WEST POINT – The 2016 West Point Christmas Tournament wrapped up play at Jim Boyd Gymnasium Thursday afternoon with some thrilling action.
Cold Springs 53, Decatur Heritage 36
In a battle of the Eagles, it was the blue and white that came out on top in the consolation bracket.
Decatur Heritage got out to a quick lead, going on a 7-2 run that forced an early Cold Springs timeout. The blue and white came out of the 30-second break with renewed vigor, going on an 8-0 run that prompted the second timeout of the quarter, this one from Decatur Heritage. The purple and white Eagles scored the last four points of the quarter to take a slim 13-12 lead after one.
Looking to add to their lead, Decatur Heritage attacked the rim and scored four fast points before Hunter McClendon hit one of his two free throws to get Cold Springs on the board in the second. The innocuous free throw led to a 12-4 run that spanned the rest of the quarter. Eli Hamby and Jesse Lee led the charge with five each. This gave Cold Springs the 26-21 advantage heading to the halftime break.
Cold Springs continued to rain in the points in the second half while playing a smothering press and hands-up defense.
Hamby dropped in the first two on the blue and white’s 13 thir-quarter points, starting the frame with an easy jumper. Noah Boler tried to keep Decatur Heritage close with six points in the frame but it was in vain as Cold Springs extended their lead to nine as they went to the final quarter.
Outscoring Decatur Heritage 14-6 in the fourth, Cold Springs went on to take the consolation game by the final of 53-36.
West Point 54, Priceville 44
In the final game of the night to feature a Cullman County team, West Point took the floor to take on the Bulldogs of Priceville.
It was the Kolton Sapp show in the first quarter. He was unstoppable from behind the three-point line, drilling three out of four attempts from downtown. Toby Cunningham added a deep ball as well to help the West Point Warriors to a 14-12 lead in the first eight minutes. West Point kept the pressure on in the second, hitting from the outside as well as knocking down short jumpers. Coby Sullins led the way for West Point with 10 big points, including back-to-back threes late in the half to afford West Point a 28-21 lead as they headed to the locker room for halftime.
Just like the previous two quarters, the third belonged to the West Point Warriors, and just like the previous two quarters, it was a different Warrior that dominated. This time it was Brandon Farley who torched the twine for nine points to keep West Point firmly in control 43-29.
Down by 14 but not a team to give up, Priceville fought and clawed their way back into the game with stellar play across the board from their six available players, pulling to within seven with just over three minutes to play. However, it was the free throw shooting of Sapp that sealed the deal by going 4-of-4 down the stretch to help West Point to a third-place finish by the final of 54-44.
Other scores
- Danville 53, Curry 50 (consolation game)
- Brewer 54, Curry 51 OT (championship game)
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