Cashion celebrates area title, sets sights on state

There was a mix of business and pleasure on Saturday as Cashion locked up a third consecutive trip to the state tournament.

The Wildcats won their 10th straight game by holding off a furious rally by Hooker at Hennessey’s Eagle Event Center.

The 49-44 victory afforded the Wildcats a Class 2A area championship and secured the team’s spot in this week’s state tournament.

Cashion (22-5) enters state as the No. 2 seed and has visions of playing this Saturday for a gold ball with a core group of seniors who have been on a collision course with this moment for years.

Still, said coach John Hardaway, despite the task that lies ahead, the team should appreciate what it accomplished.

“It’s special every single time,” he said of qualifying for state.

“We have some really talented players, but too much work and time is invested to have the opportunity to make it. We should celebrate it.”

And Cashion did just that as the final buzzer sounded on the five-point win over the ninth-ranked Bulldogs.

The Wildcats controlled Hooker for three quarters and led 37-18 after three quarters.

But the Bulldogs finally found their range.

They combined for four 3-pointers in the final frame and also went 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

They scored 26 points over the final eight minutes and eventually trimmed their deficit to just three points.

That was aided by Cashion’s inability to consistently knock down free throws.

The Wildcats were just 4 of 11 from the foul line in the fourth and 9 of 22 for the game.

“The last three minutes were hectic,” Hardaway said. “We allowed them to hit too many 3’s and we missed too many free throws.”

Eventually, Cashion made just enough.

Jonah Jenkins was 3 of 5 from the line as part of his 13 points.

Austin Frazier led the team with 15. He was 5 of 8 from the line.

Landon LaGasse added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

At one point, Cashion sat at 12-5 on the season and spent a solid stretch without Jenkins, the team’s point guard who injured his shoulder just after the Christmas break.

“It took us a couple of games once we got him back to find our rhythm,” Hardaway said.

That rhythm began about Feb. 8 against Okarche, the third win during the current streak.

“Since then we’ve been playing really tough basketball,” he said. “we are definitely playing our best of the season, but I also think we can even go up another notch.”

And that’s what Hardaway hopes to see this week, which brings about the business end of the team’s demeanor.

Cashion - and everyone else 2A and above - was denied the chance to play at state in 2020. The Wildcats were upset by Howe in last year’s quarterfinal.

So, as the Wildcats well know, nothing is guaranteed.

“After that game last year, we all knew we didn’t play well and I didn’t coach well, which was extremely disappointing,” Hardaway said.

“We all sat in the locker room just angry and disappointed. Nobody was crying or sad, just angry.”

It was at that moment, the team vowed to make good on the chance it has now created by getting back to state.

“We all committed ourselves before we left that locker room,” Hardaway said, “that we were going to do whatever it took to make it back to the state tournament and play how we know we’re capable of playing.”