Middle Grade teams make debut

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DAVID HUNTER
The Cannon Courier

History was made last week as the Cannon County Middle Grade basketball teams made their debut with two games.

The first one was Dec. 1 at Franklin County North, while the Junior Lions and Lionettes hosted their first ever home game at CCHS on Dec. 8 against Coffee County. Both teams played hard, but they lost both games to fall to 0-2 on the young season.

In the first game of the season, the Junior Lions lost to FCNM, 50-38, while the Junior Lionettes also fell at the same location, 48-28.

A week later, the local community got their first look at the CCMG teams as they hosted the Raiders from Coffee County at Robert A. Harris Gymnasium on the CCHS campus.

In the girls' game, the Lady Raiders were looking to continue their success against teams from the area this area. Earlier in the season, the same CCMS team knocked off Woodland in the semifinals of the Border War tournament. This time around several players from the Lady Warriors were looking for their revenge against one of the top middle school teams in the state.

However, like in the previous meeting against a local team, the Lady Raiders were led by Bella Vinson, who scored 12 out of the 14 points in the first half, including an impressive buzzer beater from half court to give them a 14-6 advantage at the break.

In the second half, she was held to four points to finish with 16, and the Junior Lionettes made a run of their own in the third quarter to cut their advantage down to seven, 22-15, after a last second shot by Shelby Smithson.

However, it was too little, too late as the Lady Raiders started the final quarter with a 6-0 run to extend their advantage to 28-15, and they held on for the 33-23 victory as the Junior Lionettes drop to 0-2 on the young season.

"I am very happy with their performance tonight," Junior Lionettes head coach Ashley Cantrell said. "We are two games in, and we are going to keep getting better each single game. I am very proud of their effort tonight."

As for the Junior Lions, they got off to a very slow start as they only scored two points during the first six minutes of the game. Middle Grade basketball games are four six minute quarters, and CCMG was down, 12-2 after the first quarter.

After three quarters, the Raiders were up, 32-17, but the Junior Lions made an 8-2 run of its own to start the final quarter, including two long distance bombs from Branden Reed and a bucket from Zachary Basham to make the score, 34-25. However, the Raiders answered with a 10-2 run at the end of the game to pull away for the 44-27 win. Now, the Junior Lions are 0-2 on the season.

"We are progressing and getting there," Junior Lions head coach Jared Nave said. "They are so used to playing zone and on small floors. It is a big transition for them to get wider on the floor, and we are playing straight man-to-man. We are going to learn to play man-to-man. We are going to keep drilling it in practice."

Both teams were excited to finally play a home game at CCHS in front of a big crowd, even though the Cannon County Grammar Schools were playing the 2016 Cancer Tournament at Woodbury Grammar at the same time. The Junior Lions and Lionettes were happy with the support even in a losing effort.

"It was good, and we love coming to the high school," Cantrell said. "It is always fun to play here, and the kids love playing on the big floor. We hope to pack a few more next time after the Cancer Tournament. We hope to get a few more in here and enjoy it with us."

Nave added, "It is pretty cool, especially for the kids. I told them before the game, they are not here to watch me coach, they are here to watch you play. That is pretty cool, because there are people here who do not have any kids in here. They want to see us grow and develop and how we are doing. It is pretty cool for the community, and there are a lot of people behind the scenes who made this happen and work."

The CCMG teams are back in action Monday Dec. 12 back at home in a rematch against Franklin County North with the tipoff at 6 p.m. as each squad is hoping for better results during the second matchup between the teams.

CCMG Box Scores

Dec. 1 at North

Junior Lionettes- Bradi Mason 11, Shelby Smithson 6, Shelby Parker 4, Cassie George 3, Rudy DeArmond 2, Zettie Elrod 2.

Junior Lions- Gus Davenport 8, Brady Bryson 7, Eli Cantrell 5, Lavell Rogers 5, Jordan Timmons 4, Conner Tucker 4, Kyler Bryson 2, Zachary Basham 2, Branden Reed 1.

Dec. 8 vs. Coffee County

Junior Lionettes- Shelby Smithson- 11, Katelyn Duggin- 5, Bradi Mason 5, Maleah Sissom-2.

Junior Lions- Brady Bryson-6, Branden Reed-6, Connor Tucker-5, Gus Davenport-3, Jordan Timmons-2, Lavell Rogers-2, Zachary Basham-2, Eddie Hill-1.

CCHS Box Scores

Dec. 2 at Upperman

Lionettes- Madison Gaither-12, Anna Grace Sissom-10, Maleah Scott-6, Erika Taylor-2.

Lions-Trey Fann-13, Brandon Miles-10, Cole George-7, Blake Bush-3, Anton Knox-3, Josh Walkup-2, Charlie Parrish-1.

Dec. 6 vs. Smith County

Lionettes- Maleah Scott-23, Kristen Fann 11, Anna Grace Sissom-4, Taylor Meeks-3, Madison Gaither-2.

Lions- Trey Fann-20, Charlie Parrish-16, Austin Duggin-9, Brandon Miles-8, Anton Knox-6, Cole George-5, Lane Willis-3.

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