After winning the District 7-AA championship last week, Cascade coach Chris Lawson knew he would have to prepare his team for a different style of basketball than what the Champions have seen lately for the Region 4-AA quarterfinal matchup against Whites Creek.
While the Cobras (10-18) gave the Champs (23-7) a different look, it was Cascade who was able to withstand a hot-shooting Whites Creek squad and advance to the 4-AA semifinals with a 67-57 win on Saturday night.
“They (Whites Creek) run their stuff really well. They are able to get downhill with the ball and they move it pretty well from side-to-side. They look to shoot threes. They did a good job with that. They shot the ball well outside. We were able to kind of withstand it, but you have to give them credit because they did such a great job running their stuff,” Lawson said.
Whites Creek’s game plan was simple—spread the floor, utilize quick passes and find the open man for a jumper.
After a sluggish start in the first quarter, the Cobras connected on 10 total 3-pointers over the remaining three quarters.
While the visitors were looking for the three-ball to fall in the first quarter, shots just weren’t going down for the Cobras.
This gave Cascade the opportunity to run its game-plan through senior big man Justis Carter, who went for nine of his game-high 29 points in the opening frame.
“We knew we had a size advantage inside. He kind of took over a little bit inside, especially when they got in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half,” Lawson said.
Cascade built a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and held the Cobras to a single field goal over the final 6:55 of the opening quarter.
After Cascade stretched the lead to nine points to start the second quarter following a drive to the rim by Jackson Davis, Whites Creek responded with a 10-0 run to take a 17-16 lead with 4:59 left in the half.
But after the 10-0 run to take the one-point lead, the Cobras went scoreless from the floor until a 3-pointer by Eric Thomas swished the net with 40 seconds left.
With shots from the perimeter finally starting to fall, the Cobras continued to threaten the Champion lead, pulling within one possession several times in the third.
Cascade continued to counter with its balanced roster and utilized its mismatch in the paint and held onto the lead for the remainder of regulation.
In the 19-point third, seven different Champions found their way in the scoring column, but it was a corner 3-pointer by Lucas Clanton with 51 seconds that pushed Cascade’s lead to five points.
Isaac McElroy followed with a basket with 12 seconds left to push Cascade’s lead to seven points by the end of the third quarter.
Clanton added another key 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the game to give Cascade it’s biggest lead of the night, a 63-51 lead.
But fouls continued to be an issue for the Cobras, which allowed Carter to not only get to the rim, but also to the free throw line.
He tacked on 10 more points in the fourth quarter to help Cascade secure a spot in the Region 4-AA semifinals.
“He (Carter) did a good job rebounding and getting buckets at the rim. That’s what you want out of your senior leader,” Lawson said.
Carter’s 29 points led three Champs in double figures, with Clanton chipping in 14 and Davis adding 10.
Whites Creek saw just five players score, but three went for double figures, with Anthony Helwig’s 19 points leading the way.
As a team, the Cobras connected on 10 3-pointers, while Cascade added just four, including two timely shots by Clanton.
Cascade proved effective at the charity stripe as well, with the Champs making good on 11-of-15 attempts.
The win keeps Cascade’s season alive, but sets up another elimination game in the Region 4-AA semifinals against Pearl Cohn, with a trip to the region finals and Class A state sectional on the line.
Pearl Cohn defeated Forrest in the Region 4-AA quarterfinals on Saturday to advance as well.
“That’s exactly what we’ve worked for all year is an opportunity to have a chance to get back to the sub-state game. It comes down to one game,” Lawson said.
Cascade will face Pearl Cohn (19-9) on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Whites Creek.

Whites Creek 7 15 19 16 — 57
Cascade 14 15 19 19 — 67

Whites Creek: Anthony Helwig 19, Eric Thomas 15, Aaron Hailey 14, Darron Jennings 5, Andreas Hathaway 4.
Cascade: Justis Carter 29, Lucas Clanton 14, Jackson Davis 10, Chance Brown 5, Thomas Gentry 5, Saebyn Burris 2, Isaac McElroy 2.
3-Point goals: Whites Creek (10): Thomas 5, Hailey 3, Helwig, Jennings; Cascade (4): Clanton 2, Brown, Gentry.
Halftime score: Cascade 29, Whites Creek 22.