UNIONVILLE — It was a typical Cascade Champion versus Community Viking intra-county game Friday night as an intensity fueled by a jam-packed crowd spurred the teams to play a hard-fought 32 minutes of basketball.
At the end of the day, the Champions pulled away from a close game with an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter and went on to defeat the Vikings 86-67 in the District 7-AA contest.          
There was no shortage of points as both teams came out hot in the opening quarter.
With Ramone Hernandez leading the way with five points, Community (1-21, 0-4) went on a 5-0 run and took its biggest lead at 12-6 with 4:27 remaining.
The Champs were quick to respond as Jayden Gulick connected for 11 points, including three treys while Saebyn Burris added six points and Lucas Clanton had five as Cascade (19-4, 3-0) went on an 11-0 run and took a 21-14 advantage with 1:43 left. 
The Champions ended the quarter with a 24-17 lead.
"Jayden Gulick had a great start and shot the ball extremely well," Coach Chris Lawson of the Champions said. "We had multiple guys chip in."
"When we can score in a variety of ways, it makes it tough to guard," Lawson added.
Burris scored nine points and Jackson Davis had seven as the Champs stayed hot in the second quarter. 
Hernandez added seven points as the Vikings matched their point total from the first quarter, but Cascade expanded its lead with 22 points and took a 46-34 lead into the intermission.
Lawson wanted the Champs to continue their success from the first half in the halftime talk to his team.
"We wanted to do a good job defensively and do the hustle plays and push the ball on offense and see if we could get down the floor," Lawson said.
Davis and Thomas Gentry each scored five points as the Champions led by double digits for most of the third quarter, but the Vikings were not ready to throw in the towel.  With Jason Cullum scoring six points and Hernandez adding five, Community went on a late 7-1 run and cut the Champ lead to 61-54 heading to the fourth quarter.
"The most exciting part was when we were making our run in the third, we had two sophomores and two freshmen on the floor," Coach Robbie Davis of the Vikings said. 
A Jacob Flannagan field goal to start the quarter got Community within five at 61-56, but the tank got close to empty for the Vikings as the Champions put it in another gear. 
Gullick scored seven points while Gentry, Burris, and Davis each had six as Cascade went on a 7-0 run to take a 71-58 lead with 4:36 left.
After a Viking field goal, the Champions scored the next 11 points to take a commanding 82-60 lead and never looked back as Cascade stayed unbeaten in the district.
Four players reached double figures to pace the explosive Champion scoring attack. 
Burris led the way with 23 points while Gulick added 21 points and Davis had 20.  Gentry finished with 11 points for the Champs.   
Cullum and Hernandez each had 17 points while Flannagan had 10 to lead three scorers in double figures for the Vikings.
The Champions were 18-of-24 from the free throw line while the Vikings were 4-of-9.          
"We matched them in field goals, 3-points made, the difference in the game was the free throw line," Davis said.
"Jason Cullum played lights out tonight getting close to his first career triple-double," Davis added. 
"Senior Ramone Hernandez once again did an outstanding job on the defensive end and he executed the game plan and shot the ball really well getting a career-high 17."
"They (Community) shot the ball extremely well tonight," Lawson said. 
"I told the guys I'm proud of you because every time they made a run, we stayed calm and answered right back," Lawson added. "It kind of went that way the whole game. A lot of credit to our guys for taking care of business when they had to."
Cascade entertains Huntland while the Vikings play host to Harpeth Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in non-district tilts for both teams.     
"Our kids are getting better every day in practice," Davis said. "Our senior group played with a lot of heart tonight as well."
"It was a great game by our kids. They are excited to get back to practice," Davis added.             
        
Cascade       24  22  15  25 — 86
Community   17  17  20  13 — 67
 
Cascade: Saebyn Burris 23, Jayden Gulick 21, Jackson Davis 20, Thomas Gentry 11, Lucas Clanton 7, Zach Crosslin 2, Isaac McElroy 1, Sawyer Lovvorn 1, Eli Elliott, Tucker McGee.
Community: Ramone Hernandez 17, Jason Cullum 17, Jacob Flannagan 10, Landon Lovvorn 3, Moe Berman 2, Cole Crockett 7, Jaxon Williams 6, Corey Paterick 5, Austin Stickler.
3-Point goals: Cascade (8): Gulick 4, Gentry 3, Clanton; Community (7): Hernandez 3, Williams 2, Paterick, Lovvorn.
Halftime score: Cascade 46, Community 34.