,” Coach Traffanstedt said.

Monday night’s game was just the Wildcats’ second win of the season.

“For the kids, I’m super proud of them,” Coach Traffanstedt said. “They deserve it. They worked hard. They haven’t given up. This win is big for their morale. It’s huge to me that they come out and play hard win, lose or draw. Their attitudes are great.”

The Wildcats aren’t the only team going through some growing pains this season. The Tigers are as well.

“We did fight for about three or four minutes (in the fourth), but we just have to learn how to do that from the beginning,” Cedar Bluff coach Johnny Amison said. “It’s a younger group, so I’m trying to get them to understand how hard you have to play to win basketball games. If you don’t play hard it’s not going to work. We’re learning and it’s tough right now, but we’ve just got to keep going and try to play through it.”

Sand Rock led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter and built a 10-point cushion at 34-24 by halftime. The Wildcats maintained their 10-point edge at 49-39 heading into the fourth quarter. They extended their lead to 15 at 59-44 on a Clausen 3-pointer with 3:31 to go.

Cedar Bluff got within three at 59-56 on back-to-back baskets by Dillingham, but could get no closer.

“Our youth kicked in,” Coach Traffanstedt said of Cedar Bluff’s late run. “Our point guard (son Ty Traffanstedt) had a couple of turnovers. He usually handles the ball well but he’s young. It put us in a tight (bind), but we stepped up there when we needed to. We had some other guards come in. They (Cedar Bluff) put some really good pressure on us, but it helped our point guard out by bringing another guard down so we could get the ball out and move it down the court.”

Cam Gifford led the Wildcats with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Carson Wiford and Ty Traffanstedt both scored 15 points. Wiford sank three treys and Ty Traffanstedt went 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Clausen finished with 12 points, including a pair of treys.

Dillingham topped the Tigers with 16 points. McFry and Kadin Fife both netted 10 points. McFry had three 3-pointers. Isaac Bishop rang for nine and Stallings finished with eight points, including a pair of treys.

“I tried to tell them coming over here you can’t look at their record. Sand Rock plays very hard,” Amison said.

“They’re young like we are, probably younger than we are, but they shoot well and we had to match their intensity. We just didn’t do it for long enough.”

Girls

Sand Rock 58, Cedar Bluff 35

SAND ROCK – Despite shooting 7-for-35 from the 3-point line, the Sand Rock Lady Wildcats managed to earn a 58-35 basketball win over visiting Cedar Bluff on Monday.

Katelyn St.Clair led the Lady Wildcats (14-6) with 21 points, including three treys and a 10-of-11 performance from the free-throw line. She also came away with nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Zoey Handy delivered 16 points, nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist. Chloe Stephens connected on a pair of treys and had 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Kylie Vadon topped Cedar Bluff (12-7) with 15 points. She also had six rebounds, a steal, an assist and a block. Za’Niya Kyle contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.

Sand Rock held a 14-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter and a 30-18 lead at halftime. The Lady Wildcats maintained a 44-30 edge after three quarters.

Sand Rock hosts area rival Fyffe on Tuesday. Cedar Bluff is at Coosa Christian, also on Tuesday.