Cherokee sweeps Unicoi County in early games

Cherokee led wire-to-wire to defeat Unicoi County in a boys' basketball Thursday matinee at the Devils Den in Erwin. The Chiefs jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed in a 76-69 win over the Blue Devils. It marked the first 2-0 start to the season for Cherokee since the 2017-18 campaign. Isaiah Jones led the way with a 23-point effort. He went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final quarter. Cherokee coach Trey Fields talked about his team pulling away after Unicoi County challenged them in the third quarter. "He looked up after a technical on them and asked, 'Can I shoot them?' He promised if he missed, he wouldn't ask again," Fields said about Jones. "He stepped up and made them, and as a team we made 12-of-13 in the fourth quarter." The victory offset a 35-point performance by the Blue Devils' Jackson Simmons. Unicoi County's only other double-digit scorer was Avery Hatcher with 12 points. Cherokee dominated the first half, scoring the first nine points before eight straight for the Blue Devils (0-1). The Chiefs went on another 9-0 run and led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter. They controlled the second quarter and pushed the lead to 35-20 at halftime. The Chiefs maintained at least a seven-point lead throughout the third quarter with a 50-37 lead heading into the final period. It was a balanced effort with 16 points from Braxton Markham, 13 points from Landon Jeffers and eight from Gavin Lawson. Fields talked about the timely plays made by Jeffers and others. "I was super proud of Landon Jeffers. It seemed like every time we needed a basket, he came through for us," Fields said. "Braxton also had a big night. (Elijah) Carmack didn't have his best night after scoring 23 against Morristown West, but we talked about how he had to lead the team when he's not scoring." GIRLS Cherokee 87, Unicoi County 68 Freshmen Kenady Deal and Rylee Sivert combined for 73 points to lead the Lady Chiefs (1-0) over the Lady Devils (0-1). Deal made a school-record 11 shots from 3-point range and scored 42 points overall. Sivert came through with 31 points as Cherokee controlled the action throughout. "When they're doing that, there isn't much you can do," Cherokee coach Jason Lawson said. "You hope they cool off if you're the other team. We were telling Kenady to keep letting them roll." Like the boys, the Cherokee girls led from start to finish. Up 10-5, they scored 13 straight points before Unicoi County answered. The lead was 26-10 at the end of a quarter and 49-32 at the half. Cherokee held a double-digit lead for most of the second half as the team kept the Lady Devils at bay. "We're young, but this team has played a lot of basketball together coming up through the ranks," Lawson said. "One thing about them, the better they are at making the pass, we have more kids who can fill up the hoop." Emma Grace Anders led Unicoi County with 20 points, which included four 3-point goals. Kaley Toney scored 12 points, all on treys, while Brooklynn Sparks also ended with 12 points.