The ‘Landers set the tone in the second quarter, and never looked back against Unaka.
Cloudland pulled away to take a 77-52 District 1-A Semifinal victory over the Rangers on Saturday night to move into Tuesday’s Championship tilt against Hampton. Unaka will take on North Greene in Monday’s consolation game.
The Rangers, however, went toe-to-toe with Cloudland in the opening quarter. Gary Wright opened the scoring with a Unaka basket, but Preston Benfield answered for CHS with five-straight points. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter as the ‘Landers held a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Dalton Vines opened the second quarter scoring for Cloudland that sparked a 15-1 CHS run. Wright stopped the run with two free throws, and Kyler Lewis added a basket. However, the ‘Landers extended the lead to 38-19 at the break.
Colton Chambers made full use of an old fashioned 3-point play to open second half play, but Colby Birchfield helped Cloudland counter. The remainder of the third quarter saw CHS maintain their advantage – which was 58-36 heading to the fourth.
Benfield led all scorers with 25 points, including his 1,000th career point. Jessie Potter scored 18 points, and Wagoner added 13 points. Birchfield finished with seven points.
Lewis led Unaka with 24 points. Wright and Chambers had 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Postgame Audio
Cloudland Head Coach Gary Harrison
Unaka Head Coach Aaron Dugger[audi
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