Walden's near Triple-Double leads Corinth Holders to Varsity split vs Cleveland

By: Zack Adams

12/16/17

Last night in Wendell, two county rivals squared off right before Holiday break as Cleveland faced off against Corinth Holders. Not only did the two schools open their doors the same year (2010), but these two have been conference foes as well since both opened, until now. The NCHSAA reclassifications moved the Pirates of Corinth Holders up to 4A while the Rams of Cleveland remained in the 3A classification. Normally, these two would split a home and home but this year, only one meeting and the sides split the varsity contest.

Cleveland @ Corinth Holders GBB:
Cleveland (3-8) squeaked out the sloppy, 43-31 victory over Corinth Holders (3-6) Friday night. Coach Danehower and his Lady Rams were led by junior Jaeda Scott and senior Kailjn Williamson. The two both stand over six foot tall and were a huge presence down low and getting to the basket where they were almost unstoppable. Scott finished the game with 19, shooting seven of eight from the foul line. Williamson also finished in double figures with 13 and like Scott, she also shot well from the foul line hitting five of eight. Deonna Adams did try to mount a Lady Pirates comeback, though. Adams hit two big threes in the second half that cut deeper and deeper into the Rams lead. But once again, the two Lady Rams forwards were just too much, especially in the closing 16 minutes. Adams finished with 10 points and she also got some help from backcourt mate, Mikayla Thompson who had seven.

Cleveland @ Corinth Holders BBB:
It was a close one, but Corinth Holders (2-6) edged out Cleveland (2-9) 64-62 in Friday’s night cap. Junior Cameron Walden was a big reason the Pirates picked up their second victory of the season as he nearly had a triple double; finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in the Pirates two point victory. The Pirates also had two other double figure scorers. Sophomore Tanner Smith had 14, nine of those coming in the first quarter, and senior Warren Ramsey had 12, who hit two big fourth quarter triples. Hamilton Harrison also had himself a big game for the visitors. Harrison finished with a game high, 17 points and 11 of those came in the second half. He was complimented by Josh Marlowe, who had 11 points and seven assists. Cleveland had a steady lead going into the fourth quarter up 46-38. That eight point lead came crashing down when the Pirates started the quarter on a 13-4 run, behind those two big threes from Ramsey and one added by Smith. Also, Cameron Walden finished a big and one with his left hand, plus the free throw with 3:48 to play to put Corinth Holders up 54-52. DJ Khaled says “Another one”, right? Yes, well Walden got another and one with 36.9 to play but this time, misses the foul shot. That and one would end up being the game winning basket as  that put Corinth Holders up 64-62.

Cleveland would have two great chances to tie the game and sent it to overtime. Zach Matthews had a wide open lane with six seconds to play and missed the left handed layup. That missed layup fell into the hands of Cameron Walden for his 12th rebound of the contest and he was fouled by Marlowe. Walden missed the one and one free throw attempt and the Rams called timeout. 4.5 seconds to play and Dawson Smith had the ball on the baseline. He threw the ball the length of the floor into the hands of Houston Harrison, who drove in on Walden and he too missed a left handed layup. That sealed win number two for Corinth Holders, improving them to 2-1 in Pirate Nation.

Friday’s contest was more than just another basketball game for the head coaches of both the Cleveland and Corinth Holders boys teams. Why? Well coach Jeff Davis (Cleveland) and Chris Davis (Corinth Holders) are brothers. With the Christmas holiday coming up, Chris now has a little bit of “bragging rights” on his brother and could very well be brought up on the 25th at the family Christmas festivities.

As both teams move into the holiday break, both have holiday basketball tournaments they will be partaking in. Corinth Holders girls and boys varsity teams with travel to Triton to play in the Hawk Holiday Hoops Tournament. Both will battle Triton next Thursday (Dec. 21), at 6:00 (girls) and 7:30 (boys) for those two games. The Lady Pirates just played Triton on Wednesday and lost 37-22. As for Cleveland, they are hosting a holiday tournament, the John Jacobs Christmas Classic, in the late Coach Jacobs’ honor. The Pirates will also be in this tournament but Dec. 27th will be the next time Cleveland plays when both girls (7:00) and boys (8:30) meet Wake Christian Academy.