Cloudland Middle boys, girls take two wins from Hunter
Published 12:43 am Saturday, November 9, 2019
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's Ryan Turbyfill drives to the basket Thursday night against Hunter.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's Saharra McKinney looks for an open pass.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Hunter's Haley Taylor recovers a loose ball against Cloudland on Thursday night in Roan Mountain.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Hunter's Matthew Stines scores on a layup against Cloudland.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Couldland's Dylan McClellan defends against Hunter's Marcus Shomaker under the basket.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's Nick Caraway looks for a lane against a stingy Hunter defense.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's big man, Landon Hughes, drives the lane for an easy score.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's Eli Morgan makes a nice layup off of an assist Thursday night against Hunter.
BY DANNY BLEVINS STAR CORRESPONDENT
The Cloudland Highlander Middle School boys and girls hosted the Hunter Tigers in middle school basketball action Thursday night at Cloudland’s Sonny Smith Gymnasium.
Cloudland’s girls were coming off dominating wins against Happy Valley Middle School and Cranberry Middle, and they were hoping to extend their win streak against a much-improved Hunter team.
The Cloudland boys were hoping to get into the win column and get the first win of the year after losing heart-breaking losses to Happy Valley Middle on Monday night and Cranberry Middle on Tuesday night.
Both of Cloudland’s teams would dominate Hunter and bring home victories.
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Cloudland girls down Hunter, 42-8
Cloudland’s Lady Lander’s took little time showing the packed crowd at Sonny Smith Gymnasium why they went to the state championship game last year.
The Lady Landers got the job done on both the offensive and defensive side of the court.
On offense the first quarter was an exhibition game for Cloudland’s starters. Cloudland had five different girls score in the first quarter, and before Hunter could take a breath, Cloudland had run the score to 16-0.
Hunter’s biggest problem throughout the game was getting past Cloudland’s full-court defense.
Hunter was not able to score during the first quarter because they could not get the ball to their goal most of the time.
Right before the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter, Hunter’s Hannah Yontz finally scored a bucket for the Tigers making the score 16-2 after the first quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same for Cloudland.
Cloudland did not allow the Lady Tigers to score during the second quarter and kept them to only two points until late in the third quarter when Hunter’s Emma Taylor hit a bucket making the score at the end of the third quarter 42-4.
By the end of the game, Hunter had managed to score four more points, and the game ended with Cloudland taking the victory, 42-8.
Leading the Lady Landers in scoring were Izabella Christman and Ryan Turbyfill who each had eight points. Saharra Mckinney and Bella Clawson each chipped in six on the night for Cloudland.
For Hunter, Emma Taylor led the team in scoring with four points while Hayley Taylor and Hannah Yontz put in two each.
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Cloudland boys slip past Hunter, 41-32
The last game of the night was by far the most entertaining game between these two teams.
Cloudland’s boys came into the game with determination that they were not going to lose this game and it showed in how they played.
Cloudland jumped out early in the game and at one point in the first quarter held an 11-1 lead. One theme played out all night.
When Cloudland got a comfortable lead, Hunter’s boys would come back and get close or tie the game.
By the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 12-5 and Cloudland was showing the confidence of a winning team.
During the second quarter, Hunter came back and soon took a one-point lead with the score 16-15.
When the buzzer sounded for the end of the second quarter, one of the smallest players on the court, Eli Morgan, hit a jump shot giving Cloudland a 21-16 lead and momentum going into the locker room.
The third and fourth quarters were about as exciting as a basketball game can get.
Hunter’s players fought back to take the lead then Cloudland came back to retake the lead.
By the end of the third, Hunter held a tiny sliver of a lead, and the score was 28-27.
This is the point in a ballgame when true character is revealed. Would this Cloudland team fold under the pressure or would it step up and claim the victory?
When the fourth quarter began, Morgan and Dylan McClellan stepped up and started dominating the game.
These two scorers became Cloudland’s offense during the last quarter. When Hunter would get close, McClellan or Morgan would take the ball to the hoop and put more pressure on the Tigers.
Morgan scored eight points in the quarter and McClellan dominated the boards and scored six.
By doing so they sealed the victory for Cloudland and gave them their first win of the season with a final score of 41-32.
Cloudland was led in scoring by Morgan who had a career night and scored 21 points. McClellan had 10, Landon Hughes had six and Auston Caraway also scored four points for Cloudland.
For Hunter, Marcus Shomaker had 10 points, Matthew Stines had six and Elijah Stines added five points.
