Cloudland defended home court on Thursday night.
The ‘Landers outlasted Happy Valley to take a 35-32 victory in the boys’ game, while the Lady ‘Landers pulled away from the Lady Warriors to take a 40-28 win.
The boys’ game saw points hard to come by.
Happy Valley scored the first seven points of the game – including a 3-pointer from Dakota Grindstaff. Cloudland saw Jacob Street score on a free throw, but CHS trailed 7-1 after a quarter of play.
Eli Morgan and Nick Caraway hit shots to open the second quarter for Cloudland as the ‘Landers reeled off a 7-0 run.
Colby Chausse broke the run with a jumper, but CHS outscored the Warriors 5-2 over the next five minutes to take a 13-11 lead at the break.
The teams traded shots to open throughout the third quarter before a Morgan 3-pointer sent Cloudland to the fourth with a 24-22 lead.
After Cayden Clark drained a 3-pointer to open the final eight minutes for the ‘Landers, James Murray and Grindstaff hit back-to-back shots to close the game and start a 9-1 HV run.
Cloudland countered in the final minutes as Ryan Sexton hit a jumper and Dylan McClellan tied the game with a basket with 1:25 to play.
The ‘Landers took the lead as Jacob Street hit a free throw and secured the win with six seconds left as Eli Morgan knocked down a pair of free throws.
Morgan had 9 points to lead Cloudland, while Street had seven points. Clark scored six points.
Grindstaff led HV with nine points, while Murray had six points.
In the girls’ game, neither could get any separation in the first half.
Kendall Birchfield opened the scoring with a 3-points as Cloudland took a 7-2 lead with just over a minute left in the quarter. HV ended the quarter on a 5-0 run with buckets from Marcia Moore and Mailey Guy to tie things up at 7-7 going to the second.
Saharra McKinney and Kadie Bailey traded shots for their respective teams, and Birchfield added a 3-pointer as CHS held a 16-12 lead at the break.
Cloudland’s Ryan Turbyfill opened the second half with a trey, but HV quickly answered to close back within four points.
The Lady ‘Landers, however, took control in the closing minutes of the quarter. Isabella Christman and Makenzie Street hit shots to push the Cloudland lead to 27-19.
Happy Valley continued to battle in the closing eight minutes, but the Lady ‘Landers were able to hold them at bay to secure the win.
Street led the Lady ‘Landers with nine points, while Ella Benfield had seven points. Birchfield, Turbyfill, and Christman had six points apiece.
Bailey led HV with 11 points, while Moore had eight points. Guy scored seven points for the Lady Warriors.
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