Newton County Academy won’t have to wait long to get another shot at Clinton Christian.
Clinton swept a pair of games from NCA last week, as the Lady Generals fell 57-43 while the Generals fell 44-42.
Both NCA teams picked up wins over rival Sylva Bay to end the regular season and secure a No. 3 seed in the district. The NCA boys needed a furious fourth-period rally to beat the rival Saints 46-43 while the NCA girls used a stingy defense to take a 34-24 win.
NCA will host the district tournament this week as both teams will be the No. 3 seeds and will play Clinton Christian on Thursday in the two late games of the day.
NCA boys 46, Sylva Bay 43
The Generals used a furious fourth-period comeback to beat the rival Saints on Friday.
The Generals jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first period and led 23-18 at the half. The Saints had a big third period as they outscored the Generals 20-7 in the third to take a 38-30 lead into the fourth. The Generals then outscored the Saints 16-5 in the fourth to take the win.
Ethan McDill led the Generals with 17 points and eight rebounds while Luke Alexander had 10 points. Kemp Alderman had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Generals.
NCA girls 34, Sylva Bay 24
The Lady Generals used a stingy defense to take a 10-point win over the Lady Saints.
NCA led 7-3 at the end of the first period and 13-8 in a low-scoring first half. Sylva Bay outscored NCA 7-6 in the third while the Lady Generals pulled away with a 15-9 fourth period to take the win.
Asten Russell led NCA with 10 points while Karli Blackledge added eight points.
Clinton Christian boys 44, NCA 42
The Generals couldn’t hold off a late rally by Clinton Christian as they dropped a two-point decision to the Warriors on Wednesday.
The Generals led 8-7 at the end of the first and outscored the Warriors 13-9 in the second to take a 21-16 lead into the half.
Clinton started fighting back in the second half as they outscored NCA 15-12 in the third to cut the lead to 33-31 going into the fourth. Clinton finished off the game by outscoring NCA 13-9 for the final margin.
Ethan McDill had another double-double for the Generals with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Dalton Sibley had 10 points while Kemp Alderman had nine points and eight rebounds.
Clinton Christin girls 57, NCA 43
The Lady Generals got a big scoring night from Kelli Hollingsworth but still fell to the Lady Warriors.
The Lady Generals jumped out to a 15-10 lead in the first period, but Clinton bounced back in the second and outscored NCA 16-6 to take a 26-21 lead at the half. Clinton gradually pulled away in the second half, outscoring NCA 14-13 in the third and 17-9 in the fourth.
Hollingsworth led NCA with 23 points.
