ACWORTH, GA – It was an all Cobb County day on Saturday at the Lake City Classic at Allatoona High School. Seniors led the charge in the three games we were at. Here’s a quick rundown of the action.

WARE FOUND HIS MOJO IN WIN OVER CARROLLTON

Hunter Ware scored 21 first half points for North Cobb Christian and drilled five three-pointers in the first 16 minutes of play as his team beat Carrollton 60-45 in the semifinals of the Lake City Classic.

Ware, a Bryant University signee, was in the zone in this match-up and never relented. Ware said the game was a long time coming. He admitted he has been in a bit of slump since the season began.

“My dad, my brother Dustin (who played at Georgia), (NCC) coach (Greg) Matta, coach (Walter) Jordan, they were all great. They told me to go back and look at the tapes from last year to find my mojo again,” Ware said. “I spent a lot of time watching what I did last year and I tried to find that again.”

He did on Saturday. He found his shot right out of the gate against a good Carrollton team. Ware was in an early zone and never left it. He was noticeably relieved after the game.

“My mojo was missing,” Ware said. “I think I’ve been thinking too much. I needed to just get back to playing my game. I felt real comfortable tonight.”

Ware finished with 29 points, a season high, and the win. He had significant help from his backcourt mate Keyshawn Butts.

According to Matta, Butts is playing as good as anyone on his team.

“He’s the key to our team right now. I have to keep him on the floor all the time,” Matta said. “I think he’s averaging a double-double over the last five or six games.”

Ware reiterated his coach’s thoughts.

“The man is a monster,” Ware said of Butts. “If he keeps playing the way he’s playing, we’ll be hard to stop.”

Butts scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win. Mercer bound forward Stephon Jelks scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Carrollton big man Montae Glenn is having a productive junior campaign and showed why he’s having success in the paint for the Trojans. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound center has soft hands and a nice touch around the rim. He found ways to score against a big North Cobb Christian frontline. Glenn finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the defeat.

ALLATOONA RIDES FOWLER PAST CARTERSVILLE

There was a moment in the second half of the Allatoona-Cartersville game when senior Daniel Fowler was fouled on a made three-point shot. After the whistle was called, the AHS do-everything prospect just threw his hands up in the air, smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

It was one of those kinds of games for the 6-foot-4 guard. He scored, rebounded, passed, defended and led as Allatoona beat Cartersville 66-60 in a terrific back-and-forth game on Saturday night at the Lake City Classic.

Fowler scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out five assists and recorded three steals in the victory. After losing the first quarter to Cartersville, Fowler helped the host team Buccaneers claw their way back scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds in the second.

“That’s what I do. I’m an all-around player. Sometimes it just comes at different parts of the game.”

Allatoona head coach Markus Hood said Fowler has been big all season long for the Buccaneers.

“He’s a great player who plays like the game has slowed down. He has a high basketball IQ,” Hood said. “In overtime (against Harrison), he hit three or four pull-up jumpers in transition and grew our lead in overtime. He was a huge catalyst in that. He just makes the right play 99 percent of the time.”

Cartersville always seemed to find a way to answer an Allatoona punch. Senior guard Corey Tobin, one of the best shooters in all of North Georgia, hit six three-pointers in the game. He finished with 24 points in the game.

JUSTICE WAS SERVED

In a game that never was bigger than a five-point lead all game long, Harrison stepped to the foul line in the fourth quarter and sank enough free throws to open up the lead to an eventual 63-57 victory over Pope.

Justice Morgan scored 26 points, including seven of eight from the foul line deep into the fourth quarter. The unsigned senior was in control this game and held off a big Pope team down the stretch.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Hoyas and the team had to fight hard to earn the victory. Pope was not going down without a fight.

The Greyhounds were paced by juniors Garrick DeBowles and Chase Hutchins. DeBowles was outstanding on the low block, scoring at will on the right side of the rim. The 6-foot-5 energizer bunny scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the defeat. Hutchins pumped in 15 and seven rebounds in the game.

TOP 5 PERFORMERS FROM SATURDAY’S ACTION AT LAKE CITY CLASSIC

1.     Hunter Ware, PG/SG, North Cobb Christian

2.     Daniel Fowler, SG, Allatoona

3.     Justice Morgan, PG/SG, Harrison

4.     Corey Tobin, SG, Cartersville

5.     Garrick DeBowles, PF, Pope