After suffering a tough defeat at North Sand Mountain on Nov. 7, Cherokee County (4-1) returned to the Warrior Dome with a vengeance last Thursday.

The Warriors took it to Cedar Bluff from the tip-off to the final buzzer, as CCHS returned to its winning form with an 85-37 victory.

The Tigers never recovered from their county neighbors’ opening run, a 34-7 stretch over the first eight minutes that put the game away almost before it began.

Five Warriors scored in double figures, with Kyle Wilson leading the way with 21 points.

Zac Morgan scored 15 points, followed by Jeremy Rieger, Cadarris Rucker and Quentin Price with 10 each.

Jeremy Bryant led Cedar Bluff with 15 points, while Matt Wilson added eight.

“We had a real good first quarter, and we fed off that for the rest of game,” said CCHS head coach Tommy Lewis. “It was a real good job after the way we played [against NSM]. Cedar Bluff is a guard-dominated team this year, and our size advantage worked in our favor.”

“[CCHS] played incredible tonight,” said Cedar Bluff head coach Joe Carpenter. “They’re very well-coached, and they shot the ball extremely well.”

Cedar Bluff didn’t maintain the game’s first lead for very long.

After the Tigers went ahead on Bryant’s basket 15 seconds into the contest, Wilson’s put-back at 7:31 sparked a 14-0 CCHS run that featured two three-point baskets from Rieger and one from Reggie Dupree.

Wilson tallied 12 of his points in the first quarter, including the Warriors’ final six.

Zac Morgan was the CCHS highlight in the second frame, as the sophomore forward came off the bench to score 12 of the hosts’ 21 points to help the Warriors take a 55-24 halftime lead.

Rucker scored eight of his 10 points in the third quarter, while Rieger’s trey with 12 seconds left pushed the CCHS advantage to 76-32.

With the substitutes playing the majority of the final period, the Warriors outscored the visitors 9-5 to cap Centre’s fourth win of the season.

CCHS (85): Kyle Wilson 21, Zac Morgan 15, Jeremy Rieger 10, Cadarris Rucker 10, Quentin Price 10, Keilan Wright 6, Reggie Dupree 5, Lee Morgan 4, Chris Dupree 3, Adam Parker 2.

CEDAR BLUFF (37): Jeremy Bryant 15, Matt Wilson 8, Scott Rice 5, Andrew Alexander 4, Rodney Guins 2, Derek Chesnut 2, Kenny Inman 1