By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – The Spring Garden Panthers needed a spark in the second half on Saturday night in the Cherokee County Tournament championship game against upstart Gaylesville.
They found one off the bench in senior guard Henry Chaney.
Chaney connected on three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points in leading the Panthers past the Trojans 41-25 to clinch their first county championship since 2022 and 16th in school history. It was also the first county title for second-year Panther head coach Levi Hatcher.
“His spark was a big injection,” Hatcher said of Chaney. “Credit to Gaylesville. They had a good game plan coming in. They really packed it in tight. We got some inside shots, but we just couldn’t find a way to stick it in the hole.
“Luckily Henry came in and had a touch, hit a couple. His on-the-ball defense was great as well. It wasn’t just one-sided. He played both sides very well. He did a really good job of giving us some energy we really needed on both ends.”
Chaney, a transfer from Piedmont, said he just tried to “put us in a position to win.”
“Coach put me in and I just stuck to what he’s taught me,” he said. “The first (3-pointer) just kind of put me in rhythm. They just started falling through after that.”
Coming off arguably the biggest win in 36 years after defeating Cedar Bluff in overtime on Friday night, Gaylesville head coach Kolby Brannon said his team’s game plan for Spring Garden was not allowing Spring Garden twins John and Jake Welsh beat them, to make someone else step up.
Chaney did just that.
“I tip my hat to him,” Brannon said. “That’s what we wanted them to do. Obviously the Welsh brothers were who we put our focus on. They had their points because they’re going to get them, but we made it tough for them. I told our guys if somebody’s going to beat us it cannot be one of those two. Chaney stepped up and he did that for them. He put them in that spot where it kind of sealed the game and put it out of reach.”
The game was a far cry from eight days prior. Spring Garden won that one handily, 76-40.
“We looked like we didn’t belong in that one,” Brannon said. “I feel like we have turned that corner. We’ve got (Braden) Sharp back (from injury) and he does all our dirty work down low. When he’s there we just have more confidence. We feel like he gives us a chance.”
And a chance was what Gaylesville had on Saturday.
In a defensive battle throughout, Spring Garden held an 11-4 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Panthers maintained a 16-9 edge at halftime.
Enter Chaney in the third quarter.
He connected on a pair of his three treys, helping Spring Garden extend its lead to 30-17 after three quarters.
“Coach just told us don’t worry about the name on the front of the jersey, just keep the tunnel vision, play to the best of our abilities and do what we know what we’re capable of doing,” Chaney said.
John Welsh also had 11 points for the Panthers. Jake Welsh tossed in 10 points. Chapel Pope finished with five points.
“I’m frustrated with the way we played, but I’m thrilled that we persevered,” Hatcher said. “We might have had a little bit of a down game, but we’re starting to get into our stride a little bit.
“It’s nice when you can share (a county championship) with the girls. I’m just thrilled for them, just so happy to walk out of here with a win and get the trophy back.”
Kyler Bradley led the Trojans with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Kuper Bradley came away with six points.
“We enjoyed (Friday) night, but when we got here today, our guys thought we had a chance,” Brannon said. “We saw on Facebook a lot of people say they were going to lose by 40 or 50 points, but my boys were like no we’re not. We’re going to show them that we deserve to be here. I feel like we did that. A lot of people felt like we didn’t deserve to be here, but we stepped up tonight. That’s what it felt like at least. We put up a fight with them.”
Junior Varsity Boys
Cedar Bluff 59, Spring Garden 41
CENTRE – Shon Gleen rang for a game-high 23 points in leading the Cedar Bluff junior varsity boys to a 59-41 win over Spring Garden to clinch the Cherokee County Junior Varsity Boys championship on Saturday.
Zyrese Wynn tossed in 19 points for the Tigers. Keondre Wynn finished with 13 points.
Erik Rule led Spring Garden with 11 points. Eli Bates added nine points on three 3-pointers. Clayton Sadler contributed eight points and Joel Hunter finished with six points.
Cedar Bluff led by a 10-9 margin at the end of the first quarter, but went on a 19-7 run in the second to take a 29-16 advantage at halftime. The Tigers outscored Spring Garden 21-11 in the third to take a 50-27 lead.