Dalton’s boys basketball team moved ever so closer to an anticipated showdown with LaFayette to determine Sub-region 7A-3A supremacy, and the Lady Catamounts stayed undefeated in sub-region play and clinched the top spot for the region tournament.
Dalton dominated Heritage-Catoosa in both the boys and girls games Tuesday night at the Cats Den, with the Catamounts winning 80-52 to lock up at least a second-place finish in the sub-region and the Lady Cats taking a 74-47 victory to clinch the sub-region title.
The boys’ victory was highlighted by a strong perimeter shooting performance by Dalton (16-6, 7-1), which shot better than 50 percent from behind the arc. The Cats went 14-for-26 from behind the 3-point line, and at one point in the third quarter were 11-for-16, an astounding 68.75 percent.
Dalton also used a full-court press and an up-tempo offense to keep the pressure on Heritage (7-15, 1-7). The Cats forced 15 turnovers in the first half; by game’s end they had forced 23 turnovers while only giving up 10.
To say that Dalton shot well was “an understatement,” coach Mike Duffie said, but he also was pleased with the defensive performance.
“We needed to create tempo, we needed pace, we wanted it up and down because (Heritage) just doesn’t have the scorers we do,” he said.
Dalton’s Tristen Harrell led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and added six rebounds and four blocks. Julio Ringham contributed 14 points, and Tre Beck added eight. Alexis Bautista, who helped Dalton storm out of the gates with 14 points in the first quarter, finished with 21.
“I was on fire,” Bautista said. “Every time I got the ball, I was thinking about shooting.”
A 15-3 run by Dalton caused Heritage to call timeout midway through the opening quarter. Another spurt resulted in another Heritage timeout only a minute and a half later with Dalton leading 20-3. The Cats ended the period up 27-10, and they led 45-15 midway through the second quarter. The offense continued, and Dalton had 73 points after three quarters and was threatening to bust the scoreboard when Duffie rested his starters and slowed the tempo down.
Cody Sherlin led the Generals with 10 points and five assists, and Cody Sanders added eight points.
The looming matchup between Dalton and LaFayette is next Tuesday. The Ramblers handed Dalton its only sub-region loss of the season on Jan. 17 at LaFayette, and the two teams went into Tuesday tied atop the sub-region with 6-1 records. However, Duffie wants his team to focus on the next game — Friday at Southeast Whitfield.
“We’ve got to win Friday,” Duffie said. “Southeast is struggling this year, but they’re playing well at home.”
Tuesday’s win means the Cats will finish the sub-region no worse than second place, and Dalton only needs to win one game in the region tournament to advance to the Class 3A state tournament.
In the girls game, the Lady Cats used the same style as the boys, employing full-court pressure defense and a quick offensive tempo. Dalton forced 21 turnovers to Heritage’s 14.
“Our goal was to try to get the ball out as quickly as we could and try to score in transition,” Lady Cats coach Jeff McKinney said. “We were hoping we could wear them down.”
The plan worked. Dalton led at the end of the first quarter 17-13, and the Lady Cats pulled away in the second quarter with a 17-4 run.
Annie Kate Snyder had a game-high 18 points to lead Dalton, while Chandler McKinney added 16. Maddie Howell had 17 points and five rebounds.
Hayley McKinney had 14 points to lead Heritage, while Alex Belk had 11 points.
Coach McKinney was pleased with his team’s effort in hold Jada Hubbard, whom he called Heritage’s “best player,” to seven points.
“Sarah Stinnett and Taylor Behr I think shut her down pretty good other than free throws,” he said. “This game was important for us because it gave us the No. 1 seed in the sub-region.”
The Lady Generals (13-8, 5-3) trailed Dalton (16-5, 8-0) in the standings by two games; the loss moves them three games back with only two sub-region games left.
The Lady Cats earned a first round bye in the region tournament and only need to win one game in the tourney to advance to state.
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