Late basket lifts Warriors past Lions at CCS 45-43; CAK girls strong, 63-40
In a fast-growing high school basketball rivalry, distric foes Concord Christian School and Christian Academy of Knoxville predictably went down to the wire at CCS Thursday night, Jan. 4.
The only two points scored by junior guard Bryson White were huge, coming after White got open upon cutting to the basket while receiving a nice pass from Caden Owens for a lay-up, breaking a 43-43 tie with just 23 seconds to play.
The Lions (7-7) missed a last-second 15-foot jumper to tie, as the Warriors (5-11) pulled out a 45-43 district road win led by senior guard Bennett Simerlein’s game-high 29 points. Drew Sloan, a 6-foot-10 senior post, was tops for Concord with 14 points. Dom Alford added 10 for CCS while Cale Smith scored nine.
“We made enough plays at the end, especially Bennett Simerlein, to get it done in a really tough environment,” CAK head coach JD Johnson said.
About Simerlein, “He’s been in the 20s (scoring) multiple times, but tonight was a career high,” Johnson said. “... He had some nice transition baskets and obviously hit some nice threes as well.”
“Give them credit, they played really good defense,” CCS head coach Justin Zachary said. “And it’s the best defensive effort we’ve had all year. We had a little bit of trouble making shots.”
Other highlights
Though the Warriors jumped ahead 6-0, Concord went on a 13-3 run and led 17-13 after one quarter. That lead grew to seven, 20-13, after Sloan’s lay-up about 90 seconds into the second quarter.
A steal and lay-up by Simerlein tied the game 22-22 to cap a 9-2 CAK run before Jace Gheen’s three-point basket in the final seconds gave CCS a 25-22 halftime lead.
Concord built a five-point edge at 31-26, but the Warriors trimmed that advantage to 36-35 after three quarters.
A three-point basket by Simerlein tied it 41-41 with 2:52 to play, then a technical foul on the CCS bench allowed Simerlein to make a pair of free throws for a 43-41 Warriors lead — its first since the opening quarter — at the 2:11 mark.
Sloan’s offensive rebound and two free throws tied the game 43-43 with 1:01 to go.
CAK girls win 63-40
A 20-point second quarter fueled the CAK Lady Warriors to a 63-40 win versus Concord.
Colie Thompson’s 16 points led the winners offensively, followed by Maddie Braden with 10, Ivey Brewster scoring eight and seven each for Ava Jane Puckett and Izzy Proffitt.
Natali Fender’s game-high 17 points led CCS, followed by 13 from Emory Thomas and six points by Kiran Keeton.
