By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
JACKSONVILLE – Coming into Tuesday night’s Northeast Regional semifinal against fourth-ranked Section, Cedar Bluff boys basketball coach Johnny Amison warned the Tigers about sophomore shooting sensation Jacob Cloud.
Talking about Cloud is one thing, but defending against him is something else.
Cloud rained down six 3-pointers against the No. 10 Tigers, including four in the first half. As a team, Section sank 15 treys in a 75-24 season-ending rout.
Cloud finished with a game-high 24 points.
“We told them they all can shoot, and zero (Cloud’s number) is their main shooter,” Amison said. “Once they saw it, a couple of them looked at me a couple of times and I was like ‘I told you he can shoot.’ They run good stuff for him. He was coming off screens and gets lost in there. They drive and kick and find him. They’re just a good team. They can fill it up.”
Cedar Bluff junior forward Zyrese Wynn had most of the guard duty on Cloud. As Amison said, Wynn was “getting lost” in finding where Cloud was until it was too late.
“I was trying to talk to my team, get them to swap, but it was so loud (in Pete Mathews Coliseum),” Wynn said.
None of the current Tigers (20-12) had ever experienced what it was like to play at The Pete. In fact, it had been 10 years since Cedar Bluff had made a regional appearance.
“Assistant coach Isaiha Jones, he was on the last team that played here,” Amison said. “To get this experience now, to get our foot in the door a little bit, I hope that feeds them to want it more and more.
“Hopefully we can build off this and start getting Cedar Bluff back on the map. We’ve been gone for a while now. It’s time to get back to what we’re known for.”
Wynn and Shon Gleen led the Tigers with eight points apiece. Wynn also grabbed six rebounds.
Jackson Cooper added 12 points for Section. Jackson Leroy netted nine points and grabbed five boards. Kameron Tinker tallied eight points and Luke Swinford finished with seven points.
The Lions roared out of the gate to a 19-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 38-17 at halftime and to 66-23 after three quarters.
“We lost to a really good team,” Amison said. “I told the guys not to hold their heads. That’s one of the best teams in the state, probably from 5A, 4A down.”
