The Lady ‘Landers and ‘Landers made sure things went their way on Monday night.
Cloudland swept varsity action with victories over Johnson County in Mountain City. The Lady ‘Landers rolled to a 56-36 victory, while the ‘Landers rallied from a halftime deficit to take a 52-43 win over the Longhorns.
In the varsity opener, Payton Johnson scored 22 points to power the Cloudland. Johnson scored 10 points in the opening period, while Shian Strickland added six points to give CHS an 18-14 advantage after the first quarter. Cloudland kept full steam ahead in the second quarter by outscoring the Lady Longhorns 17-8.
In the second half, the Lady ‘Landers continued to hold the advantage as it was never in doubt.
Strickland finished with 14 points. Lisa Ellis tallied nine points, and Stacia Wilson added six points.
In the boys’ game, Cloudland had to dig out of a second quarter hole to rally back for the win. After the first quarter ended tied at 14, the Longhorns outscored the ‘Landers 13-3 to take a 10-point lead into the locker room at the half.
Cloudland, however, battled back as Colby Birchfield scored seven points in the third quarter and the ‘Landers returned the favor outscoring Johnson County 20-5 in the frame. The ‘Landers secured the game going 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final quarter and Preston Benfield added six points.
Benfield finished the game with 15 points, while Birchfield tallied 13 points. Jason Potter finished with eight points. Jesse Potter added seven points to the ‘Lander cause.
