The Cleveland High School boys’ basketball team has been tough from the start this season.
After holding defending state champions Bearden and Knoxville Webb to a combined 90 points in signature road wins, the Blue Raiders got a spectacular performance Monday from Belmont signee JaCobi Wood.
Wood made seven 3-point baskets and set a school record with 50 points in an 85-64 win over Chestatee (Gainesville, Georgia) at Pigeon Forge High School. Charles Little had the previous record.
“We are locked in and really have bought in to the culture of this program,” said Wood, who also surpassed 1,000 career points. “We trained harder than we ever have this offseason and really feel like we are in great shape. We are focused on challenging ourselves so by the time March comes around we have a chance to win a championship.”
One of the first things new head coach Reggie Tucker did when he was given the keys to the program by Jason McCowan (239 wins in 12 years with Cleveland) this past July was to start getting his players in the best possible shape to build on a 29-win 2018-19 season. Most of the Blue Raiders worked out on the track during the offseason along with tough practices in the gym and sessions in the weightroom.