Cloudland was unable to complete a rally on Tuesday night.
The ‘Landers were unable to answer a late run as Mitchell County (N.C.) took a 48-40 decision over the ‘Landers inside Sonny Smith Gymnasium. The Lady ‘Landers jumped out early and never looked back in a 49-15 win over the Lady Mountaineers.
In the varsity nightcap, points were hard to come by for both teams.
After Mitchell scored the four points of the game, Dylan McClellan and Ryan Sexton hit shots to push CHS to a 7-6 lead after eight minutes of play.
McClellan and Eli Morgan pushed the lead to 12-6 in the opening minutes of the second, but Mitchell used a 10-2 run to take a 16-14 advantage. The teams traded shots to end the half as the Mountaineers held a 20-18 advantage at the break.
In the third quarter, the teams traded shots until Mitchell used a 5-0 run to end the quarter to take a 29-24 lead into the fourth. The Mountaineer run continued as Mitchell pushed the lead to 41-29.
Cloudland, however, continued to battle as Nick Caraway hit a 3-pointer to spark the ‘Landers to close teh five points in the final minute. CHS was unable to close any further in the final seconds.
McClellan had 12 points to pace CHS, while Sexton had 11 points. Caraway scored nine points.
In the girls’ game, it was all Cloudland.
Five Lady ‘Landers found the scorebook in the opening quarter as MaKenzie Street ended the frame with back-to-back 3-pointers to send CHS into the second quarter with a 15-0 lead.
The Cloudland defense continued to styme the Lady Mountaineers – holding them without a point until three minutes remaining in the first half. After a Mitchell basket, Isabella Christman sparked a 10-0 run that included buckets from Ryan Turbyfill and Ella Benfield to push the Lady ‘Landers to a 28-4 lead at the half.
The second half was much the same as Cloudland continued to roll.
Benfield had 17 points to lead the blue and gold, while Street had 12 points. Kendall Birchfield had eight points for Cloudland.
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