HANCEVILLE – They are no strangers to facing one another in big time games. It will happen Saturday night in the championship of the 2015 Cullman County High School Basketball Tournament.
A pair of No. 1's in their respective classification via the state prep poll square off for the grand prize of county hoops at Wallace State's Tom Drake Coliseum.
On Friday evening, No. 1 seed and defending champion Cold Springs held off Vinemont 67-55 while 2nd seed Holly Pond started strong and finished off West Point 69-49. The Eagles are currently 1st in Class 2A with the Broncos sitting at No. 1 in the 3A Top Ten.
Also on Friday night, a mild upset took place as No. 3 Cold Springs edged No. 2 West Point 41-28 in the junior varsity girls semifinal.
Cold Springs 67, Vinemont 55 (Semifinal # 1):
A pattern was followed between the two like it did from eight days earlier when the Eagles met one another in Vinemont. Vinemont held the lead following the first period, 16-14.
Cold Springs shook off the first period deficit for the second time vs. the Eagles and got control of the situation, having momentum when the first half ended. A three-pointer from Triston Chambers closed out the half as Cold Springs was up 30-26.
The third stanza served as an advantage for the No. 1 team from 2A. The Eagles outscored Vinemont 16-9 and went into the final frame leading 46-35.
Chambers and Josh Freeman were the one-two punch for Cold Springs with Chambers scoring 30 in the semifinal and Freeman getting 26. Freeman accounted for 18 in the second half while Chambers delivered 13.
Between the two, they combined for 12 field goals, six treys and 11 free throws. Both were at their very best when it was needed.
Cold Springs is 21-4 on the season, completing a three-game sweep of Vinemont this year with each contest being contested until the final buzzer.
Tyler Tucker's 15 directed the Vinemont scoring with Lance Stanley having 14, Zach Drake 11.
Holly Pond 69, West Point 49 (Semifinal # 2):
So far in the county tournament, the first period has belonged to Holly Pond. In two games, the Broncos have produced 55 points while holding the opposition to 10.
Holly Pond was ahead 30-6 on Good Hope after period one in the quarterfinals. Friday night, the Broncos used four treys by Drew Jones and blitzed to a 25-4 advantage on West Point.
The Warriors never knew what hit them except for the scoring of Drew Jones with 14 by the break, his brother Cody scoring nine and Austin Smith putting seven on the board.
Holly Pond carried a 38-25 lead to the locker room and extended the advantage to 59-31 by the end of the third, winning the quarter with a 21-8 margin.
West Point cut into the deficit in the final 8:00 as Holly Pond went into its bench. But coach Mitch Morris did get some good play from his reserves, as Landen Walker delivered eight in the game and provided depth the Broncos have had all season.
Austin Smith fired in 19 for the 23-3 Broncos with Drew Jones scoring 17, Cody Jones 11, Walker eight, Bailey Smith five and Nathan Duke four.
Ryder Jones' 19 anchored West Point, but the Warriors were seven of 17 in the first half, only two of 10 shooting the 3-ball.
They knocked down 10 of 26 in the second half, but the slow start put them behind and never was in a position to come back from a huge deficit.
Will Wrenn got 14 with Bryant Farley scoring eight, Blake Yearwood three, Tanner Rusk and Riley Voce two and Kobe Smith one.
Cold Springs 41, West Point 28 (JV girls semifinal):
This game was tight through the first three quarters as West Point got in front 3-2 after the first before Cold Springs shot ahead and led 15-11 at the half and 27-26 when the third period ended.
A 14-2 run in the fourth thanks to balanced scoring punched a ticket for the Lady Eagles to championship Saturday.
Aubrey Nebron converted five of six shots and had 10 rebounds to score 12 points for Cold Springs. Zoe Strawbridge came off the bench to toss in 11 with Kinley Campbell getting seven and Kasey Johnson knocking down eight.
Lexi Farley's 11 points was tops for West Point with Meredith Calvert scoring nine.
The championship schedule for Saturday:
- Freshmen – Holly Pond vs. West Point 1:00 p.m.
- JV Girls – Fairview vs. Cold Springs 2:30 p.m.
- JV – Holly Pond vs. West Point 4:00 p.m.
- Girls – Holly Pond vs. Cold Springs 5:30 p.m.
- Varsity – Cold Springs vs. Holly Pond 7:00 p.m.
