HANCEVILLE – Day two of the Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament saw three close games and one dominant performance by Mortimer Jordan. In the opening game between the Locust Fork Hornets and the Cold Springs Eagles, it was back and forth all game, until it had to be settled in overtime, where Locust Fork was in complete control from the start as they went on to the 74-66 win.
The first quarter saw Cold Springs jump out to a quick 6-0 lead early on, but Bay Etheredge drilled three 3-pointers to get the Hornet offense back on track, with help from his teammates as four players scored at least two points in the quarter as they outscored the Eagles, 17-10, the rest of the quarter to take a 17-16 lead. The second quarter saw each team get momentum, only to see the other get back in the game. After a pair of free throws by Fisher Willoughby pushed the Eagle lead to 33-24, threes by Camron Hays and Etheredge and a layup by Adam Clements sparked a quarter-ending 8-2 run to cut the lead to 35-32 going into the locker room.
It was a defensive battle in the third quarter, and Locust Fork gained a little bit at the end as they cut a 48-41 Eagle lead to just three off a Michael Clevenger layup and two Etheredge free throws. The fourth quarter, Cold Springs had a chance to pull away leading by four at 63-59, but they could not as the Hornets scored the next seven points to take a 66-63 lead.
In a situation where the Hornets did not need to foul if the Eagles were going for two, they did anyway as Blake Wood hit a runner. He completed the 3-point play to tie the game at 66, which was the score heading to overtime. And from there, the Hornets completely took over the extra period, outscoring the Eagles 8-0, to take home the thrilling win.
Etheredge led the Hornets with 21 points, Daniel Goss finished with 16 and Clements and Clevenger each ended up with 10. Locust Fork will take on Good Hope at 4:15 Friday afternoon.
Eli Hamby led the Eagles with 16 points. Jesse Lee ended up with 14, and Mason Harris and Blake Wood each finished with 10. They will take on the Hanceville Bulldogs at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Good Hope 39, Hanceville 31 (Boys)
In what was a sloppy, defensive game by both teams, Good Hope hit clutch free throws late to hold on to the eight-point win.
The first quarter wasn't pretty for either side, but Good Hope was able to keep a 12-8 lead after the quarter. The Raiders allowed just four Bulldog points in the second quarter as they took a 22-12 lead going into the half.
Neither offense showed up in the third quarter, but Good Hope still led 26-17 after three. The final quarter got really intense for the Raiders as a comfortable lead got cut to three, but Kallen Sharpton and Mason Moniz each hit clutch free throws to seal the win for Good Hope.
Sharpton had 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Matt Cofer almost had a double-double as he finished with eight points and eight rebounds, and Moniz finished with six points. They will take on the Hornets at 4:15 Friday afternoon.
R.J. Evans finished the game with 11 points to lead the Bulldogs. Brendan Flanigan finished with nine, all in the second half, and Raiden Morgan had six. They will take on Cold Springs at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Dora 57, Corner 54 (Boys)
After having the lead for most of the game, the Corner Yellow Jackets lost the momentum and Dora took advantage as they hit clutch free throws and got key rebounds and put backs in their win.
Corner led 13-8 after the first quarter as turnovers and bad shots by the Bulldogs hurt them on both sides. They settled down in the second as their offense started to get going. Free throws and smart shot selection helped them trim the lead to 26-23 at halftime.
Dora could not quite get the lead in the third quarter as Corner kept them from gaining even more momentum and the game went into the final quarter with the Yellow Jackets clinging to a 40-37 lead. The fourth quarter was intense on both sides as each team looked to make big plays down the stretch. In the end, Jacob Hutton, Davien Freeman and Steven Smith came up huge for the Bulldogs as they took a 57-54 lead. Corner had a chance to tie the game, but the 3-point shot was off.
Dutton led the way for the Bulldogs with 25 points and three huge steals. Freeman finished with 13 points and four rebounds, and Smith had nine points. They will take on the Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils at 6:45 Friday night for the championship.
Sam Knowlton led Corner with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Skylar Lara finished with 14 points, and Colton Fikes had eight. They will take on Curry in the third-place game at 5:30 Friday.
Mortimer Jordan 53, Curry 17 (Boys)
Mortimer Jordan pulled away after a tight first quarter against the Curry Yellow Jackets as they rolled to the easy win.
The Blue Devils led 13-5 after the first quarter, 23-12 at the half and 41-17 after the third quarter.
Joseph Peters led the way for Mortimer Jordan with 14 points, Patrick Burkett finished with seven, and seven different players scored at least three. They will take on Dora for the championship at 6:45 Friday night.
Zach Woder led Curry with eight points. They will face off against Corner at 5:30 Friday for third place.
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