CALEDONIA — A senior night ceremony brought with it quite the festive atmosphere at Caledonia High School on Tuesday night.
Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on what was a night to celebrate four Cavaliers on the court, and the quality of basketball played made things that much more joyous.
Starting things out, the girls team had an opportunity to reach a mark it hadn’t done in quite some time: double-digit wins on the season. The boys team, meanwhile, had a big opportunity ahead to reach the 20-win mark on the year.
Both squads were able to comfortably get the job done in a doubleheader sweep of South Lamar (Alabama) to conclude Caledonia’s regular-season home schedules.
Game scores were 47-32 and 68-43, respectively.
“We’re playing much better, much more comfortably,” Caledonia girls coach Ame Walker said. “We’re taking care a little bit better and I just hope that confidence continues to spill over.”
The Cavaliers were slow out of the gates in the girls game, unable to make shots and defend the 3 as the Stallions knocked down three in the first quarter and took an early lead.
Things changed in the second quarter and laid the framework for the rest of the game as Caledonia (10-12) found its groove and began to slowly put the pressure on South Lamar.
Not only that, but the Cavs were knocking down shots, starting with Amaiya Quinn, who hit two of her four 3-pointers in the second. A three-point first-quarter deficit turned into a six-point halftime lead.
“We had confidence with the ball and drove in knowing that they have bigs, but we weren’t scared to take the ball inside the paint,” Quinn said. “Also, having our eyes open for each other.”
The Stallions had the size difference in the game, with their starting five seeming to tower over the Cavs to an extent, but that difference was mitigated as the speed and smart play of Caledonia took over and turned things into a nightmare for South Lamar.
A more streamlined press came into the fold in the third and fourth quarters as the Stallions struggled to break it, giving Caledonia open looks in halfcourt sets South Lamar was simply unable to defend.
“They just needed to settle in,” Walker said. “I feel like once we came out from halftime, we settled down, stuck to our game plan, and it worked out.”
From the late success in the girls game came some immediate early success in the boys game as Caledonia opened up a double-digit lead in the first quarter, nearly getting to a 20-point lead before the half.
The Cavs (20-7) played a combination of zone and press defense in the game as the team struggled at times with foul trouble.
Despite getting into foul trouble, Caledonia adjusted to its defensive changes well and made it incredibly tough for South Lamar to switch.
“We have to be able to switch,” Caledonia boys coach Tony Seals said. “We don’t have that many bigs, so if our bigs get in foul trouble, we have to switch to zone and hope we can cause enough pressure and still not get in foul trouble.”
Early foul issues really didn’t make much of a difference as the 3-point game for Caledonia was working wonders, led by Jaiquez “Quez” Barker, who hit five in the game en route to a game-high 25 points.
Barker took matters literally into his own hands in the third quarter, scoring all 18 of the Cavs’ points, including four 3-pointers.
“We stayed with it for a while because he got on a hot streak and we just kept kicking it to him,” Seals said.
Teammate Tylen Simpson had a similar run in the second, scoring 11 of Caledonia’s 16 points as he finished with 16 points overall. Some full-court press in the second half caused more issues for South Lamar, and from there, the Cavs coasted to victory.
Both teams have one game left to finish the regular season, a trip to play Lamar County (Alabama) on Thursday, before district tournament play begins next week.
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