OBSERVER Photo by Cameron Hurst Forestville's Gavin Christian (15) looks to guard Sherman's Jon Swabik in Sherman's 44-31 victory over the Hornets at JCC on Tuesday night.

OBSERVER Staff Report

JAMESTOWN – The Forestville Hornets trailed after each of the first three quarters against the Sherman Wildcats by two points.

Despite hanging close into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats defense became too much.

The Wildcats (RECORD, 3-seed) edged out the Hornets (RECORD, 2-seed) 44-31 in the Section VI Class D Semi Final from Jamestown Community College on Tuesday night.

It was a sluggish start for both teams, as the score at the end of the first quarter was just 9-7 in favor of Sherman, and that sluggishness continued into the second quarter, as Sherman held just a 17-15 lead at halftime.

Sherman, who is known for their defensive style, held the potentially explosive offense of the Hornets well in check, including doing a superb job on Hornet junior Javier West, who scored just four points on the game.

The grid lock opened up a little more in the third quarter, which Sherman still held the edge in, leading after three quarters, 29-27. The Hornets were able to find a little bit of an offensive spark, led by senior Gavin Christian, who scored eight of his 12 points on the game in the third frame.

By the end though, the Sherman defense wore the Hornets out.

The Hornets were held to just four points in the final frame, both of which came on buckets by Gavin Christian. The rest of the Hornets defense was totally held in check by the Wildcat defense. Meanwhile, Sherman was able to continue scoring at the pace they had been all game. Gerald Carris scored five of his 11 in the quarter to help the Wildcats pull away.

The Wildcats were led by Justiss Hannold’s 13 points, while Carris ended with 11. The Hornets were led by the 12 points from Gavin Christian, while Dalton Hastings chipped in eight.

Sherman advances to play the North Collins Eagles (11-11, 4-seed) at JCC on Friday afternoon at 5:15, after the Eagles stunning buzzer-beater upset over the Panama Panthers (1-seed) on Monday night.