Don't you just hate it when you seem to do everything right and still come up on the losing end.

Happy Johnson (left) makes a move to get past Jordan Watson. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Middle Tennessee Christian's Ben Hall netted 23 of his team's points in a 38-27 win over Cascade Middle in Wartrace on Thursday night.

The Champions just couldn't seem to find an answer for the 6-foot-1 post, who also stuck 3-of-5 free throws.

"Not only is he taller, but he is quick off the block and just so fundamentally sound with his moves," Cascade coach Louis Steakley said. "There's nothing fancy, but he knows where his body positioning is and knows how to find the backboard.

"Sometimes we forget to front him. Sometimes when we do everything right, we still can't stop him."

The teams were knotted at 6-all before the Cougars took a 14-12 lead into halftime and a 25-16 advantage into the final quarter.

"Their press gave us some trouble," Steakley said. "We just got unsettled and didn't line up like we're supposed to, didn't call what we're supposed to and didn't go where we're supposed to.

"We've still got to get a little more relaxed on offense, especially towards the end of the game. We need to get set up better."

Michael Martin led Cascade (4-2) with 13 points. Happy Johnson added 12, including a 4-of-5 effort at the free-throw line. The rest of the squad was 1-of-10 at the charity stripe.

Middle Tennessee Christian (8-1) was 8-of-16 on free throws.

Cascade 26, Middle Tennessee Christian 23 (G): Much like the boys' contest, these two teams were tied at 6-all after six minutes of play before the Lady Champions went up 12-11 at the half.

Cascade (5-1) outscored their visitors from Murfreesboro 6-1 in the third stanza for just enough breathing room to hold on at the end.

"We were very fortunate to hold the lead," Lady Champs coach Stephanie Sutton said. "We missed a ton of shots under the basket. The kids were hustling but just didn't have a lot of things go their way."

Ashley Bledsoe paced the Cascade charge with 12 points.

Kate Mullins led Middle Tennessee Christian (6-3) with 12 points.

Bedford County rival Liberty comes to Wartrace on Monday night at 6.

"I don't know what to expect," Sutton said. "They're going to be good. I hope we step up to the challenge."