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Huge 3rd leads Champs to district win

Posted on Monday, January 20, 2025 at 10:00 am

Henry Stone drives the base line and looks for the open man in the paint. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)

Kaleb Kelso finishes a possession with an easy layup. He finished with a team-high 19 points. (Post Photos by Chris Siers)

By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
BELL BUCKLE — After building a 12-point halftime lead against District 9-2A rival Forrest, Cascade buried the nail in the Rockets’ coffin with a 22-point third frame as the Champions found their first district win, 57-34.
Cascade deployed a successful full court defensive pressure that wilted the Rockets, creating several points in transition off Forrest turnovers.
Cascade raced out to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter, led by a slew of 3-pointers.
Kaleb Kelso launched a pair of 3’s and in the second quarter, Henry Stone took over and tacked on seven points to help the Champs stretch their lead to 25-13 by halftime, highlighted by a basket at the buzzer.
In the third quarter however, Cascade was able to get a steady mix of 3-point shooting and the ability to get to the free throw line.
Cascade connected on four treys in the quarter and Kelso tacked on another 11 points, including two 3-pointers, while Stone added five more of his own.
With just over five minutes left in the third, Cascade’s lead hit 34-13 before Forrest’s Tristan Goad ended the scoreless streak with a 3-pointer at the 5:01 mark.
Cascade went on to stretch that lead to 42-16 after Stone was fouled on a basket, finished the shot and connected on the ensuing free throw.
As a team, Cascade connected on 4-of-5 free throw attempts in the quarter.
Forrest continued battle Cascade, notably in the paint, and was able to get to the free throw line, but managed just 3-of-10 tries in the fourth.
Kelso led three Champions in double figures with 19 points, while Stone finished with 14.
Jason Cullum finished with 10 points as well.

Forrest 5 8 9 12 — 34
Cascade 13 12 22 10 — 57

Forrest: Tristan Goad 21, Andrew Myers 8, Jon Hightower 5, Josh Doud 3, Alex Evans 2.
Cascade: Kaleb Kelso 19, Henry Stone 14, Jason Cullum 10, Cooper McElroy 5, Tyler Barrett 3, Tyler Rodgers 3, Noah Watson 3.
3-Point goals: Cascade (10): Kelso 4, Cullum 2, Watson, McElroy, Barrett, Rodgers; Forrest (2): Goad 2.
Halftime score: Cascade 25, Forrest 13.