Blazers Use 17-0 Blitz to Rally Past Caldwell 72-48

quinton-quarles

University Heights Academy trailed at halftime, but used a big second half to roll past Caldwell County 72-48 Tuesday night in Princeton in the season opener for both teams.

Gavin Grubbs had 17 points and Quinton Quarles added 14 as the Blazers made Melvin Brown a winner in his first game as UHA head coach.

Lemar Northington had 12 points and Cameron Brown added 10 for University Heights, which trailed 35-30 midway through the third quarter before turning the game.

UHA, the defending 2nd Region champion, picked up the intensity, forcing Caldwell — which played without leading returner scorer Jabrion Spikes — into numerous mistakes. The result was a 17-0 Blazer blitz that put the visitors up 47-35.

Northington hit a 3-pointer to start the run while Grubbs capped the spree with another 3 with just 16 seconds left in the third period.

UHA took a 49-37 lead to the final frame and never let Caldwell get closer than eight points the rest of the night.

The Blazers finished the night with a 10-0 run to put the finishing touches on the 24-point triumph.

Caldwell, which played well early even without Spikes, got 17 points from Giovante Riley and 11 from Carter Whittington. But the Tigers struggled against the UHA pressure in the second half without their go-to guy, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension after officials said he threw a punch in the 7th District championship game last season. Spikes also sat out Caldwell’s regional tournament contest at Henderson County last year.

Spikes will be back on Thursday when Caldwell hosts Ballard Memorial of the 1st Region at the CAB gym.

University Heights will play again Friday at Madisonville-North Hopkins in a rematch of last year’s regional championship game.

Caldwell got off to a good start in the game when it ran out to an 11-2 lead.

The Tigers led 17-13 after one quarter, gave up the lead briefly at 23-21, but came back to lead 31-28 at halftime.

Whittington’s bucket put Caldwell up 35-30 at the 5:41 mark of the third period, but UHA outscored the Tigers 42-13 the rest of the way.

University Heights   13   15   21   23—72
Caldwell County       17   14    6    11—48
University Heights Academy (1-0) — Gavin Grubbs 17, Quinton Quarles 14, Lemar Northington 12, Cameron Brown 10, Trevonne Wllace 6, Elijah Walton 5, Preston Thomas 4, Matthew Hauret 3, Jaidan Daniels 1, Bryson Northington 1.
Caldwell County (0-1) — Giovante Riley 17, Carter Whittington 11, Collin Whittington 6, Demaurius Thompson 5, Blake Vivrette 4, Zavy Bumphus 2, Elijah Shaheen 2, Jack Englebright 1.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Loading...