Clear Creek opened its basketball season last Thursday against league foe Union County. The CCMS Bobcats were at home while the Lady Cats hit the road to face the Panthers in Blairsville.
For the eighth-grade Bobcats, it was a rematch of last season’s league championship. Union won that game and appeared ready to win last week’s season opener as well.
However, CCMS got its offense going in the second half while the Panthers’ offense hit the skids. CCMS completed its rally late in the fourth and held on for a 44-42 victory.
The seventh-grade matchup was not nearly as suspenseful, but equally enjoyable for the Bobcat faithful. CCMS surged ahead early and never looked back in a 54-30 victory.
The seventh-grade Cats were a terror defensively, which led to a game full of easy transition baskets. Clear Creek’s Boston Teague was at the forefront of the defensive charge and continually stepped in front of passes for steals and layups. He led CCMS with 25 points and was joined in double figured by Keegan Bryant with 13 and Bubba Callihan with 10.
When the Bobcats were forced to set up in the half court, they abused the Panthers on the baseline almost exclusively for points.
CCMS jumped to a 10-2 lead and led 12-5 after a quarter. The Cats extended their lead to 26-13 by halftime, and it did not get any better for UCMS in the second half.
CCMS snagged nine more steals in the third quarter and scored 10 points in transition. Teague tallied nine and Bryant was there for eight more points, and their lead stood at 42-20 entering the fourth.
Clear Creek controlled the final quarter and its reserve players continued the theme of the game to preserve the victory.
Alex Miltiades added four points for CCMS and Preston McVey scored two.
Eighth grade
CCMS eighth graders fell behind early. The Panthers were red hot, and Union built a 14-3 lead. Houston Henry was there for 15 points in the first, which included a trio of three pointers. Teammate Hayden Hughes added six more as they accounted for all of Union’s points in the quarter.
Clear Creek fell behind 21-6 after eight minutes of play. Bobcat post player Jackson McVey was held scoreless in the quarter but came alive for nine points in the second. J.D. Taylor hit three shots from beyond the three-point arc and made his second of the game in the quarter. CCMS chipped away at Union’s advantage to trail 32-18 at the half.
Union’s offense was nonexistent in the third quarter until the Panthers scored two in the final minute. The Bobcats embarked on their comeback by continuing to feed McVey in the post. Bobcat Talyn Curtis attacked the lane and drew fouls. He finished the game with nine points and shot five of eight from the line, which included three made free throws in the third.
CCMS entered the fourth trailing 34-28 before going on a 7-2 run, and Taylor made another three pointer. Boston Teague came off the bench and continued where he left off in the seventh-grade game and grabbed two steals.
Teague’s second steal came with just over a minute to play, and he got the ball to fellow seventh grader Keegan Bryant who drew a foul. Bryant made one from the line to tie the game at 42-all with 1:24 remaining.
After a defensive rebound by Bryant, CCMS got the ball to McVey who was there for a turnaround jumper to give Clear Creek 44-42 edge with 28 seconds on the clock.
The Panthers received a final possession with six seconds left but could not overtake the Cats.
McVey scored 15 points, Taylor tallied 11, Teague had five and Bryant added four. Henry led Union with 20 points but did not score in the second half.
Due to system-wide technical issues at the newspaper, the Lady Cats’ game information could not be gathered by Tuesday’s press deadline. Scores will appear in next week’s Times-Courier.