Colts, Raiders split

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, January 30, 2016

Region standings weren’t at stake Saturday when Class 4A Southeast Whitfield hosted Class 3A Coahulla Creek. But you can bet pride was. Not that the team who lost should feel anything other than tired after the Colts outlasted the Raiders, 60-50, before an energized and deeply involved crowd on senior night.

Alex Fisher scored 26 points for the 19-4 Colts and Tyler Phillips added 11 as the Colts gained an early 6-5 lead and never trailed again. Southeast (9-14) fielded a somewhat depleted squad as second-leading scorer Noah Ramsey missed another game on a football recruiting trip. But the Raiders still had their chances despite CCHS holding Southeast’s all-time leading scorer, Ty Pendley, to 18 points for the game.

CCHS built a 30-24 lead at halftime as Fisher scored 16 points in the first half for the Colts. But the Raiders hung tough and pulled within 36-33 when Cristian Antillon drained a 3-pointer late in the third period. The Colts, however, punched the afterburners as Fisher and Caleb Lewis both quickly answered, leading CCHS on a 10-0 run that essentially put the game away with a 46-33 Colts lead.

The Raiders hit just 13 of 21 free throws for the game and missed five of their 13 free throws in the fourth period. The Colts made 15 of their 17 free throw tries.

Colts coach Matthew Queener spread the praise deep and wide for his team. This coming week, the Colts wind up the regular season with road games at Calhoun and Gordon Central.

“We had two of our really good defenders guarding Ty Pendley,” Queener said of J.R. Laird and Caleb Lewis. “They rotated covering him. Ty’s had a remarkable career. This is a really fun environment to play in. Alex is pretty good from 3-point range and he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen taking the ball to the hole. Tyler is a great all-around player. He’s put together two-and-a-half years of some pretty good scoring numbers. J.R. and Caleb are so fast and they both want to cover the other team’s best guy. Then there’s Nathan Johnson. He’s just a guy who goes out and battles every game with a mindset to get rebounds. He just outworks everybody.”

Pendley, who scored 30 points for the Raiders when Southeast lost to Coahulla Creek in November, got shackled with two fouls in the first half on Saturday. He picked up his third foul with 5:45 left in the third period and his fourth foul with 3:20 left in regulation. Luke Johns took up some of the slack as he grabbed key rebounds for the Raiders and scored 16 points. Antillon finished with 14 points and hit three shots from 3-point range.

“Coahulla Creek is a good team,” said Southeast coach Ben Oliver. “But we normally hit about 90 percent from the free throw line. Don’t get me wrong, Coahulla Creek played a great game. I’m proud of my guys. We’re playing at the top of our game right now and we’ve won four of our last five games.”

Southeast travels for its final two regular season games with a tilt at Cartersville Tuesday and a game at Northwest Whitfield Thursday.

Southeast Lady Raiders rout Coahulla Creek

Southeast’s Lady Raiders (16-7) raced to a 16-3 lead after one period and looked strong with a 53-28 win over Coahulla Creek as they prepare for the upcoming Region 7-4A tournament in their own gym.

Lady Raiders guard Maddie Pearson scored all 12 of her points from 3-point range to lead all scorers. Southeast’s Emileigh Earley scored nine points, while Sarah Sullivan and Emily Beck each scored eight. Southeast blew open a 40-14 lead after three periods and cleared its bench for the final stanza.

Coahulla Creek (6-16), which has nine freshman on the roster, never threatened the Lady Raiders. But the Lady Colts’ effort pleased coach Kevin Jacobs. Beth Goodwin led CCHS with six points and Chloe Barger had five.

“I know (Southeast coach) Mike Durham has brought his team a long way. I remember how the program used to be,” Jacobs said. “I’m disappointed we lost. But I thought Chloe played well and so did Beth. Madeleine Kalafut played pretty well on defense.”

Durham was glad his team kept their feet firmly on the throttle Saturday. “I was glad we hit some shots early and we played pretty well,” said Durham. “We played tough defense and got some good shots. This week, Cartersville is going to be tough. They’re probably the most physical team in the region.”