Jackets close first part of 7-5A Tuesday
♦ Sophomore Emaree Winston returns to the lineup and scores 11 in season debut
Tuesday night was a good night for the Calhoun High School basketball team.
They won a tight 59-55 Region 7-5A contest against Cartersville at The Hive to remain unbeaten in the league and improve to 3-0.
And while the win was great, it was bolstered by the return of sophomore forward Emaree Winston to the lineup after he missed the first two months of the season from an injury suffered during football season.
And Winston was most impressive in his first game back, scoring 11 points and snaring a few rebounds.
The win over Cartersville also set up the real battle for first place in the league Friday night back at The Hive when Calhoun hosted Hiram, which is also off to a 3-0 start in league play. (Details of that Calhoun-Hiram game were not available at press time).
The Yellow Jackets, who are in the middle of their second three-game win streak this season, are hoping to really find their stride over the next few weeks with the first half of play in the league closing for everyone Tuesday night. And Winston’s return to the lineup, even with a big black brace on his knee and in limited minutes Tuesday night, will only help.
The Yellow Jackets close the first half of the 7-5A schedule Tuesday night when they will go back on the road, with a trip to Dalton. And going into Friday night’s 7-5A games, the Catamounts were the only other winning team in Region play at 2-1 with a loss to Hiram.
The Yellow Jackets had their tightest game yet in the Area Tuesday night with their victory over Cartersville.
The Purple Hurricanes, determined to avoid what would ultimately become an unavoidable 0-3 start, came to play and were right there until the end when the hosts were able to get the win.
Despite the enthusiasm around Winston’s return and the ovation he received when it was announced he was stepping on the floor, the Yellow Jackets had their offensive woes in the first half.
But a big second half was the spark
the Yellow Jackets needed after they had just 20 points in the first half Tuesday night.
Getting up-and-down-the-floor, Cartersville sprinted out to a 15-9 lead after one quarter of play.
The home team came back to top the ‘Canes 11-9 in the second period but still trailed 24-20 at halftime.
However, Calhoun got it moving in the third quarter, putting in more points than they did in the entire first half with a 21-point period. At the defensive end, they held the Hurricanes to just 12 points and fought back for a 41-36 lead to begin the final eight minutes of action.
In that last period, the team in purple kept it really close, but Calhoun kept coming up with the big shot they needed to hold off a Cartersville team that went into Friday night’s games still winless in the Region.
Senior post Dylan Faulkner led the team in scoring, notching 23 points and securing double-digit rebounds. He and Winston were the only Calhoun players to reach double figures.
The Yellow Jackets are now 10-7 on the season.