Clear Creek Middle School closed out its basketball season.
The semifinals of the Mountain League tournament were held last Monday, and the CCMS Bobcats and Lady Cats were all defeated.
The seventh-grade Bobcats took on Dawson County, and the Tigers outpaced CCMS in the final quarter to secure a 62-52 win.
Following a 16-8 Bobcat lead after a quarter, DCMS tripled Clear Creek’s points to lead 23-21 at halftime. The score was knotted at 36-all at the conclusion of the third before the Tigers’ surge.
CCMS hit six three pointers on the day, and Kayson Taylor made three and led the Cats with 18 points. Alex Raper added 15, Jackson Sevcech scored 12 and Reece Bramlett finished with seven.
The eighth-grade Bobcats had their late charge cut short and fell to the Union County Panthers, 65-58.
UCMS led by six after the first and extended its advantage to 39-22 at the half. CCMS trimmed the deficit to 51-41 entering the fourth but still had some life left.
While Union pushed its lead to 14 in the final quarter, the Bobcats drew within a point with a minute to play. However, turnovers ended the Cats’ hopes in the seven-point loss.
Noah Rice remained Clear Creek’s top offensive weapon and scored 23 points. Kevin Olea tallied 17, Slade Smith contributed six and both Owen McCollum and Silas West had five.
The seventh-grade Bobcats posted an 8-5 overall record, and the eighth graders were 9-4.
Both of the Lady Cats’ matchups ended with CCMS struggling to keep pace. The seventh-grade Cats were defeated by Fannin County, 47-18. Khloe Thompson was the top scorer with six points.
The eighth-grade Cats met the Rebels as well. This time Fannin notched a 56-25 victory. Clear Creek’s top scorers included Kensey Pritchett with 10 points and Lola Howard added seven.
Both CCMS seventh and eighth graders posted a 7-5 record on the season.
No further Lady Cat information was available.