UNIONVILLE, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (10-7, 1-1) found a way to overcome 32 points from Charlie Haskins of the Community Vikings’ (11-7, 0-2) in a competitive 82-74 District 9-AA win on Tuesday inside The Roger Kent Brothers Gymnasium.

Charlie Haskins (3) surpassed the 30-point mark once again this season, finishing with a game-high 32 points for the Vikings in Tuesday's loss to Cascade.

T-G Staff Photo - Noah Maddox

“Haskins is very shifty,” Cascade Head Coach Doug Worsley said postgame, “We talked about it, and I thought we let him get into the lane without funneling him to the sideline. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do, but part of that is it’s the first time we were seeing him. Hopefully the second time we see him, we’ll do a better job of it, but tip your hat to him. He did a really good job, and he went 13-for-15 at the free throw line.”

Even though Haskins managed to finish with a game-high 32 points, nobody else on the Vikings found a way to reach double-figures. Josh Powers, who scored 13 points against Summertown to open the district slate, was held to just six points all night.

For Cascade, Kaleb Kelso and Cooper McElroy led the way with 23 points apiece. Henry Stone added 14 points while Ryder Pilkington chipped in with an important 13 points down low.

“We felt like coming into tonight we had an advantage down low with Ryder [Pilkington],” Worlsey said, “We’ve seen him bud and blossom in front of us as a post guy, and he’s starting to show what he’s capable of. He even left a few short tonight, he could have had 20 easily, and that’s what we’ve been looking for. We have multiple guys that can lead us and that’s really nice.”

This game was close throughout, and Cascade took a slim 62-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter after Pilkington’s go-ahead layup with 2.6 seconds on the clock. Pilkington found the basket again to start the fourth, and then Kelso converted a steal into two more points to grow the visitors’ lead to 66-60 less than 60 seconds into the final period of play.

Pilkington tacked on yet another bucket two minutes later, extending the Cascade lead to eight points. Hunter Ferrell's squad trimmed the lead back down to 68-63 with 4:30 left before Cooper McElroy sucked the gravity out of the building, driving baseline on Josh Powers and throwing down a thunderous two-handed jam while getting fouled in the process. McElroy missed the ensuing free throw, but Cascade managed to take a 74-67 lead with 2:10 remaining. 

Community continued to fight, but the visitors managed to hold on and close out the eight-point road win.

Early on, the Vikings trailed 18-9 with two minutes to go in the opening period, but the hosts responded with a 10-0 run to close the first quarter with a 19-18 lead.

“What sparked their runs was when we got out of sorts on the defensive end,” said Worlsey, “We weren’t staying in our lanes, we weren’t covering the middle like we were supposed to, and that let them get open looks.” 

The two teams traded baskets for the vast majority of the second quarter until Cascade strung a couple stops together, entering halftime with a 43-39 lead after outscoring the visitors, 25-20.

Kelso opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, and then Stone beat everyone down the floor for a free two points following a Community turnover to take a 48-39 lead less than a minute into the second half. 

After McElroy converted an and-one at the halfway point of the third quarter, Cascade took their largest lead of the night, 58-48. However, the Vikings once again showed their toughness, responding with an 8-0 run sparked by Haskins and Powers to close the quarter before entering the final frame trailing by just two points, 62-60.

The Vikings fall to 11-7 overall. Community continues its District 9-AA homestand against Loretto on Friday night with the opening tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

The Champions improve to 10-7 overall. Cascade returns home to take on district foe Chapel Hill on Friday night, LIVE on The Zinger 100.9 and AM 1400 starting at 5:45 p.m.