CULLMAN – It was a tale of two halves for the St. Bernard Saints in their first home area game against Winston County. After having a big first half, the Saints' offense went cold and got sloppy in the second. The Saints fell to the Yellow Jackets, 65-52.
In the first quarter, both teams got off to slow starts offensively. But it was the Saints that gained a little momentum at the end, as, after falling behind 8-2, they finished on a 7-0 run, including a basket by Chanh Pham to give the Saints a 9-8 lead. In the second quarter, it was the Christian Peterson show as he put up 17 points. Miguel Sanchez added six and the Saints enjoyed a 32-19 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, it was a different story for the Saints as Winston County quickly gained momentum by outscoring St. Bernard 14-7 to cut the lead to 39-33 going into the final quarter. The Yellow Jackets took a 41-39 lead on a put back shot by Chandler Ownby and increased the lead to double digits. In spite of the heroic efforts by Peterson and company to get back in the game, the deficit proved to be too much, as Winston County went on to the double-digit win.
Ownby led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points. Adam Kilgore finished with 11 points,and Hayden Pendergrass and Hunter Hodge each had nine. They improve to 6-2 and 2-0 in area play and will travel to Falkville on Friday night.
Peterson finished with a game-high 33 points to lead the Saints. Miguel Sanchez had seven and Caleb Guthery finished with five. They will stay at home on Friday as they host Addison. They fall to 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in area play.
St. Bernard 43, Winston County 41 (Girls)
After losing multiple leads in the game, the St. Bernard Lady Saints needed a heroic play to win their first area game and they got it, from none other than freshman Emma Tafazoli, whose jump shot with 4.3 seconds left was the game-winner, as the Saints took home a 43-41 win.
In the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Saints took over after that from there, outscoring Winston County, 9-3, to tie the game after one. The second quarter, the offense struggled to put up points. They relied on their defense to help get the offense going. Trailing 15-13, Tafazoli hit a layup and got fouled and they took the lead on the free throw line. Freshman Claire Sanders pushed the lead to 19-15 on a 3-point shot and that was the score at the half.
The third quarter, St. Bernard continued their momentum, as back-to-back steals from Jaden Edge pushed the lead up to eight and then up to double digits off another Yellow Jacket turnover on another Edge layup, but Winston County started cutting into the lead as they embarked on an 11-0 run to take a 26-25 lead, but the Saints, behind Edge and Tafazoli, finished the quarter on a 8-0 run of their own to take a 33-26 lead going into the fourth.
The final quarter proved tense for both teams as each looked for one more run to take the game. Winston County cut the lead to 35-32 on a Abby West three. After Tafazoli pushed the lead back to five on a layup, Winston County's Hannah Alexander helped bring Winston County back in the game, at one point, making a layup to tie the game at 41 with the Saints getting the ball on offense with 17 seconds left in the game to help set the stage for Tafazoli's heroics. After getting the ball, she tried to get out from under the glass and she went to the left just enough to put up a short jumper to give St. Bernard a 43-41 lead with 4.3 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets had a chance to tie the game, but the layup was contested from behind and the Lady Saints got their revenge after losing at Winston County last month.
Tafazoli led St. Bernard with 18 points and Edge finished with 13. The Lady Saints improve to 2-7 on the season and 1-1 in area play. They will host Addison on Friday night.
Alexander led the Yellow Jackets with 11 points. West had 10 and Kady Bonds finished with six. They fall to 6-2 on the season and 1-1 in area play. They will travel to Falkville on Friday night.
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