Kaleb Kanipe Leads Union’s Second-Half Charge at Caldwell

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Four times in the first half Caldwell County built nine-point leads.

But Union County battled back to within 28-26 at halftime, then took the lead after the break on the way to a 67-60 victory Friday night in Princeton.

Kaleb Kanipe had 18 of his 22 points in the second half as Union (14-8) won for the second straight night. The Braves beat Trigg County 58-48 on Thursday.

Union scored the first seven points of the second half at Caldwell to surge in front.

But the Tigers (7-14), who had won three in a row entering the contest, battled back to grab a 36-35 lead on a bucket from inside by Collin Whittington with 2:46 left in the third period.

That would prove to be Caldwell’s last lead, but the Tigers were still as close as 45-44 early in the fourth quarter.

But Kanipe scored Union’s next four field goals. A Kanipe layup with 2 minutes to play gave the Braves their biggest lead of the night at 60-50.

Caldwell wasn’t done, however. Three-pointers by Jabrion Spikes and Collin Whittington bookended a 10-3 burst that got the Tigers as close as 63-60 with 33 seconds still left in the game.

But Ethan Corbett got loose at the other end for a layup 10 seconds later, then Eli Mackey later knocked down two free throws to finally put Caldwell away.

When the two teams met less than two weeks ago at Union County, the Braves claimed a 68-60 decision.

Caldwell played the rematch without Tripp Branch, who continues to be out with an ankle injury but is expected back in time for the 7th District tournament.

In the first meeting at Union, the Tigers did not have Spikes, who poured in a game-high 27 points on Friday.

Caldwell also got 10 points from Carter Whittington along with seven points and 14 rebounds from Tate VanHooser.

Union got 12 points from Corbett and 11 from Mackey.

Caldwell’s games for next week have all been canceled. The Tigers won’t play again until the district tournament semifinals on Monday, March 15, when they face Hopkins County Central.

Caldwell will host the 7th District tourney.

Union County       12   14   15   26 — 67
Caldwell County  21    7    12   20 — 60
Union County (14-8)—Kaleb Kanipe 22, Ethan Corbett 12, Eli Mackey 11, Gabe Mayes 7, Kris Hughes 7, Isaiah Manuel 6, Clem Johnson 2.
Caldwell County (7-14)—Jabrion Spikes 27, Carter Whittington 10, Collin Whittington 7, Tate VanHooser 7, Demaurius Thompson 6, Blake Vivrette 3.

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