CULLMAN – The campus of St. Bernard Prep School was bustling Saturday as eight boys’ and girls’ hoops teams invaded the St. Bernard Gym for the final day of the 2016 St. Bernard Christmas Tournament.
3rd place game (girls)
St. Bernard 47, Vinemont 31
Game one featured the only county vs. county matchup as the St. Bernard Lady Saints and the Vinemont Lady Eagles took the floor for the third-place game in the girls’ division.
St. Bernard controlled the first quarter of the game with a smothering press and great shooting by Jayden Edge who had eight of the 14 Lady Saints’ first-quarter points. Sadie Stanley led Vinemont with three, but the Lady Eagles trailed 14-6 after the first.
Vinemont proved that they were going nowhere, opening the quarter on a 10-2 run and showing the Lady Saints they were in for a fight. Vinemont spread the scoring around with Leigh Smithson, Maddie Woods, Kelsey Rogers, Bailey Preiss and Stanley all with points in the quarter to pull the Lady Eagles even, 19-19, going to the half.
Thanks to five offensive rebounds in the first two minutes of the second half, St. Bernard put up six quick points to take the lead and force a Vinemont timeout. The break looked as if it was going to benefit the Lady Eagles as Preiss hit a shot coming out of the break, but those were the only points Vinemont had in the third, as St. Bernard took a 28-21 lead to the final quarter.
St. Bernard shined in the fourth. They controlled the tempo of the game with great defense and good inside shooting. They outscored Vinemont 19-10 in the quarter to take the third-place game by a final score of 47-31.
3rd place game (boys)
St. Bernard 48, Sumiton Christian 41
Game two of the day was the third-place game in the boys’ division that featured the host St. Bernard Saints and the Sumiton Christian Eagles.
Sumiton Christian was on fire in the early going. They went on a 10-3 run on the back of a pair of three balls by Preston Sharpston that forced a Saints timeout. The break benefitted the Saints as they started to hit their open shots while keeping the Eagles off the board. The Saints cut the Eagles’ lead by half but still trailed 17-13 after one.
The action was as close as you could get in the second with the action going back and forth. The two teams matched each other shot-for-shot. Sumiton Christian was able to maintain a small lead, 25-21, heading to the half.
Sumiton Christian started the third with a bang, scoring six points that prompted a St. Bernard timeout. Once again, the timeout was a great call by Saints head coach Greg Boatright as St. Bernard was the only team to score for the rest of the quarter. The 9-0 run gave the Saints the lead 31-30 going to the fourth.
Christian Peterson and Elijah Price came up huge in the fourth for the Saints. Peterson had 14 in the frame including going 3 for 4 from the line. Price dropped in four but had a huge block in the paint, coupled with a steal that snuffed out an Eagles’ attempted comeback. St. Bernard took the game and third place by a final score of 48-41.
Championship game (girls)
Southeastern 44, Sumiton Christian 20
Championship game (boys)
Southeastern 60, Vinemont 51
The final game of the 2016 St. Bernard Christmas Tournament showcased the Vinemont Eagles and the Southeastern Mustangs for the championship.
Southeastern scored the first points of the game on an easy layup by Steven Wadsworth, but Vinemont answered back and the game was off to the races. The action was fast and furious throughout the first quarter with the Mustangs eking out a 16-12 lead.
Vinemont found their range from 3-point land in the second. Trey Boland and Corbin Barnett each splashed in a par of threes in the quarter to help the Eagles erase a fast start by the Mustangs. As advertised, it was a tight game heading to the half with Southeastern up 31-28.
Southeastern opened the game up in the third, going on an 11-1 run to set the tone for the whole quarter. Vinemont held tough and stayed in the game thanks to the inside play of Jaython Blanton, but they still trailed 46-33 going to the fourth.
The Mustangs continued to control the paint and clean the glass, snagging a plethora of offensive boards for easy put backs to keep their lead at double digits for most of the quarter. This allowed the Mustangs to claim first place with a 60-51 victory.
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