Highlanders make it two in a row with win over Happy Valley

Published 3:14 pm Tuesday, December 21, 2021

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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
ROAN MOUNTAIN – There wasn’t a ton of points nor were the ones scored pretty, but it was an entertaining display of hustle and tight defensive pressure from start to finish for both the Cloudland Highlanders and the Happy Valley Warriors.

When the final horn sounded, the Highlanders had secured their second consecutive victory with a 49-34 win over the visitors from Warrior Hill.

The first quarter was a slow go for both teams as the Warriors held the upper hand at the first horn, 6-5.

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Colby Chausse, James Murray, and Blake Garmon recorded a field goal each to give the Warriors a one-point lead while Dylan Shell scored all five of Cloudland’s points in the quarter.

The Highlanders found better success offensively in the second period as a 24-10 blitz gave Cloudland a 29-16 advantage by intermission.

Caleb Sluder caught fire in the quarter hitting for 11 of the 24 points, including three treys. Shell added four more to his score sheet with Caden Clarke and Gage McKinney knocked down three points apiece.

Eli Benfield and Dylan McClellan closed out the scoring with two and one point respectively.

Chause hit two long-range three balls to put six points more in his scoring column for the Warriors. Murray contributed three points while Cole Deakins added one point.

The first half proved the difference as the second half was played on an even keel as Cloudland outscored the Warriors 20-18 to secure the win.

For the contest, Cloudland was led by Shell’s game-high 19 points while Sluder contributed with 13. Murray was high man for the Warriors knocking down 15 points in the contest.

Cloudland, 49-34
Happy Valley (34)
Colby Chausse 8, Dakota Grindstaff 5, James Murray 15, Blake Garmon 2, Cole Deakins 4.
Cloudland (49)
Caden Clarke 7, Caleb Sluder 13, Dylan Shell 19, Gage McKinney 3, Eli Benfield 4, Coy Laney 2, Dylan McClellan 1.
Happy Valley … 6 10 6 12 – 34
Cloudland …….. 5 24 13 7 – 49