By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – The Cherokee County Warriors knew the challenge in front of them. They were faced with winning three games in three days if they were to win their first Cherokee County Basketball Tournament title since 2013.
Coming off of Friday night’s dramatic 27-point deficit and buzzer-beating rally against Sand Rock, the Warriors had to put their emotions behind them to finish off a championship run against an athletic Cedar Bluff team.
Mission accomplished.
Owen Jacoway netted 13 points, and Tatum Perry and Chris Cobb tallied 11 to lead the Warriors to a 60-45 victory at Richard Lindsey Arena on Saturday night.
The win clinched the 40th known Cherokee County championship by the Warriors.
“Resilience is something we’ve been talking about all year,” Warrior head coach Caleb Hays said. “We’ve talked about some of the earlier struggles we’ve had, finishing games and things like that. I think that’s part of playing a tough schedule. It prepares you for times like this.
“Playing three games in a row and having your legs under you, our depth has helped us tremendously with that. Our guys have shown something that you could write a story on how resilient and how they’ve persevered.”
It wasn’t easy for the Warriors (8-13) on Saturday night however. Cedar Bluff (12-10) proved to be a tough team to shake.
The Tigers hovered within striking distance in the first half, trailing by four after a quarter at 13-9 and by one at halftime 23-22.
But the Warriors found their stride in the third quarter. They went on a 19-6 run to take a 42-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.
“We knew their pace was going to be an issue. They have extreme athleticism,” Hays said. “We both got in a little foul trouble early. It was kind of a game of depth. Their tempo and their aggressiveness gave us some problems, but in the second half we adjusted to the speed of it. We started finding some gaps in the zones. We started making better decisions with our passes. We had to do some crafty things to find ways to get our posts the ball. They finished around the rim.”
The Warrior defense also caused the Tigers fits in the second half.
“We turned the ball over several times and had a couple of bad plays,” Cedar Bluff head coach Johnny Amison said. “At the start of the third, we just came out and started turning the ball over. We told our guys they thrive off our turnovers, and if we do that, then we’re going to be in trouble. They did it for about four or five minutes there, and that’s where the game turned.”
Another turning point of the Warrior second-half surge came from Cobb off the bench. He scored nine of his 11 points came in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“Chris came off the bench and brought an excellent energy boost. He was the catalyst it seemed like,” Hays said.
Owen Jacoway led the Warriors with 13 points. Tatum Perry also posted 11 points. Jayquan Diamond and Alex Rogers both finished with nine points.
“Owen did a great job around the rim. Alex did a great job facilitating, and Tatum made plays,” Hays said. “Our rebounding was great. Our defensive effort was great. We challenged them at halftime, very similar to Friday (against Sand Rock). They came out and responded to the challenge.”
Not only did the Warriors respond to the challenges they were faced with this week, but they’ve found some chemistry along the way.
“We’re finding ways to win, and I hope that resilience and that competitive edge stays,” Hays said. “You want to get hot at the right time. We’re closing in on area tournament. We’re two-thirds of the way there, and we want to keep that momentum going.”
Shon Gleen led Cedar Bluff 15 points. Kuper Bradley came away with 10 points. Jonas Brown finished with seven points.
Junior Varsity Boys Championship
Spring Garden 43, Cherokee County 36
CENTRE – The Spring Garden Panthers rallied from a 16-point deficit in the first quarter to take a 43-36 victory over Cherokee County to win the Cherokee County Junior Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament championship on Saturday at Richard Lindsey Arena in Centre.
Eli Bates led the Panthers with 12 points, including three 3-pointers. Shawn Carnes contributed 10 points. Kane Powell posted nine points and Emmett Estes finished with six points points. Both Powell and Estes had a pair of treys.
Bray Baker and Cam Gaidurgis both scored 10 points to lead the Warriors. Easton Morgan finished with seven points.
The Warriors jumped out on a 16-0 run to begin the game and led 16-6 at the end of the first quarter. Cherokee County held a 24-16 advantage at halftime before Spring Garden surged ahead 31-26 after three quarters.
