The Rockwood Tigers from Roane County traveled to Roan Mountain last night to play the Cloudland Highlanders in tournament play. Tomorrow night’s games will see Cloudland taking on KACHEA, while Rockwood travels to Unaka to take on the Rangers.

After a tight first half, the Lady Highlanders were able to tame the Lady Tigers for a 53-42 win. 

The Lady ‘Landers got out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Lady Tigers came back and were led by Lexi Hill who had six points in the quarter. At the end of one, the Tigers were up by two points.

The Highlanders began swishing the net for threes in the second quarter. Lisa Ellis and Johanna Johnson each sank a trey in the quarter, and Shian Strickland was good for two. By halftime the Lady ‘Landers had pulled ahead and was leading, 22-15.

Rockwood’s Karlee Bowling came out strong in the third scoring five, while L. Hill added another six to bring the Lady Tigers to within six by the end of the third. However, the Lady Highlanders kept up their steady play and took the lead into the fourth quarter.

The Lady ‘Landers kept calm down the stretch behind the tough rebounding of Patricia Singleton and Trinity Vines, and the ball handling of Strickland and Ellis. Strickland added another seven points in the final quarter, leading all scorers with 22.

Cloudland – 53

Strickland-22, P. Johnson-7, J. Johnson-6, Ellis-9, Singleton-4, Vines- 5

Rockwood – 42

L. Hill-18, Evans-12, Bowling-8, Tilley-2

Boys

The boys’ game was a tight one in the first quarter. Cloudland’s Brinkley Mull got things started with a long three-pointer followed by Colby Birchfield’s two. Rockwood spread their 11 first quarter points among five different players and were leading 11-10 at the buzzer.

The two teams traded buckets in the second quarter with Cloudland’s Chris Wagoner and Birchfield scoring all of the team’s six points. However, Rockwood’s Case Miller, Austin Cooper, and Matthew Thompson combined for seven points to keep their team in the lead going into the locker room. The defensive battle of both teams kept the score low at 18-16.

The third quarter had the two teams keeping it close on the score board. Cloudland pulled out to an eight point lead, but the Rockwood Tigers went to their two strong players, Miller and Ryan McCain, to come back within five points. At the end of the quarter, CHS was up 38-33.

Both teams played tenacious defense again in the fourth quarter. Dalton Vines and P. Benfield opened the quarter with buckets, while freshmen Josh Blair and Malachi Benfield came in to give the Highlanders some sound rebounding, ball handling, and scoring. The Highlanders pulled out to take the win, 55-47.

Cloudland coach Gary Harrison said, “We didn’t play well the first half offensively or defensively, but we executed better in the second half. We’ve got to come ready to play both halves. We had some kids step up tonight: Mull and Malachi Benfield. Wagoner and Birchfield played well.”

Cloudland – 55

Arnett-2, Birchfield-19, Mull-3, M. Benfield-4, P. Benfield-11, Wagoner-6, Je Potter-3, Vines-7

Rockwood – 47

Mayton-2, Cooper-10, Thompson-10, Miller-13, Wilson-2, Wilkerson-6, McCain-4