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Champs back on track, blow out Huntland

Posted 2/11/21

After orchestrating an eight-game run through the district schedule, the Cascade Champions dropped back-to-back games against Moore County and Richland. Having lost two-straight, Cascade closed out the District 8-A schedule with another blowout victory against the Huntland Hornets...

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Champs back on track, blow out Huntland

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After orchestrating an eight-game run through the district schedule, the Cascade Champions dropped back-to-back games against Moore County and Richland.

Having lost two-straight, Cascade closed out the District 8-A schedule with another blowout victory against the Huntland Hornets.

During their first meeting, Cascade (12-8, 9-1) claimed a 56-point victory.

While Tuesday night's 8-A finale wasn't a 56-point margin of victory, Cascade coach Chris Lawson was still plenty pleased with his team's 79-52 win over the Hornets.

"It was a satisfying win because we had everybody contribute. We had three in double figures and two with eight and nine points almost in double figures. We were very, very balanced. It was the type of game we want and were building for," he said.

For five-straight games, Cascade has struggled to consistently score, both in the paint and from the perimeter.

On Tuesday, Cascade saw a balanced attack, led by Justis Carter in the paint, and Lucas Clanton from the arc.

Carter broke loose and piled up 17 first-half points while Carter drilled three second-quarter treys.

"We've talked to those two about how they have to play like they're the best player on the floor. They have to step up to the challenge and have to produce for us. But once you get scouted, things change a little bit," Lawson said.

With teams keying on the Champion point producers, Lawson says the onus falls on the coaching staff developing creative ways to distribute the ball to create high-percentage shot opportunities.

"It's hard for us to dump the ball inside as much and they really hug Lucas and he doesn't get clean looks as often. We have to get a little bit more creative with how we get them the ball. But tonight, they stepped up and decided to take over themselves," he said.

In total, 11 Champions scored in the 27-point victory, which Lawson hopes is a sign of things to come in the postseason.

While Cascade's offense has been inconsistent at times throughout the season, what's not been the slightest bit inconsistent is the Champions' defense.

During the 9-1 run throughout the District 8-A schedule, the Champion defense allowed an average of just 46.1 points per game.

Carter finished Tuesday night's contest with a game-high 19 points.

He led three Champs in double figures, while Clanton chipped in 11 and senior Ethan Swan added 10.

Alex Allison was knocking on the door of double figures with nine points, while Chance Brown and Landon Lane each added eight.

For the Hornets (3-13, 2-8), Tuesday night was a much different look than the first meeting against Cascade when Huntland was held to 36 points.

Zeier Golden posted a team-high 15 points, while Eli Wiggs and Will Jolley added 13 and 11, respectively.

Tuesday night marks the end of the 8-A regular season schedule and sets up a regular season finale on Thursday for the Champions.

Cascade will wrap up the 2020-2021 regular season against Jackson County before beginning the District 8-A tournament next week.

Due to COVID restrictions, the higher seed in the upcoming tournament will host each game in the tournament in satellite play, rather than a single tournament location.

Throughout the tournament, Cascade will host the tournament after locking up the overall No. 1 seed with a 9-1 district record.

Huntland 15 11 15 11 - 52

Cascade 20 26 19 14 - 79

Huntland: Justis Carter 19, Lucas Clanton 11, Ethan Swan 10, Alex Allison 9, Chance Brown 8, Landon Lane 8, Jackson Davis 4, Jacob Curl 4, Zach Crosslin 2, Tyler Sabin 2, Seth Countess 2.

Cascade: Zeier Golden 15, Eli Wiggs 13, Will Jolley 11, Noah Thompson 4, Bryson Johnson 3, Brayden Phillips 3, Cade Limbaugh 2, James Miller.

3-Point goals: Huntland (6): Golden 3, Jolley, Wiggs, Phillips; Cascade (5): Clanton 3, Lane 2.

Halftime score: Cascade 46, Huntland 26.