By Michael Lindsay
The Clarkrange Buffaloes and Lady Buffaloes made the trip South down Highway 127 Monday evening and split a pair of non-district matchups with hosting Cumberland County as the Lady Jets opened with a 49-34 win followed by a 65-49 victory by the Clarkrange boys.
Girls
The Cumberland County Lady Jets picked up their second win of the season Monday night as they defeated Clarkrange, 49-34, to avenge a loss to the Lady Buffaloes 10 days earlier.
“I think our defense set the tone in the first half,” said Cumberland County head coach Randy Herring. “We played with a lot of energy and confidence. We got down big in our game up there and battled back, and I preached to our girls that we’d have to have that effort from the tip to have a chance tonight.”
Cumberland County was led by 16 points from Sydney Wilhite and 11 from Aliyah Hawkins followed by 8 points each from Lexi Carroll and Carlie Kileen. Clarkrange was led by 16 points by Lydia Phillips.
“Their matchup zone is really good,” said Herring. “We really tried to get a few other kids to understand what we needed. Carlie played her best game of the year and is really coming into her own as a freshman.”
The Lady Jets raced out to an 8-4 advantage midway through the first quarter and led 13-7 to end the period.
Cumberland County extended their lead to 10 points via a Hawkins basket followed by a Wilhite transition layup, giving the Lady Jets a 17-7 advantage with 5:29 remaining until halftime.
CCHS continued their second-quarter run as they outscored the Lady Buffaloes 16-4 in the period to lead 29-11 at halftime.
Cumberland County’s lead remained at double digits in the third period as a pair of Hawkins free throws at the end of the frame gave the Lady Jets a 35-20 lead entering the fourth quarter.
A pair of quick Clarkrange baskets cut their deficit to 35-26 with 7:30 remaining before a Lexi Carroll three-pointer pushed Cumberland County’s advantage back to 12 points at 38-26.
“We let off the gas a little,” said Herring. “Give Clarkrange credit; they stepped up and took it to us. We knew they’d make a run as one of the best teams in Class A. We bent but didn’t break.”
The Lady Jets kept their lead at double figures for the rest of the game as they won by a 49-34 final score.
Cumberland County improves to 2-5 overall while Clarkrange falls to 8-2. The Lady Jets are scheduled to play at Walker Valley on Thursday while the Lady Buffaloes are set to face Halls in the 5 Star Preps Classic on Thursday.
Boys
The Clarkrange Buffaloes improved to 7-4 overall Monday evening as they completed the season sweep of Cumberland County, 65-49.
“I feel like we played well tonight,” said Clarkrange head coach Brent Logan. “Defensively, we had a good game plan. There were a few times they got downhill on us and we have to improve on the boards, though.”
Clarkrange was led by a pair of 18-point performances from Bryton Swallows 18 and Noah Gunter while Sol Sitton led the Jets with 18 points.
“I feel like all of the guys played well tonight,” said Logan. “We’re very young; Bryton is the only guy with any high school experience at all. They’ve all stepped up to the challenge and I’m tickled with how hard they go.”
The Buffaloes raced out to a 7-2 lead early before the Jets battled back to a 3-point deficit (12-9) at the end of the first quarter.
Clarkrange opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 19-9 advantage via a Gunter three-pointer with 3:44 remaining in the quarter. The Buffaloes held a 26-18 halftime lead.
Cumberland County battled back within 5 points (39-34) late in the third quarter before a Braxton Sears three-pointer put the Buffaloes back up by 8 at 42-34.
Clarkrange pushed their lead back out to double digits to open the fourth quarter and never looked back as they held on to win by a 65-49 final score.
Up next for the Buffaloes is the Frank’s Shootout in Sparta as they’re scheduled to face White County on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Cumberland County is scheduled to play at Walker Valley on Thursday.
