CENTRE – Midway through his first season as head coach of the Cherokee County Warrior basketball team, Kori Walker has realized quickly there’s something special about senior guard Coty Blanchard.

He comes through in the clutch.

On Saturday, Blanchard proved once again just how special of an athlete he is. He connected on six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points, five steals and four assists to lead the Warriors past top-seed Cedar Bluff 62-55 to earn the 2010 Cherokee County Tournament championship at the Gadsden State-Cherokee Arena.

The victory clinched the Warriors’ ninth county title in 10 seasons.

“He’s a born winner,” Walker said of Blanchard. “He wants the ball in his hands at crunch time, and it showed tonight. He made big shot after big shot. He hit two threes back-to-back in the fourth that really just took Cedar Bluff out of the game.

“That’s the guy who’s going to take that shot for us down the stretch if we can help him. I thought Keon (Rucker) and Moryet (Chambers) did a good job of getting the ball to him. They drew some double teams to kick it out to him. He was hot, and we were going to feed off the hot guy. He made shot after shot for us down the stretch.”

Blanchard said the Warriors (9-3) were a little sluggish to begin Saturday’s title game, just a few hours removed from a 70-62 double-overtime victory against Sand Rock.

“I don’t know if we were feeling sorry for ourselves or what, but we finally got up,” Blanchard said. “I feel like these guys look up to me, and I’m here to lead them. Colin (Perry) and Keon kept feeding me the ball, and our bench was so key tonight. They kept us in the game.”

Most of Blanchard’s damage came in the second half – particularly the fourth quarter. He connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in the early goings of the fourth to push a six-point lead at the end of the third quarter to 12 points at 48-36.

Blanchard’s bombs proved to be daggers in the heart of Cedar Bluff (15-2).

“We were supposed to trap him up on the wings, but we failed to get out there a couple of times,” Cedar Bluff coach Joe Carpenter said. “He’s a good shooter. We knew that going in, but he’s got a good supporting cast around him, too. They play good ball together.”

Not many would argue with Carpenter’s statement.

Perry added 15 points for the Warriors. Rucker came away with 10 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds.

Before Blanchard and the Warriors got revved up, Cedar Bluff took advantage. The Tigers led 19-17 at the end of the first quarter and held a 31-27 lead at the break.

However, foul trouble in the third quarter – coupled with Blanchard’s hot shooting – began to turn the tide for the Warriors.

“They were in a 2-1-2 and extending the zone,” Walker said of Cedar Bluff. “We made some adjustments at the half and found some openings. Coty made some big shots on the outside. We put Colin into some positions where we could get him the ball around the goal. His mid-range game was falling tonight. Keon played a big game for us. He had some key steals and some good rebounds.”

Carpenter called the Warriors “very quick and very athletic.”

“They went to the hole real hard and took it to the free-throw line several times in the third quarter,” he said. “They spent most of the third quarter on the line, and we had some breakdowns in the middle. They started driving down the middle. Once they did that, that created all kinds of holes for us defensive-wise.”

Tyric Scales led Cedar Bluff with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Reese had 11 points and three steals. DeAngelo Hardy came away with 10 points and Tony McGinnis had eight points and six boards.

“I thought the boys played very well and very hard,” Carpenter said of his team. “I was proud we played hard, but hat’s off to Cherokee County. They did what they needed to do to win the game. They showed they’re championship-caliber.”

With county title back in tow, Walker and Blanchard hope Saturday’s game is a sign of things to come.

“I’m just excited for this group,” Walker said. “The work that they’ve put in during the week … we’ve been in the gym on the weekends for the past month because we’ve been so far behind from football. All of the guys have been so dedicated, and it shows on the floor with their enthusiasm and work ethic out here on the court. I think we are starting to peak at the right time. I can’t wait to see how we finish this thing up.”

Added Blanchard: “Winning county is so important, and we were so hungry. We’ve waited a whole year to get it (the title) back, and I hope it starts another streak for us.

“I think we’ve been waiting on the right time to peak. I’m looking forward to see how far this team can go.”

Junior Varsity Boys Championship

Cherokee County 35, Sand Rock 33 (OT) – Jade Boatfield led all scorers with 15 points and Cherokee County held on in overtime to defeat Sand Rock 35-33 in the Cherokee County Junior Varsity Boys Championship on Saturday.

Boatfield hit a 3-pointer with 27.3 seconds left in overtime to put the Warriors up 34-32. Sand Rock’s Skylar Blankenship and Cherokee County’s Richard Barton traded free throws to make it 35-33 Warriors. Sand Rock had a chance to tie the game with several looks at the basket, but couldn’t connect as time expired.

Blankenship, who led Sand Rock with 13 points, connected on a 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 29 and force the extra period.

Kevian Perry added eight points for the Warriors. Barton finished with seven points.

Bryant Beard came away with nine points for Sand Rock. Doug Mackey finished with six points.