Boyd Buchanan’s Jett Gym was rocking and rolling for its non-region basketball game with Division II foe Chattanooga Christian Friday night, but it was the visiting Chargers who did most of the celebrating.
The CCS girls started the evening with a 69-53 victory while the CCS guys followed with a 75-50 victory on an evening where the stands were packed and fans were lining both end zones.
It was the first game since last Saturday’s Best of Preps championship where the Lady Chargers beat Signal Mountain before the CCS guys lost a tough one to McCallie, but both teams seemed to be clicking on all cylinders Friday night.
Both CCS squads have a pair of really good guards and all four were all but unstoppable as the Boyd Buchanan teams just didn’t have an answer for their overall quickness and scoring ability.
Wes Moore, the head coach of the guys, felt really good when this game ended as his team played with the energy and enthusiasm needed to be successful.
“When we play unselfish basketball and with the amount of confidence we had tonight, we can be a pretty good team. To be able to play like that in this kind of atmosphere is really big for us and it’s really encouraging for me as we move forward,” he said after his team improved to 10-5 with the 25-point win.
“I thought we had a good first half and had a nice lead at the break, but the third quarter was huge as we got off to another fast start and really shot the ball well. Playing unselfish basketball and sharing the ball the way we did was the key to our success tonight.
“Even though we aren’t in the same classification, it’s always a big game when we play Boyd Buchanan and always will be, so I’m really happy to get out with this big win,” he added.
It was somewhat of a humbling experience for Boyd Buchanan coach Kenneth White and his Buccaneers as they simply ran into a fired up CCS team that might have beaten anyone on this particular evening.
Boyd’s loss snapped an eight-game winning streak and the Buccaneers are now 13-5 following the loss.
“It seemed like everything was clicking for them as they have two really dynamic guards, but we just couldn’t stop them tonight,” White began following a chat with his team after the game.
“We knew that it would be a really tall order as Chattanooga Christian is a really talented team and are well coached, but they just completely took us out of our style of play and it didn’t help that we missed so many free throws and layups.
“I liked our effort, but not so with our execution. We know that we need to be a lot better the next time out, but I’m sure we’ll bounce back without a problem,” he added.
Those guards White was referring to wreaked havoc with the Buccaneers as Dre Jackson and Reid Conley combined to score 42 points. Jackson was on fire in the opening stanza when he scored 13 of his game-high 22 points as the Chargers scored early and often and never trailed as they built a 17-9 when the first quarter ended.
The difference stretched to 13 points at intermission with CCS still in control at 36-23, but it was the third quarter that Moore was referring to that simply broke Boyd’s back with the Chargers enjoying a 25-10 advantage to build a commanding 61-33 lead with one quarter remaining.
While Jackson and Conley were the early leaders, five other Chargers got into the scoring act as they made five of their nine 3-pointers during that stretch.
A steal and layup by Conley to begin the last stanza gave the Chargers their biggest lead of the game at 63-33 before substitutes from both teams played the rest of the way.
Jackson had 22 and Conley 20 to lead the CCS attack while Caiden Bauldwin also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds as CCS also had an unofficial 35-30 advantage in rebounds.
Eli Gardenhire and Caleb Hardaway both scored 16 points to lead the Buccaneers with Hardaway also getting a double-double with a dozen rebounds.
CCS GIRLS 69, BOYD BUCHANAN 53: While Jackson and Conley were doing their thing for the CCS guys, Aubriyana Camp and Momo Moore were the two Lady Chargers who caused the most problems for the Lady Buccaneers.
With Moore scoring nine points and Camp eight, the Lady Chargers had a 22-11 lead after one quarter and never trailed again.
The Lady Bucs kept battling and got within a point at 36-35 midway through the third quarter, but were never able to get the lead as they missed four straight field goal attempts, including at least three makeable shots in close.
The Lady Chargers weathered that storm and finished the quarter on a 9-2 run for a 45-37 lead at the end of the third period and it never got any closer.
Camp was the leader for CCS with 27 points, including 17 in the second half, while Moore was next with 15. Sophomore Eden Wiechmann had her best game ever and also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Sophomore Lesley Burton scored 18 points to lead Boyd Buchanan while Sarah Peyton Durham and Eva Winston were next with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
CCS returns to action on Tuesday when they host Central while Boyd Buchanan will host Notre Dame in a big region game, also on Tuesday.
GIRLS SUMMARY
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 22 7 16 24 -- 69
BOYD BUCHANAN 11 10 16 16 -- 53
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (69) – Aubriyana Camp 27, Allen 2, Eden Wiechmann 10, Duble 2, Momo Moore 15, A. Matthews 2, E. Matthews 1, Hatten 5, Rainey 5.
BOYD BUCHANAN (53) – Eva Winston 12, Meitzler, Sarah Peyton Durham 13, Sanders 7, K. King 2, S. King 1, Houston, Lesley Burton 18.
3-Point Goals: Chattanooga Christian 2 (Camp, Wiechmann); Boyd Buchanan 4 (Winston, Durham 2, Sanders).
BOYS SUMMARY
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 17 19 25 14 -- 75
BOYD BUCHANAN 9 14 10 17 -- 50
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (75) – Reid Conley 20, Dre Jackson 22, Wescher 5, Breaux, Russell 3, Lyons 3, Duble 2, Stinson 6, Deloach, Caiden Bauldwin 14, Bustamante.
BOYD BUCHANAN (50) – White 1, Johnson 2, Reid, Turnbow 4, Lopez 3, Eli Gardenhire 16, Jones 8, Caleb Hardaway 16, Fortune, Nunez, Keck.
3-Point Goals: Chattanooga Christian 9 (Conley 4, Jackson 2, Russell, Lyons, Wescher); Boyd Buchanan 6 (Gardenhire 3, Jones 2, Hardaway).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)