A county clash proved to be an instant classic.
Lyndie Ramsey hit a runner with seven seconds remaining to lift Unaka to a 41-40 victory over Cloudland in District 1-A play on Friday night.
In the boys’ game, the Rangers jumped out early and took an 84-46 decision over the ‘Landers.
In the girls’ game, it was a game of runs in the first half.
Unaka jumped out quickly in the opening stretch as Ramsey scored nine early points and shots from Haley Taylor and Jill Faust pushed UHS to a 14-1 advantage over the first five minutes. Izabella Christman answered with three straight buckets for Cloudland as the ‘Landers closed within 14-7 after a quarter of play.
Cloudland continued to hold the momentum as play opened in the second quarter as the Lady ‘Landers saw Ella Benfield and Ryan Turbyfill spark a 17-4 run as CHS took their first lead of the night.
Unaka, however, ended the half on a quick 5-0 run to close the CHS lead to 24-23 at half.
The teams traded shots early in the third quarter as neither team was able to get any separation. CHS led 36-33 with a quarter of play.
Benfield pushed the Cloudland lead to five points to open the final quarter, but Ramsey countered with a pair of free throws.
After Benfield pushed the lead back out, Ramsey scored four straight to close the gap to one point with just over a minute to play.
Neither team was able to get back on the board until Ramsey hit what proved to be the game-winner with seven seconds remaining.
Ramsey led Unaka with 29 points, while Haley Taylor had four points. Faust finished with three points.
Benfield had 20 points to lead Cloudland. Turbyfill and Christman had 10 points apiece.
In the boys’ game, Unaka hit the gas early.
Johnny Douglas and Brayden Powell hit back-to-back shots to open the scoring, and Unaka took a 9-0 lead before Gage McKinney put CHS on the board with a 3-pointer.
Cloudland’s Ryan Sexton and Powell traded shots to end the quarter as Unaka took a 17-8 lead after eight minutes of play.
Landon Ramsey opened the second quarter scoring as Unaka used a pair of runs to push the lead to 34-14 at the half.
From there, the Rangers continued to slowly add to the lead despite a hard-fought effort from the ‘Landers.
Joe-Z Blamo had 26 points to lead Unaka, while Ramsey had 19 points. Mason Wilson and Powell had 14 points apiece.
Sexton led Cloudland with 11 points. Cayden Clarke had nine points, while Eli Morgan had six points.
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