The East Hamilton boys' basketball team is rolling in year two of coach Andy Webb's tenure.
With Hamilton County Schools going virtual and shutting down sports starting next week due to COVID-19, Webb's Hurricanes closed a dominant early portion of what they hope is a banner-hanging season with a 71-52 win at Soddy-Daisy in District 5-AAA play Friday night.
East Hamilton (7-1, 2-0) turned to 6-foot-9 stretch forward Cade Pendleton early as the big man had 10 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead for the Hurricanes.
Senior point guard Darwin Randolph helped engineer a 25-point third quarter to nail down the victory. Marcus Long totaled 18 points and Haynes Eller scored 10, making three of the Hurricanes' seven 3-pointers.
Soddy-Daisy's Logan Ricketts scored a game-high 20 points, and teammate Will Ackerman added 10.
Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / East Hamilton's Cade Pendleton (4) scored 19 points Friday night as the Hurricanes improved to 7-1 with a District 5-AAA road win against Soddy-Daisy.Notre Dame 69, Ooltewah 48: The Fighting Irish bounced back from Thursday's 53-38 loss at Cleveland with a strong road win over the Owls. Five players scored at least eight points for Notre Dame, which led 58-33 after three quarters. Tim Vaughn had 16 points, Bryson Smith 11 and Cole McCormick 10 for the Irish, and Trey Laster led Ooltewah with 13.
Signal Mountain 57, East Ridge 38: The Eagles were consistent on offense as they outscored the Pioneers in each quarter of the District 6-AA home victory. Signal Mountain was led by Benjamin Burns and Braeden Wolford, who each had 12 points, as did East Ridge's Devon Henderson.
South Pittsburg 65, Ider (Alabama) 57: The Pirates (1-3) jumped out to a strong start Thursday night as Garrison Andry and Reggie Hunter keyed a 23-point first quarter. Hunter scored 12 of his 18 points in that period, while Andry drained three 3-pointers and led all with 19 points. Javen Talley added 10 for South Pittsburg.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
East Hamilton 44, Soddy-Daisy 39: Junior McKenna Hayes scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half, while Tristin Sutton and Kayla Strickland each had eight points after the break to lead the Lady Hurricanes (3-5, 1-1 District 5-AAA) on the road Friday. Soddy-Daisy's Courtney Sneed scored 10 points.
Signal Mountain 67, East Ridge 7: The Lady Eagles were scorching hot as they fired away for 34 points in the first quarter of their District 6-AA home victory. Harmony McCarter scored all 15 of her points in the opening eight minutes, making a trio of 3-pointers. Jaylah Hardy added 12 in the win, while Janie Kennedy and Olivia Koontz also played well for Signal Mountain (4-2, 2-0).
WRESTLING
Cleveland 57, Father Ryan 15: The Blue Raiders improved to 7-0 with a dominant home victory Friday. Jackson Bradford, Ashton Davis, Benjamin Gray, Arlo Laxton and Charles Randall won by pin, Bentley Ellison rolled to an 18-3 technical fall and Trae McDaniel won a 19-9 major decision. Robert Laxton and Tetoe Boyd added close wins with 8-6 and 7-4 decisions, respectively.
* Walker Valley rolled to dominant victories over Central, 66-12, and McMinn County, 66-11, on Thursday. The Mustangs toppled the Purple Pounders as they were ignited from 126 to 152 pounds as Jason Hall, Sammy Bain, David Cantrell, Garrison McCann and Jackson Davis all had pins, with four of the five coming in the first period. In the win against the Cherokees, six more Walker Valley wrestlers pinned their way to victory and Kallum Lowe and Caden Decker each won in just 43 seconds.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon. Contact him at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.