Vengeance is swift as Rams rally by Howard
Tyner junior Nehemiah Bloodsaw was in the gym working on his midrange jumper at 9 a.m.
Those extra reps paid off in a big way later Saturday evening.
The Rams fought back from a 16-point deficit at home to take down Howard’s Hustlin’ Tigers, 47-37, and exact revenge on their crosstown rivals who beat them a week before by 10 points.
Bloodsaw provided the difference in the fourth quarter as the 6-foot-3 guard rose above the defense for big shots inside the arc on his way to a game-high 19 points. He also had a steal and the assist on Rodney Henderson’s 3-pointer to close the game.
“We have been telling Nehemiah to get downhill and get to his sweet spots,” Tyner coach E’Jay Ward said of Bloodsaw, who gave his team its first lead in the third quarter with a three-point play. “He is a great midrange shooter, and today he displayed that really well.”
Rams senior point guard Xavier Fisher didn’t flinch when the Hustlin’ Tigers (13-6) exploded to a 19-3 lead a minute into the second quarter. Fisher scored seven of his 11 points in the period to help Tyner (13-9) cut its deficit to 23-18 at halftime.
“One thing about us is we never quit,” Fisher said. “We are always going to fight and never give up on each other. We are going to stay as one unit no matter what the score is. We take a lot of pride in this program and we had to protect our house.”
Henderson had 13 points and Keelan Jackson grabbed 13 rebounds.
Bloodsaw hit a running mid-range jumper from the foul line and dribbled back and forth before hitting a tough jumper from the right baseline in the fourth quarter, when he made all three of his shots.
“I have been practicing my midrange shots a lot,” he said. “The extra reps help you get your mind right and allow you to lock in. The work you put in when nobody is looking can translate into games and practice.”
› Arts & Sciences 60, Boyd Buchanan 58: Louis Bell had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead CSAS (16-6) to victory. Jarius Cameron dished out six assists, while Trent Grudzinski scored 12 for the Patriots. Cooper Jones led Boyd Buchanan with 12 points.
› Bradley Central 61, Brainerd 47: The Bears (14-7) were sparked offensively by Aiden McClary, who had 23 points, while Trevor Carpenter added 17 points, made four 3-pointers and stole three passes in the road victory. Brainerd’s Dennis Lewis Jr. scored 18 points and had three steals, while Joshua Hood had 10 points and four steals.
› Fulton Leadership Academy 86, Trion 46: Greyson Petty had 10 points in the loss.
› Bradley Central 66, Rhea County 59: Jackson Ary had four steals and three blocks for the Bears, who were led in scoring in their road win Friday by McClary with 19 points. Carpenter (six assists) and Ramireon Taylor each added a dozen points. Kaleb Martin scored 27 points for the Golden Eagles.
GIRLS
› Ringgold 41, Heritage 27: Rachel Lopez scored 11 points, including the 1,000th of her career, and added four assists and three steals, with Baileigh Pitts leading the Lady Tigers (17-5) with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
› Bradley Central 91, Rhea County 25: Hannah Jones shot 10-of12 and scored 21 points while adding three steals in just 13 minutes of action Friday. The Bearettes (20-2) also received 17 points from freshman Harmonie Ware, and Karsee Weber made four 3-pointers.
› East Hamilton 85, Red Bank 13: The Lady Hurricanes won their eighth straight game as four players scored in double figures Friday, led by McKenna Hayes’ 21 points. Etaliah LaBoo added 16 points, Niya McGhee 14 and Christal Collins 12 in the road win.
WRESTLING
Four northwest Georgia programs won GHSA area traditional tournaments Saturday, and two will take each of its 14 wrestlers into next weekend’s sectional round. Trion in Class A and Dade County in AA advanced all 14, with Sonoraville (AAA) and Heritage (AAAA) also winning area tournaments.
› Area 6-A at Trion: The hosts nearly swept each weight class, ending with 13 first-place finishers and one who finished in fourth place in amassing 307.5 points.
Champions for Trion were Jason Jenkins (106 pounds), Daegan Vaughn (113), Seth Huskins (120), Crawford Lee (126), Andrew Jones (132), Bryce James (138), Gus Hames (145), Toby Maddux (160), Cohen Blaschke (170), Blaydn Bowman (192), Logan Ellis (195), Brantley Willbanks (220) and Zach Sharp (285), with Conner Deparlier (152) also qualifying.
Gordon Lee finished fourth with 135 points and qualified 12 for sectionals: Penn Askew (2nd, 145), Timy Duke (2nd, 182), Gabe Lowe (2nd, 285), Will Tumblin (3rd, 120), Avery Bloodworth (3rd, 152), Dalton Russell (3rd, 160), Jonah Davenport (3rd, 220), Landon Brown (4th, 113), Brock Crutchfield (4th, 132), Zane Mudrock (4th, 138), Michael Branam (4th, 170) and Ely Stevens (4th, 195).
› Area 7-AA at Chattooga: Dade County had 273 points to easily outdistance second-place Model (192).
The winning Wolverines had individual champs in Garrett Dunn (126), Cayden Cooper (152), Landon Williams (182), Cody Williams (195) and Austin Sorrelle (285). Dade also qualified Gideon Moore (2nd, 113), Jake Gatlin (2nd, 120), Zac Smith (2nd, 160), Jax Guinn (2nd, 170), Isaac Pangle (2nd, 285), Hayden Langley (3rd, 106), Brandon Willerson (3rd, 138), Heidi Raines (3rd, 145) and Andy Breeden (4th, 132).
Chattooga finished third with 172 points and qualified eight, including champions Landon Carlton (106), John Mejia (120), Gavin Carlton (138) and Devon Heroch (220). Also qualifying were Zayden Cook (3rd, 160), Logan Stinson (3rd 195), Huff Parker (3rd, 220) and Troy Christopher (4th, 152). Gordon Central qualified four: Johns Carlos Guerrero (2nd, 285), Isaac Campuzano (3rd, 170), Hayden Autry (4th, 113) and Chance Massingill (4th, 145).
› Area 6-AAA at Coahulla Creek: Sonoraville easily outpaced runner-up Coahulla Creek, 250-193, and will advance 13 into the sectionals, including champions Wade Parker (120), Logan Moore (132), Dirk Junkins (152), Colt Weaver (170), Gavin Harper (182), Jebb Knight (195), Draven Peppers (220) and Jaxx Knight (285). Noah Chastain (2nd, 106), Thomas Young (3rd, 113), Robert Mitchell (3rd, 145), Jack Burke (4th, 126) and Hunter Young (4th, 138) also qualified.
Coahulla Creek qualified 13, led by 106-pound champion Adonnis Sanchez and including Gage Eaton (2nd, 138), Bryson Bartley (2nd, 152), Daniel Herranda (2nd, 160), Austin Adams (2nd, 170), Elon Keener (2nd, 195), Bailey Smithers (3rd, 120), Zander Scheeler (3rd, 132), Darren Monteaguelo (3rd, 182), Braden Madden (3rd, 220), Draven Green (3rd, 285), Jesus Sanchez (4th, 113) and Robert Sherrill (4th, 145).
Ringgold was third with 191 points and qualified champions Hudson Moss at 126 and Jaxon Delgado at 145 to go with Pierce Pennington (2nd, 113), Nolen Rohrer (2nd, 120), Abel Turley (2nd, 132), Levi Lowery (2nd, 220), Brayden Raby (3rd, 152), Brent Lee Raby (3rd, 195), Landon Eaker (4th, 160), Eli Tipton (4th, 170), Dylan Bandy (4th, 182) and Travis Talley (4th, 220).
LaFayette was fourth with 166 points, led by 160-pound champion Ethan Gilbert to go with Hagen Baker (2nd, 126), Jacob Brown (2nd, 182), Noah Johnson (2nd, 285), Eli Hudson (3rd, 106), Gabe Warner (3rd, 138), Caleb Zwiger (3rd, 170), Ashton Fox (4th, 132) and Nicholas Cigliana (4th, 195). LFO qualified seven: Nick Kaphart (2nd, 145), Wyatt Maye (3rd, 126), Brodi Rizzo (3rd, 160), Micah Eyman (4th, 106), Ryan Birt (4th, 120), Ethan Kinsey (4th, 152) and Rylan Hughes (4th, 220).
› Area 7-AAAA at Pickens:
Heritage won with 183 points, with Cedartown and Pickens tying for second with 168. Southeast Whitfield was next with 160.5 points, followed by Northwest Whitfield (159), Central-Carroll (148) and Ridgeland (83).
Heritage was led by champions Andrew Dietz (132), Evan Wingrove (160), Skylar Grant (170) and Dax Akers (182), with Mike Stokes (2nd, 138), Tate Thomas (3rd, 106), Nolan Caylor (3rd, 195), Landon Albright (4th, 120), Victor Johnson (4th, 126) and Eli Richardson (4th, 285) also advancing.
Southeast had a champion in Olli Webb (106) and also qualified Roberto Rios (2nd, 220), Matthew Sosebee (3rd, 113), Steven Morales (3rd, 126), Ashton Pruitt (3rd, 132), Irving Mejia (3rd, 160), Jovanny Sanchez (3rd, 170) and Jake Hastey (4th, 145).
Northwest qualified seven, including champions in Drake Kitchens (138) and Landon Phillips (145) to go with Atticus Younes (2nd, 113), Eli Johnson (2nd, 132), Daniel Soto (2nd, 152), Tony Burnecke (3rd, 160) and Nicholas Ramirez (4th, 170). Ridgeland will advance Aiden Barber (2nd, 120), Malachi Hutchinson (3rd, 145), Hunter Barber (4th, 106), Evan Doyal (4th, 113) and Camden Bain (4th, 138).
› Area 7-AAAAA at Cartersville: Calhoun finished third behind Cass and Woodland-Bartow and advances Isaac Green (2nd, 160), Hayden Dickerson (3rd, 113), Brody Parker (3rd, 120), Thaxton Hancock (3rd, 132), Rex Richardson (3rd, 145), Chris Elliott (3rd, 195), Kelly Wells (3rd, 220), Owen Knight (4th, 106), Kadem Banks (4th, 126), Corbin Fuller (4th, 152), Tyson Glass (4th, 170) and Nathan Fuller (4th, 182).
› Area 5-AAAAAA at Alexander: Dalton was a distant fourth to host Alexander and will advance champions Sebastian Garcia (120) and Riley Souther (195) to go with Junior Deharo (2nd, 106), Erick Torres (2nd, 113), Kameron Staton (3rd, 132), Randal Sliger (3rd, 152) and Brandon Arrendondo (3rd, 182).