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Champs blow out Fayetteville, back in win column

Posted on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 9:41 pm

Jason Cullum flies over the Tiger defense for an easy basket. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)

By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
BELL BUCKLE — Simply put, Cascade had its way with visiting Faytteville City on Tuesday night.
Cascade freely exercised its suffocating defense, creating points in transition as the Champs blasted the visiting Tigers, 76-46 on Tuesday night.
Cascade set the tone early, racing out to a 7-0 lead, only to see the Tigers hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to one point with five minutes to go in the opening quarter.
Cascade answered with a pair of threes as well, pushing the lead out to 13-6 with 3:55 to go in the opening quarter.
With a comfortable lead, the Champions thrived in transition and created several baskets off Tiger turnovers.
By the end of the first quarter, Cascade built a 26-11 lead, with Kaleb Kelso chipping in nine points, while Henry Stone adding six.
In addition to creating points in transition in the first quarter, Cascade also sank four treys, and added in three more in the second quarter.
During the second period, the Champs went cold in scoring through the first several minutes, but continued to maintain pressure in the back court, as well as dominating off the defensive glass and limiting second-chance points to the Tigers.
At their biggest margin at that point of the game, Noah Watson drilled a pair of 3-pointers, giving the Champs a 39-14 lead with 3:09.
Cascade was abl

Kaleb Kelso finishes off a fast break after picking off a Faytteville pass on Tuesday night. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)

e to tack on a few more baskets in the first half, but held Faytteville scoreless as the Champs led 41-14 at the half.
Not much changed into the second half.
Cascade continued relying on balanced offense in the half court and saw six players score in the third period alone.
In total, four Champions reached double figures, with Kelso leading all scorers with 18 points.
Jason Cullum added 13, while Tyler Barrett and Henry Stone added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, Cascade shot it extremely well from the perimeter, making good on 12 treys.
Barrett and Cullum each had the hot hand and sank three treys apiece, while Watson and Kelsp added a pair.
For Fayetteville, the Tigers got 18 points from Shamon Hobbs and 16 more from Eli Groce, but the Tiger duo combined for more than the remainder of the roster.
Cascade snaps a two-game skid with Tuesday’s win and sets up a key district rematch against Grundy County on Friday night.

Fayetteville 11 3 14 18 — 46
Cascade 26 15 18 17 — 76

Fayetteville: Shamon Hobbs 18, Eli Groce 16, Swazey Chambers 4, Conner Townsend 4, Keson Reese 4.
Cascade: Kaleb Kelso 18, Jason Cullum 13, Tyler Barrett 11, Henry Stone 10, Cooper McElroy 9, Tyler Rodgers 7, Noah Watson 6, Tristin Billings 4.
3-Point goals: Cascade (12): Barrett 3, Cullum 3, Watson 2, Kelso 2, Rodgers, McElroy; Fayetteville (3): Groce 3.
Halftime score: Cascade 41, Fayetteville 14.