The Canes also turned in a good night shooting while stopping Ridgeland from doing likewise on their way to earning a 66-50 victory in the Region 7-AAA playoffs being hosted by Murray County High.
"We knew we had to control the boards, and we did that pretty well," Cartersville assistant coach Darrell Demastus said. "We wanted all of our players crashing the glass and the evenness of their rebounding proved we were right."
He said the Canes also had to turn in a good night shooting while holding the Panthers' shooting percentage down.
"The biggest key was a decent night shooting. We wound up shooting about 48 percent for the night, and we held Ridgeland to 41 percent shooting."
Ryan Davis led the Canes with 19 points, Elijah Windom flipped in 17 and J.R. Davis tossed in 10 points. Top rebounders for Cartersville were J.R. Davis, 5; Windom, 7; Ryan Davis, 7; Dalvin Penn, 6; and Devin O'Connor, 6.
Cartersville (14-6) started the evening at a modest clip, grabbing a 13-10 lead after the first quarter that grew into a 32-23 lead at the break. The Canes stretched the lead to 49-35 at the end of three quarters. It scored 17 points to 15 for Ridgeland in the final period, growing its lead by two more points.
The win was Cartersville's fourth straight and ninth in 10 games, as the Canes entered the region tournament on a hot streak that did not show any signs of abating on Wednesday.
Demastus said the Canes steadily improved all season to the point where the state playoffs were in reach at the end of the regular season.
"We kind of expect that here," he said. "We've been here 10 years and made the state playoffs in eight of those 10 years. We've kind of put last year behind us [when they didn't make the playoffs]. These kids have come together and gelled at the right time. You want your team to peak at the right time of the year -- during the playoffs. We've had some that peaked in January and that doesn't do you much good."
Demastus credited the Canes' hard work and attitude with helping them rebound this season.
"The kids just bought into the system we have here, and they've been doing the things they need to do.
"We have a game plan and we practice it, and on game night they do what they need to do and it's worked out well."
Ridgeland dropped to 13-12 with the loss.
Cartersville returns to the hardwood on Friday when it plays the winner of the Dalton vs. Cedartown game. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.