CEDAR BLUFF – Just maybe the Cedar Bluff Tiger boys basketball team is beginning to turn a corner, and it couldn’t come at a better time with the postseason on the horizon.
Bucky Leek led three Cedar Bluff players in double figures with 21 points, including 6-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers held on for a 72-68 victory against Collinsville on Thursday.
“We lost last Saturday in double overtime (against Athens Bible), but we found a way and won this one,” Cedar Bluff coach Joe Carpenter said. “If we can keep building against Donoho (on Friday) and go into Wednesday’s (area tournament) game with Woodville, I think we’ll be in good shape.
“We still made a lot of mistakes. We turned the ball over, but we switched lineups and it helped us out. We were a little bit quicker.”
As Carpenter alluded, the second half seemed to be more up-tempo for both teams. Collinsville held an 11-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter, but Cedar Bluff forged out in front at halftime 34-33.
The Tigers bent but didn’t break in the second half. They had a five-point cushion at 66-61 with 1:46 to go, but a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Colton Wills brought the Panthers within a point at 67-66 with 1:21 remaining, but Cedar Bluff made 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch and held on for the win.
“That’s the story of our season,” Collinsville coach Jon Tidmore said. “We’ve been playing really hard here lately, but we just can’t quite cut down on mistakes enough to finish one. They (Cedar Bluff) made enough (free throws) to win. We had to foul them. We didn’t shoot well. We had chances to take the lead a couple of times on the line and didn’t do it.”
Cedar Bluff’s victory spoiled a 30-point, 6-rebound performance from Wills. He connected on four 3-pointers in the game.
“He scores really well,” Tidmore said. “He’s trying to get better in other phases of his game, like creating for other people, but he really can score. He has a lot this year.”
Malachi Orr added 15 points and eight boards for the Panthers.
Anbre Leek tossed in 18 points for the Tigers. Jacob Burleson collected 16 points. Kade Browning and Dylan Kinard finished with seven and six points respectively.
Girls
Collinsville 61, Cedar Bluff 28
CEDAR BLUFF – Class 3A, No. 4 Collinsville cruised to a 61-28 girls basketball victory at Cedar Bluff on Thursday.
The Lady Panthers (24-4) went on a 17-0 first-quarter run to put the game away early. They led 22-2 at the end of the opening quarter and 45-8 at halftime before Cedar Bluff found a little more offense. The Lady Tigers trailed 56-23 at the end of the third quarter.
“Probably the strength of our team this year has been defense,” Tidmore said. “We’ve been kind of up-and-down offensively, but defensively we’ve really been locked in, so I’m hoping that’s a good sign for next week (in the area tournament).”
Tyla Tatum tallied 14 points to lead Collinsville. Cadence Amison added 11 points, and Emma Terrell finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Jordyn Walker led Cedar Bluff with 12 points, including a pair of treys. Maggie Clowdis contributed six points and Hayden Cannon finished with five points.
