By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – While all of Northeast Alabama was in a deep freeze this week, the Cherokee County Warriors took advantage of some extra time on the basketball court.
Head coach Caleb Hays said it was the first time all season his team has had “to practice a few days in a row, get a game plan and make sure we were fresh.”
It paid dividends on Thursday night against Sand Rock in the Cherokee County Tournament at Richard Lindsey Arena at Gadsden State-Cherokee.
Behind a solid defensive effort, the Warriors were able to capture their first win of the season, a 48-37 victory. Cherokee County advances to play top-seeded Spring Garden on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
“We figured out a lot about ourselves in our practices (this week),” Hays said. “We’ve done a lot of scrimmaging this week and kind of created some roles for people.
“Obviously, we made it difficult to make shots at times, but we were playing hard. We executed the game plan tonight. Defensively they worked their tails off and did everything we asked them to do.”
Hays commended the play of sophomore forward Ben Moseley inside the paint and sophomore guard Keyshawn Woods for “giving us a lot of energy.” He also praised junior shooting guard Reid Jacoway for staying with his shot after missing a few shots early.
Jacoway hit a crucial 3-pointer near the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter that stretched the Warrior lead out to 37-32. A steal and basket by Moseley then put the Warriors up by seven at 39-32. It was a mini-sequence in which Sand Rock never fully recovered.
“Reid kind of got a little passive and we called him over and kept on him about staying confident. We told him one of them is going to fall,” Hays said. “He’s got to have the confidence to knock that down and he came in and hit it at a big time after he kind of struggled early. It showed some maturity with him and what we expect him to do.
“He’s the guy we need to push the tempo and keep us in what we need to be in. It was big time for him.”
Even though the Warriors won by 11, the game was tight throughout. Cherokee County led 13-9 after one and 19-16 at halftime. The Warriors maintained a 3-point cushion after three quarters at 30-27.
Woods led the Warriors with 10 points. Moseley scored eight points and Eli Martin had seven points. Jacob Cornejo, Jayquan Diamond and Owen Jacoway all rang for six points. Reid Jacoway finished with five points.
Sand Rock eighth grade guard Ty Traffanstedt topped all scorers with 25 points, including three 3-pointers.
“Ty played phenomenal, and their guys played hard,” Hays said. “I’m glad we played scrappy enough to win the game. It was just a team effort, a lot of heart and a lot of character. We’re looking to gain momentum from this and go 1-0 every night.”
Varsity Girls
Cedar Bluff 59, Gaylesville 22
CENTRE – Cedar Bluff went on a 13-2 first quarter run and cruised to a 59-22 victory over Gaylesville in the Cherokee County Varsity Girls Tournament on Thursday at Richard Lindsey Arena.
Kylie Vadon led the Lady Tigers with 23 points, four steals, three rebounds and an assist. Za’Niya Kyle collected 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and an assist. Hayden Cannon had nine points. Janaya Higgins and Ciana Smith both scored five points. Higgins added five points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals while Smith also had nine rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Gracie Dawson led Gaylesville with 12 points.
Cedar Bluff advances to face top-seeded Spring Garden on Friday at 4 p.m.
Junior Varsity Boys
Spring Garden 48, Sand Rock 30
CENTRE – Clayton Sadler scored 17 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, in leading the Spring Garden junior varsity boys past Sand Rock in the Cherokee County Tournament semifinals on Thursday at Richard Lindsey Arena.
Zane Edwards added 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Erik Rule finished with seven points for the Panthers, who advance to face Cedar Bluff for the JV boys tournament title on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Thomas Snead led Sand Rock with 15 points, including three treys.
Spring Garden held a 14-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter and built a 27-17 edge at halftime. The Panthers maintained a 10-point cushion at 37-27 after three quarters.
Sand Rock 30, Gaylesville 24
CENTRE – Earlier in the day, Snead led the Wildcats with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 30-24 victory over Gaylesville.
Jaxon Bruce also sank three treys and added 10 points for the Wildcats.
Timmy Dawson and Aydn Heinrich scored eight points apiece to lead the Trojans. Dawson delivered a pair of 3-pointers. Chase Mohler also had a pair of treys and finished with six points.
Sand Rock led 7-6 after one and held a 15-12 lead at halftime. The Wildcats held a 23-22 edge after three quarters.
Cedar Bluff 45, Cherokee County 37
CENTRE – Shon Gleen scored 17 second-half points to lift the Cedar Bluff junior varsity boys past Cherokee County 45-37 in in the junior varsity boys tournament semifinals Thursday.
Zyrese Wynn added 11 points for the Tigers. Keondre Wynn and Jonas Brown finished with eight and five points respectively.
Daniel Neyman netted 10 points, including three 3-pointers to lead the Warriors. Jayvierre Henderson and Keyshawn Thomas finished with nine and five points respectively.
Cedar Bluff led at each of the quarter breaks. The Tigers held a 13-11 advantage after one and a 19-18 edge at halftime. Cedar Bluff held on for a 33-31 lead after three quarters and outscored the Warriors 12-6 in the fourth for the final.
