Breaking open tight game with a big final frame gave the ninth-ranked Cleveland girls their second straight District 5-4A regular season championship despite missing yet another key player.
Still minus Tennessee signee Lauren Hurst, along with two other starters from the beginning of the season, the Lady Raiders were without key sophomore Izzy Smith, who injured her shoulder against sixth-ranked Oak Ridge earlier in the week, but still notched their 20th win of the campaign with a 50-28 tally.
In the boys contest Friday, even though the Runnin' Raiders came up just shy in a 60-58 tally, they won the coin toss afterwards for the No.
3 seed in the district tournament.
With Rhea (20-11, 1-4) paying Cleveland (11-14, 1-5) back for an earlier loss, if the teams end up even in the standings, coach Reggie Tucker's Raiders will get the higher seed.
The Eagles still have a makeup game with district winner and 10th-ranked Walker Valley Tuesday, at "The Stable" and an upset would put the boys from Evensville in the No. 3 slot for the postseason tournament.
The District 5-4A Tournament will get underway Thursday at "The Stable," with the girls semifinals pitting Cleveland (20-7, 6-0) against either Walker Valley (5-21, 1-4) or McMinn County (6-21, 1-5), depending on Tuesday's outcome.
The Lady Raiders will play at 6 Thursday evening, while Rhea County (18-10, 3-2), as the second seed, will face either the Lady Mustangs or Lady Cherokees in the nightcap at 7:30.
In the boys action Friday evening, Walker Valley (24-3, 5-0) will square off against either Rhea or Cleveland, while No. 2 seed McMinn County (17-10, 4-2) will battle the other in the final semi.
The girls consolation and championship will be played on Monday, Feb. 24, with the boys to follow on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
EAGLES 60, RUNNIN' RAIDERS 58: After claiming the first meeting of the season by a 60-55 margin, Cleveland raced out to a 19-13 advantage at the first horn.
Rhea County was able to return the favor with a 15-9 second period run to even the game at 28-all at the intermission.
In a give-and-take third quarter, the Raiders were able to inch ahead with a 20-18 margin,but the hosts came back to close out the revenge win with a 14-10 final frame.
Cleveland shot well on the night, sinking 11-of-21 (52%) in front of the arc, plus drained 10-of-25 (40%) beyond it and went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
Senior Maguire Evans posted his best offensvie game of the season with 22 points, including a half dozen 3-balls, plus going 2-for-3 on two-pointers.
Classmate Tim Matthews went 6-for-11 from the field for 13 points, while Andrew Miolen was 3-of-5, including a pair from distance, for eight markers.
Junior AJ Westfield helped out with seven points, with a long-range bomb of his own.
Rhea County had four players reach double figures as Braylon Geer (21), Keshawn Smith (12), Caleb Carr (11) and Bryce Garrison (10) accounted for all but six of its points.
LADY RAIDERS 50, LADY EAGLES 28: Rhea County came out of the gate strong, claiming an 8-7 edge at the end of a tooth-and-nail opening period.
The hard-fought scrap continued in the second frame, with Cleveland able to claim a 13-8 advantage for a 20-16 halftime lead.
After the intermission, the struggle continued with the Lady Raiders inching ahead with a 13-10 run for a seven-point edge going into the final eight minutes.
Cleveland's defense took over in the final frame, holding the hosts to just on basket, while the Lady Raider offense sizzled the strings for 17 points.
The visitors drilled 10 3-pointers in the victory, with sophomore Laney Copeland connecting from "downtown" on a half dozen shots, plus went 4-for-6 at the free throw line, on her way to game-high 17 points.
Senior Emma Smith helped out with a dozen markers, including a trio of triples, while freshman Ariyah Huffman hit double digits with a long-range bomb in her 10 points.
While Lady Eagle standout Jenna Burchard was able to net 14 points, only three other Rhea players found the bottom of the net.
GAME SUMMARIES
Friday, Feb. 14
at "The Eagles Nest"
in Evensville
Girls Game
Cleveland 7 13 13 17 — 50
Rhea County 8 8 10 2 — 28
LADY RAIDERS (50) — Laney Copeland 24, Emma Smith 12, Ariyah Huffman 10, Gravelle 3, Rodriguez 1, Davis, J. Bradford, K. Bradford, A. Bradford.
LADY EAGLES (28) — Jenna Burchard 14, Jaslyn Butler 8, Jetta Sharp 4, Lakyn Lockhart 2, Ruehling, Shaver, Reeves, Fuller, Bishop, Brown, Kelly, Peavyhouse.
3-POINTERS: CHS 10 (Copeland 6, E. Smith 3, Huffman); RC 0.
FREE THROWS: CHS 8-of-15; RC 4-of-5.
RECORDS: No. 8 Cleveland 20-7, 6-0 District 5-4A; Rhea County 18-9, 3-2 District 5-4A.
Boys Game
Cleveland 19 9 20 10 — 58
Rhea County 13 15 18 14 — 60
RUNNIN' RAIDERS (58) — Maguire Evans 22, Tim Matthews 13, Andrew Miolen 8, AJ Westfield 7, Reinbold 4, Lovelace 2, Ndegwa 2, Williams.
EAGLES (60) — Braylon Geer 21, Keshawn Smith 12, Caleb Carr 11, Bryce Garrison 10, Shaver 3, Ervin 3, Ford.
3-POINTERS: CHS 10 (Evans 6, Miolen 2, Westfield, Matthews); RC 5 (Geer 4, Shaver).
FREE THROWS: CHS 3-of-4; RC 13-of-21.
RECORDS: Cleveland 11-14, 1-5 District 5-4A; Rhea County 20-11, 1-4 District 5-4A.