Cleveland, McMinn County Split In Prep Hoops Action

  • Saturday, January 18, 2025
  • special to The Chattanoogan.com
 The return of last year's District 5-4A Players of the Year sparked victories for the 11th-ranked Cleveland girls and McMinn County boys Friday in the league opener, at Raider Arena. 

Making her season debut after missing extended time due to injury suffered while winning her third straight Gatorade Tennessee Volleyball Player of the Tear, University of Tennessee double signee Lauren Hurst didn't miss a shot as the Lady Raiders prevailed 68-36.

The 6-foot-3 top-ranked Class of 2025 recruit put up 22 points, six steals and six rebounds on perfect 10-of-10 shooting in just over 20 minutes on the hardwood. 

In the nightcap, the Cherokees pulled away late for a 71-61 win as Lee University signee Reece Frazier also shined in his season debut returning from an injury as well.

He sizzled the strings for 27 points, including a personal 9-0 streak during late game run down the stretch to secure the win.

LADY RAIDERS 68 LADY CHEROKEES 36 
Senior Emma Smith swung an extra pass to sophomore Laney Copeland for an open 3-pointer  on Cleveland's first possession to put the Lady Raiders in front seconds into the contest.

Several possessions later, McMinn (4-15) responded with a 3-ball of its own to tie the game,  before Hurst and freshman Ariyah Huffman knocked in back-to-back layups to give the hosts a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

When the first quarter was said-and-done, Cleveland had forced eight Lady Tribe turnovers and led 17-9.
Six different Lady Raiders got in the scoring column in the opening frame. 

In the second period, Cleveland continued to ramp up its defensive pressure and forced nine more McMinn turnovers in the frame. Several of those takeaways were live ball turnovers Cleveland was able to turn into scores in transition. 

A 17-5 start to that second quarter ballooned the Lady Raider lead to 36-14 and Cleveland had doubled-up the visitors 42-22 by the halftime buzzer. 

The Lady Raider advantage grew as much as 28 in the third quarter on a steal-and-score by 2024 TSSAA All-State Tournament Illianis Rodriguez, which making it 59-26 edge after three periods. 

With the reserves in and a "running clock" in effect in the final frame, McMinn's bench outscored Cleveland's 10-9 to reach the 68-36 final score.

Joining Hurst in double figures for Cleveland was Copeland with 15, including a trio of treys, and Huffman with 10. 

McMinn freshman Molly Trentham led the Lady Cherokees with 12 points. 

CHEROKEES 71 RAIDERS 61 As many have done against McMinn County this season, Cleveland's game plan was to get the ball to their post early. 

Junior big man AJ Westfield, who received an offer to play football at Southern Mississippi earlier in the day Friday, made his presence known to start the game  

In the game's first two minutes, the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder put up four points, five rebounds and an assist against a smaller McMinn team and Cleveland (9-6) led 7-2 early. 

The Cherokees (10-6) rallied back for a 15-3 spurt for a seven-point edge, but a bucket apiece from juniors Baraka Ndegwa and Abe Reinbold to end the quarter cut the Tribe lead to 19-14 at the first horn. 

A long-range bomb and couple of free throws from Cleveland senior Tim Matthews tied the game up at 19 apiece with 7:03 left in the second quarter. 

McMinn responded with a 9-4 extended run in a dry spell for both offenses, but Cleveland ended the half with the final half dozen markers, thanks to a Reinbold putback bucket and back-to-back layups from Ndegwa for 29-28 lead at the intermission. 

The teams traded buckets and had the game tied at 30, 32, 34 and 37 early in the third before McMinn took a slight lead at the end of the frame at 47-45. 

After a McMinn jumper to open the fourth, a Westfield offensive rebound and putback cut Cleveland's deficit in half at 49-47, but a 3-ball from the corner from McMinn freshman Maddox Frazier put the Cherokees back up two scores at 52-47. 

With McMinn holding onto a 57-53 edge after a timeout, Cleveland had five turnovers in six possessions and McMinn had success offensively. 

Frazier turned it on in the fourth quarter of his first game back from injury with a personal 9-0 run in that span. 

Tack on three Madden Cobb free throws, plus a pair of "freebies" by Frazier, the Tribe out scored Cleveland 14-2 from 3:42 to 56 seconds left to lead 69-55. 

A pair of late Blue Raider 3s got the deficit down to nine at one point before the final at 71-61. 

The 6-foot-5 Matthews paced the Runnin' Raiders with 16 points, while Westfield pitched in 14 points and nine rebounds. Ndegwa drained a trio of triples and had 14 points. 

Along with Frazier's stunning stat line, McMinn got strong support from Brady Mullins and Joc Williams who put up 14 and 12 markers, respectfully. 

GAME SUMMARIES
District 5-4A
Friday, Jan. 17
at Raider Arena
Girls Game
McMinn County       9    13    4     10 — 36
Cleveland               17   25    17    9 — 68
LADY CHEROKEES (36)
— Molly Trentham 12, Mia Sewell 7, Aven Hennessee 5, Lilly Skidmore 4, Hanah Clark 4, Sliger 2, Patterson 2, Dingess, Venz. 
LADY RAIDERS (68) — Lauren Hurst 22, Laney Copeland 15, Ariyah Huffman 10, Emma Smith 8, Illianis Rodriguez 6, Davis 3, I. Smith 2, Tipton Williams, Bradford, Gravelle, K. Bradford, A. Bradford. 
3-POINTERS: MC 2 (Hennessee, Trentham); CHS 7 (Copeland 3, Smith, Davis, Rodriguez, Huffman).
FREE THROWS: MC 10-of-14; CHS 9-of-14.
RECORDS: McMinn County 4-15, 0-1 District 5-4A; Cleveland 13-4, 1-0 District 5-4A.

Boys Game
McMinn County         19    9     19    24 — 71
Cleveland                  14    15    16    16 — 61
CHEROKESS (71)
— Reese Frazier 27, Brady Mullins 14, Joc Williams 12, Madden Cobb 8, Gonzalez 7, M. Frazier 3, Harbin, Sharp, Womac.
RAIDERS (61) — Tim Matthews 16, AJ Westfield 14, Baraka Ndegwa 14, Abe Reinbold 6, Evans 5, Miolen 4, Lovelace 2, 
3-POINTERS: MC 5 (R. Frazer 2, Mullins 2, M. Frazier); CHS 5 (Ndegwa 3, Matthews, Evans).
FREE THROWS: MC 14-OF-20; CHS 18-of-23
RECORDS: McMinn County 10-6, 1-0 District 5-4A; Cleveland 9-6, 0-1 District 5-4A.
Prep Sports
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