Phoenix remain near the top of Region 7-4A
With an unscheduled day off this week, the Sonoraville High School basketball team resumed Region 7-4A play Friday night with a trip to Heritage.
The Phoenix came into the week with a 2-1 record in the league and 12 wins overall and were hoping to expand on that Tuesday night when they were scheduled to host Northwest Whitfield County, which was also 2-1 in the Region. However, the cold weather forced Calhoun City Schools to cancel classes that day and now that game has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m., this Saturday, Jan. 20 still at The Furnace.
That means this stretch will be the busiest yet of the 7-4A agenda for the locals with four games in eight days starting Friday night against Heritage, which was also 2-1 after not playing Tuesday night, and all of the four games will play a role in where the team will shake out in the Region standings heading into the season-ending tournament, which Sonoraville won last year to claim the league’s top seed going into the GHSA playoffs.
After Heritage, the team was home to play NW Whitfield less than 24 hours later on Saturday to close the first half of the regular season 7-4A schedule. Then they open the second five-game slate Tuesday night with a road trip to Southeast Whitfield, which they beat by more than 50 points in the first go-round.
After that, they wrap up the week Friday, Jan. 26 with a trip to first-place Carrollton Central, who entered Friday night’s games in the Region as the last unbeaten team in the 7-4A with a 3-0 mark.
In their two most recent games prior to Tuesday’s postponement, the Phoenix split two games last week to in the Region.
It began last Tuesday when they suffered their only loss thus far in the league — a 49-44 setback to Central — but they came back strong last Friday night, going on the road to beat Cedartown, 68-61. And that same Cedartown team came back on Saturday in a nonRegion game and defeated a Rockmart team that began this season with 13 straight wins.
In the loss to Central, the Phoenix had their offense go cold in the final 16 minutes of play, scoring just 13 points in the second half to lose a five-point halftime lead.
The Phoenix took a 13-11 lead after one quarter and then added 18 more in the second half to take a 31-26 margin at the break.
But the Lions, who have allowed just
another bucket while senior guard Daniel Streete made two shots and junior forward Emaree Winston scored the Jackets' other bucket in the first.
Calhoun was then outscored 18-13 in the second as Cartersville sophomore Nas Bennett had all of his 16 points in the game in that quarter. Bennett stepped behind the arc to hit four 3's in the period to go with a regular field goal and a pair of foul shots. One other Cartersville player had a field goal to account for their other made shot in the frame.
Five different players scored Calhoun's 13 points with Makadan Griffin's two makes leading the way and Cartersville was up 35-30 at the break.
In the third period, the Jackets had their best quarter offensively, putting in 19 while outscoring the home club 19-16 to get within two to start the final period.
Winston and Chattam, with three baskets apiece, fueled the outburst with
six points each in the period and sophomore Blake Hammett also contributed a pair of hoops.
But in that final period with the game stopping every minute for Cartersville to shoot more foul shots, the Jackets couldn't overtake their hosts.
Junior forward Jace Johns had seven points on two buckets and a trey for Calhoun and Chattam had four more on a pair of shots, but the visitors couldn't overcome all of Cartersville's trips to the foul line.
The Canes had four players reach double figures with Brown leading the way with 18 while Bennett had 16. Monte Tolbert finished the night with 12 and McClinic closed with 11.
Calhoun had three players in double figures after Chattam. Winston had another double-double with 13 points and a bunch of rebounds and Hammett ended with 10 points.
Calhoun dropped to 6-9 overall on the season.
The Jackets step out of the Region Monday night to host Chattooga and start a two-game, twoday home stand that continues Tuesday evening
when they wrap up the first five of their 10 7-5A games by playing Dalton.
They start the second half of the league schedule next Friday with a trip to Cass.