Clear Creek returned to the basketball court to wrap up the regular season.
The CCMS Bobcats and Lady Cats faced Lumpkin County and Pickens last Wednesday and Thursday and combined for six wins.
Lady Cats
The Lady Cats were undefeated and Braley Stewart, Kensey Pritchett and Lola Howard provided steady offense all week for the seventh-grade team. Lumpkin was overmatched from the start and trailed by a wide margin throughout.
CCMS led 28-8 at the half and never looked back for a 51-29 victory.
The eighth-grade matchup was closer, and the Indians were able to cut into the Cats’ 32-19 halftime lead over the final two quarters. CCMS had a balanced offensive day with Mak Taylor (12 points), Morgan Palmeri (11), Ally Phillips (nine) and Mary Grace Jones (eight) in the five-point win.
Both of the Pickens games were blowouts, and the seventh- and eighth-grade Cats scored with ease while forcing turnovers with their press for transition points.
Both CCMS teams had plenty of scoring options and both wins were all but decided by halftime. The younger Cats won, 48-13, while the eighth-grade game went 45-16 in Clear Creek’s favor.
Dec. 10 at Lumpkin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
7th 16 12 13 10 51
LC 4 4 14 7 29
CCMS scoring: Stewart 18. Pritchett 10. Howard 7. Brenlee Daniel 6. Kristena Bailey, Maddie Jones 4. Molly Hicks 2.
1 2 3 4 F
8th 19 13 6 7 45
LC 8 11 11 10 40
CCMS scoring: Taylor 12. Palmeri 11. Phillips 9. Mary Grace Jones 8. Halle West, Joise Bradburn 2. Rosie Everett 1.
Dec. 14 vs. Pickens
1 2 3 4 F
7th 12 16 16 4 48
P 3 1 4 5 13
CCMS scoring: Howard 13. Stewart 10. Pritchett 9. Bailey 8. Lily Teague, Maylee Bramlett, Jones, Hicks 2.
1 2 3 4 F
8th 18 8 8 10 45
P 3 2 5 6 16
CCMS scoring: Taylor 11. Phillips, West 8. Jones 5. Palmeri, Bradburn 4. Everett 3. Presley Chancey 2.
Bobcats
While Lumpkin kept pace with the seventh-grade Bobcats early, that was not the case after the opening quarter. Bobcats Kayson Taylor (16 points) and Noah Rice (15) outside LCMS by themselves CCMS won easily, 47-28.
Eighth graders A.J. Callihan scored a season-high 30 points and Andrew Chastain finished with 10. LCMS added to its advantage through three quarters to lead by 12 entering the fourth. The Bobcats’ stormed back over the final seven minutes, but the Indians held on for a 51-49 victory.
Pickens did not stand a chance against the seventh-grade Bobcats, and they put the game out of reach immediately. Slade Smith (15), Taylor (14) and Rice (12) led the way offensively as nine Bobcats scored in the 65-47 victory.
The Cats struggled to find offensive rhythm in the eighth-grade game. The Dragons continually added to their lead and went on to win by 26.
Jan. 10 vs. Lumpkin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
7th 10 15 13 9 47
LC 11 8 7 2 28
CCMS scoring: Taylor 16. Rice 15. Silas West 7. Kevin Olea 4. Slade Smith 3. Aden Richard 2.
1 2 3 4 F
8th 14 15 6 14 49
LC 21 16 10 4 51
CCMS scoring: Callihan 30. Chastain 10. West 5. Peyton Ocobock, C.J. Phillips 2.
Jan. 11 at Pickens
1 2 3 4 F
7th 24 16 5 20 65
P 5 9 15 18 47
CCMS scoring: Smith 15. Taylor 14. Rice 12. Owen McCollum 9. Jackson Sevech 5. Olea 4. West 3. Owen Reece 2. Alex Raper 1.
1 2 3 4 F
8th 9 4 3 6 24
P 14 17 14 7 52
CCMS scoring: Callihan 12. Rice 5. West 4. McCoy Sutton 2. Smith 1.