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The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Cascade Champions 72-68 on the road Tuesday in their first game of the season.

After a close first half, the Hornets pulled away in the third quarter and held off an attempted rally in the fourth to start the year off with a victory.

The score remained tight throughout the opening period with the Hornets staking themselves to a slight early lead.

They led 12-10 after one quarter.

The lead changed hands several times in the second quarter with Kannon Lafevers hitting a free throw for Huntland with 25.7 seconds left in the half to tie the score up for the remainder of the period.

The score was tied at 22-22 at halftime.

The Hornets ended the third quarter on a 17-8 run to give themselves a double-digit advantage late in the contest.

They led 44-34 going into the final period.

The Hornets brought the lead up to as high as 19 points in the fourth quarter before the Champions went on a 21-8 run to make it a 65-59 game with about a minute left.

However, Trace Kilpatrick, Lashawn Kimmons and Lafevers hit free throws in the final minute to help secure the lead, and a half-court 3-pointer from the Champions at the buzzer only reduced the final margin of victory to four points.

Kilpatrick led the Hornets with 18 points for the game, followed by Lafevers with 16 points and Kimmons with 15.

Landon Farmer scored 11 points, Demetri Reed scored seven, Caydon Bradford scored three and Ellis Stewart scored two.

With the win, the Hornets opened the season with a record of 1-0.

They will next play Saturday at Cascade in a pair of contests. They are scheduled to play Lebanon High School at Cascade High at 12:30 p.m. and Jackson County High School at Cascade Middle at 7:30 p.m.