Cherokee County senior forward Colin Perry helped lead the Warriors to victory over Alexandria on Friday.
Rucker, who had been battling bronchitis earlier in the week, came away with 14 points, eight assists and two steals to lead the Warriors to a 63-55 victory over rival Alexandria.
The victory clinches a spot in Monday’s area championship game, where the Warriors (14-8) will take on Jacksonville (20-6) at 7 p.m. The top-seeded Golden Eagles defeated Hokes Bluff 60-38 in the other tournament semifinal on Friday.
“I’m excited for our guys,” said first-year Warrior coach Kori Walker. “They’ve worked extremely hard at practice ever since the day after the state championship game (in football). They’ve grown so much since then and really took to my philosphy.”
Senior forward Colin Perry also had a solid night for the Warriors. Perry finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Walker praised Rucker and Perry’s efforts as being key in the victory.
“Keon executed well tonight. He told me before the game he was ready to go. He just does so much for us offensively and defensively,” Walker said.
“Colin has done a great job for us this year. He’s a true wing player, and he really strung the defense out tonight. We were able to penetrate and get a lot of good looks inside.”
Alexandria jumped out on an 8-0 run to begin the game, but the Warriors whittled that down to a 16-13 deficit at the end of the first quarter and tied the game at 26 at the half.
The Warriors jumped out in front 49-45 at the end of the third quarter and held on down the stretch for the win.
“We started out a little sluggish, but we’ve done that a lot this year so I wasn’t too concerned,” Walker said. “The game turned around for us when we began running our half-court sets. They stood up to the challenge and got the job done tonight.”
Coty Blanchard added 10 points and five boards for the Warriors. Moryet Chambers had seven points and Malandro Chambers finished with six points.
Hunter Kelley led the Valley Cubs (9-12) with 14 points. Reggie Patterson came away with 11 points.
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