The Chargers of Chattanooga Christian almost gave their alumni an upset homecoming win Friday night as a packed gym watched the Pioneers of East Ridge recover from a 19-4 first quarter deficit to win 56-51. In the girls' game, the Lady Chargers rolled to a 52-24 district win.
The Chargers, who started two freshmen and a sophomore, came out strong in the first quarter getting the home crowd into the game jumping out to a 19-2 lead before the Pioneers scored a late bucket in the first quarter.
East Ridge's sophomore center Philip Jurick remained frustrated in the first quarter, but scored 10 of his 24 points in the second quarter as the Pioneers cut the lead to just three points, 24-21 at the half.
CCS junior Logan O'Dell, who gave up at least six inches to Jurick, kept him in check again in the third quarter holding him to just two points. But East Ridge took the lead, tying the game at 40 late in the third quarter.
Jurick then poured in 11 in the fourth to help hold off the Chargers.
CCS trailed by three with 15 seconds left, but could not find the game-tying bucket. The Pioneers hit four of their 15 free throws in the final minute of the game.
Jurick also had 11 rebounds and 12 blocks in the game and was the only Pioneer player to score in double digits. Brandon Turner had nine points.
CCS was led by O'Dell, who scored 18 points. Six of those came on two three pointers and the rest came in the paint against Jurick.
Freshmen duo William Moore and Stephen Cook had 14 and 11 respectively.
O'Dell and Moore had six rebounds each.
East Ridge moves to 10-4 overall and 7-1 in the district. CCS moves to 6-6 and 3-3 in the district.
CCS will travel to Soddy-Daisy on Saturday.
CCS GIRLS 52 EAST RIDGE 24 The Lady Chargers jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and led 32-14 at the half.
Nikki Rumph led all scorers with 15 points and Jordan Stuermer had 10.
Denean Walls and Jaunisha Hansford each had eight rebounds and Callie Davenport had six assists.
CCS received their first district loss at Grundy County this week and are now 5-1 in the district and 6-6 overall.
Girls Scoring Summary:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| CCS () | 17 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 52 |
| East Ridge () | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
CCS: Rumph 15, Stuermer 10, Hansford 7, Lacy Thompson 6, D. Walls 5, Davenport 4, Rowe 3, Lauren Thompson 2,
3pts: Stuermer 1 |
East Ridge: Brock 10, Haddock 6, Cox 2, Wade 2, Prodor 2
3pts: |
Boys Scoring Summary:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| East Ridge () | 4 | 17 | 21 | 14 | 56 |
| CCS () | 19 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 51 |
East Ridge: Jurick 25, Turner 9, Woodard 7, Starr 6, Wells 5, Taylor 4
3pts: Wells 1 |
CCS: O'Dell 18, Moore 14, Cook 11, Morrison 6, Mercer 2
3pts: Morrison 2, O'Dell 2 |
CCS's Callie Davenport puts pressure on the ball.
- Photo2 by Greg Davick