By Tabitha Evans Moore | EDITOR & PUBLISHER

WARTRACE, Tenn. — They hung with their former Class 1A rivals through three quarters, but Cascade outscored Moore County in the final stanza on Tuesday to edge them 61-49.

It’s the third straight lost for Moore County’s boys squad. They lost to Community on November 25 and Murfreesboro Central Magnet on November 27 during the Cornersville Thanksgiving Tournament.

{Editor’s Note: This year’s Raiders basketball coverage is free to all readers thanks to our community partner, Woodard’s Market.}

Raiders trailed by five at the half

Moore County came out swinging in the first period with a pair of treys from Jay Sparkman and a couple of baskets from Gavin Wise. Sparkman and Wise combined for 10 of Moore County’s 11 first period points.

Peyton Martin added the other point from the charity stripe. Martin – in what is hopefully a little foreshadowing for the rest of the season – set up shop in the post and drew either fouls or points for most of the game.

The Raiders and Champions ended the first period knotted at 11 points each.

Cascade began to build a lead in the second period thanks to a trio of treys – two from Tyler Barrett and one more from Cooper McElroy. Those nine points allowed Cascade to walk into the halftime locker room leading by five, 24-19.

Wise led in the first half for Moore County with seven points followed by Sparkman with six points. Martin added another four and Brantley Hill swished a bucket.

Cascade pulls away in the fourth

A pair of perimeter shots – one from Sparkman and one from Hill – helped Moore County stick with Cascade in the third period. Martin also ruled underneath giving the Cascade defender a lose-lose situation: go up against the linebacker-sized basketball player and draw the foul or let him have the basket.

At the end of the the third period, Moore County trailed by six, 39-33.

In the fourth period, Cascade outscored Moore County by six – thanks in no small part by opportunities at the line. Moore County sent Champions to the line nine times and they made five of those shots.

Martin continued to be the workhorse in the fourth – scoring six underneath and adding one more from the line but it wasn’t enough.

In the end, the Raiders dropped their third straight game, 61-49.

Martin led with 16 points

Two Raiders scored double digit points on Tuesday. Peyton Martin led for Moore County with 16 points followed by Jay Sparkman with 12 points. Gavin Wise added nine and both Brantley Hill and Tucker Smith added five each. Colton Morton contributed a basket.

Moore County shot 24 points from the floor an 18 from the perimeter. They were seven of 16 (or 43 percent) from the line. For comparison, Cascade shot 28 from the floor and 24 from the perimeter. They were nine of 16 (56 percent) from the line.

Both Moore County teams will travel nearly an hour away on Thursday for games at Pisgah High School. Their district schedule will kick off on January 24 at Fayetteville. •

{The Lynchburg Times is a locally-owned and locally-operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee and one of the few women-owned newspapers in the state. It’s owned by a Tulane University-educated journalist with over 20 years of experience. We’re supported by both readers and community partners who believe in independent journalism for the common good. You can support us by clicking here. }