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Balanced Cascade Scoring Leads to Homecoming Victory Over Grundy County

Noah Maddox
Posted 2/3/25

Bell Buckle, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (13-9, 3-3) felt like they let a winnable game slip through their grasp in their nine-point loss at Grundy County (15-4, 5-2) earlier in the week, so …

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Balanced Cascade Scoring Leads to Homecoming Victory Over Grundy County

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Bell Buckle, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (13-9, 3-3) felt like they let a winnable game slip through their grasp in their nine-point loss at Grundy County (15-4, 5-2) earlier in the week, so on homecoming night, the Champs left no doubt, pulling away late against the former District 9-AA leaders, 65-49, on Friday.

Cascade held a 41-40 lead entering the fourth quarter of last Monday’s game against the Yellow Jackets before losing, 62-53, but on Friday night, the Champs led wire-to-wire despite 26 points from Sam Parson. Grundy County got it as close as six points with the ball, 55-49, at the 1:35 mark after Tyler Rodgers missed a pair of free-throws, but Cascade closed on a 10-0 run over the final 90 seconds to hand the Jackets just their second loss in district play.

Tyler Rodgers (25) finished with 12-5-3 & two steals vs Grundy Co.
Tyler Rodgers (25) finished with 12-5-3 & two steals vs Grundy Co.
David Smith

The story of the night was Cascade’s defense. The Champs held Grundy County to just 29% shooting from the field, a season-worst for the Jackets. They also only connected on a trio of three-pointers, finishing a shocking 3/35 from downtown. Parson shot 9/20 from the field and finished with a game-high 26 points, but shot a rough 2/10 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Cascade shot 52% from the field and made 7/19 threes as a team. Despite committing 19 turnovers to Grundy’s 15, both teams scored 17 points off of turnovers while Cascade outscored the Yellow Jackets, 17-10, in transition.

  Jason Cullum, after being held to just six points in the first game, erupted for a team-high 17 points, seven assists, and five rebounds on the night, including connecting on a pair of threes. Kaleb Kelso scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and swiped four steals as one of five double-digit scorers for Cascade in the game. Tyler Barrett, Tyler Rodgers, and Henry Stone scored 13 points, 12 points, and 10 points, respectively. Barrett hit three triples, Rodgers pulled down five boards and dished out three assists, and Stone pulled down five boards as well.

For Grundy County, Sam Parson was the only player to reach double-figures, finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two rejections. Nate Robertrs reached nine points for the visitors, shooting just 1/10 from downtown.

To start, Cascade’s defense helped the Champs jump out to an 18-7 lead at the end of the opening period. In the second, the hosts again outscored Grundy County, 15-11, to take an impressive 33-18 lead into the halftime locker room. 

Kaleb Kelso (5) scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half against Grundy Co.
Kaleb Kelso (5) scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half against Grundy Co.
David Smith

Coming out of halftime, the Yellow Jackets finally began to wake up. Sparked by Parson’s 11 points in the third quarter, Grundy outscored Cascade, 14-11, to make it a 12-point game entering the fourth quarter, 44-32. 

In the final frame, Grundy went on an extended 17-11 run to make it a six-point game, 55-49, with 95 seconds left to go. After Rodgers missed a pair at the charity stripe, Grundy County took a timeout. However, the Champs forced a missed shot, and after Rodgers took the ball coast-to-coast for the layup, Grundy’s rally was officially over. Chris Lawson improved to 8-2 against the Yellow Jackets since they entered District 9-AA. 

Cascade improves to 13-9 (3-3) and will take a momentary hiatus from district play to go on the road and play the #1 team in Class A, the Eagleville Eagles, on Tuesday, LIVE on The Zinger 100.9 and AM 1400 starting at 5:45 p.m.

Cascade Champions Basketball, Grundy County Yellow Jackets, Sam Parson, District 9-AA