HANCEVILLE – Lane Horton Gymnasium on the campus of Hanceville High School was buzzing Tuesday night in anticipation of some quality hoops action. Not only was it a chance for two Cullman County rivals to prove their dominance on the hardwood, but the outcome would have ramifications on the seedings for the Cullman County Basketball Tournament that takes place later in the month.
Fast is the only way you to describe the opening quarter between the Hanceville Bulldogs and the Good Hope Raiders. The Raiders opened the game with a three from Kallen Sharpton and Hanceville quickly answered with a drive from RJ Evans. Hanceville and Good Hope matched each other point for point for the remainder of the quarter.
Good Hope started the second with a flurry, going on a 5-0 run with a layup by Isaac McDonald and a three by Mason Moniz. The run prompted a Hanceville timeout early in the quarter. Hanceville picked up their first points of the quarter on an easy basket by Evans as they came out of the timeout. Good Hope answered with a pair of free throws from Matt Cofer to keep the Raider lead at three. Brendan Flanigan scored the next four Hanceville points to give them their first lead since late in the first. The two squads traded points for the rest of the quarter with Good Hope holding on to slim 18-17 lead going to the half.
It was all Good Hope early in the third as they went up by as much as seven. However, Hanceville fought back and on the strength back-to-back threes from CJ White and Cameron Brockman, the Bulldogs closed the gap to just one. Late in the third Cofer added a basket for Good Hope to push the lead back to three. The next trip down the floor for Hanceville was the last possession of the quarter and they made it count. Good ball movement got Brockman a good look that he did not miss, draining a three form the right corner to tie the game at 30 as time expired in the third.
Hanceville jumped out in front with a Flanigan free throw but Good Hope quickly took the lead back with four unanswered to go up by three. The three-point advantage was enough to hold off the attack of Hanceville as the Raiders went on to win the game 45-37.
Hanceville 44, Good Hope 32 (girls)
Desi Hackney started hot for the Lady Bulldogs as they welcomed the Lady Raiders to town. Hackney scored the first three points of the game for Hanceville. Her first missed shot came on the back end of a pair of free throws and was cleaned up by Karmen Johnson. Kierra Merriweather added a layup to put Hanceville on top 7-0 and force Good Hope timeout. The Lady Raiders scored first coming out of the timeout thanks to a three at the top of the key by Savannah Derrick. Just seconds later Kate Kent added a bucket under the basket to pull Good Hope to within two, prompting a timeout from the Hanceville bench. Late in the quarter, Makailey Speegle grabbed an opposite side offensive rebound and scored the put back to tie the score 7-7 after one.
With two-and-a-half minutes gone in the second, Speegle drained a three to give Good Hope their first lead of the night. Hanceville answered back with a layup from Malia Howell and an offensive board and put back by Brooke Barnett. Both teams traded baskets for the next three possessions but Hanceville got the last laugh as they put together a 10-2 run to end the half up 21-14.
Hanceville quickly pushed their lead to 11 on the strength of a 6-2 run to open the quarter. The two teams traded points for the rest of the quarter with Hanceville taking a 31-22 advantage to the fourth.
Good Hope dropped in four quick points to begin the fourth. Hanceville responded with a timeout to try and slow down the Lady Raider momentum and it worked. The break is just what Hanceville needed as the settled down and played their game, beating the press and scoring easy buckets to take the game by a final score of 44-32.
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