Before Saturday night’s high school boys basketball game between the Cannon County Lions and the Coffee County Red Raiders, the only Lions boys basketball team to advance to the state tournament was honored as it was their 30 year anniversary. This year’s edition of the Lions then took the court and showed fans why they might be the next in line to earn a trip to Murfreesboro after dominating their rival neighbors Coffee County in a runaway contest 68-52. Cannon’s results from their signature full court smothering press from the opening tip paid off early as the Lions rattled the Raiders to a 27-6 lead by the end of the first. The Lions led by as many as 28 before they cleared the bench in the fourth quarter. Josh Ruehlan turned in another solid performance scoring a game high 14 points but also showed great leadership throughout the evening. Marshall McReynolds and Jacob Nave each had 9 in the win for Cannon County. After the loss to Central Magnet Friday night, Lionette head coach Michael Dodgen said the team has to put the loss in the back of their minds and focus on playing Coffee County. There was no doubt that message was heard by the Lionettes as they did exactly that. The Lionettes defensive pressure caused turnovers early in the first quarter, but what was important was that their offense finished off shots and scored in the paint as Cannon defeated Coffee 55-31 to sweep the regular season away and home series. Kelli Davis who was held to just two points Friday responded with 13 Saturday night and Autumn King finished with 12. The Lionettes did a great job defensively on Sara Brown. The Coffee County senior who scored 23 points in the previous meeting was held to just 4 points Saturday night
The Lions and Lionettes will travel to Lafayette to meet Macon County Tuesday in a district matchup.
