CULLMAN – It was Senior Night at St. Bernard as they hosted J.B. Pennington. They earned a split on the night, with the Lady Saints losing, 54-35, and the boys winning, 46-44.
St. Bernard 46, J.B. Pennington 44 (Boys)
After each team got off to a slow start on offense, Christian Peterson scored the first point of the night for either team as he went 1 of 2 from the free throw line with 6:45 remaining in the opening quarter. He, along with the only senior for the Saints, Miguel Sanchez, scored the team's first eight points to take a quick 8-0 lead. Tucker Heptinstall put the first points on the board for the Tigers with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter. The Saints stretched their lead to 16-4 after a Peterson layup, but Dylan McCay hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 16-10, which was the score after one.
The Tigers looked to keep the momentum going heading into the second quarter. William Ganus completed an and one, and then after a layup by the Saints' Elijah Price, Ganus hit one of his own to cut the lead to 18-15. Jesse Stephens scored the next three points for J.B. Pennington to tie the game at 18. After each team went cold for a little more than two minutes, Cole Littleton gave the Tigers the lead on a layup with 1:48 remaining in the first half. Luis Zatarain went 1 of 2 from the line to make the deficit just one at 20-19. After turnovers by each team, a travel called on the Tigers gave the ball back to the Saints. And they looked to take the lead before the half ended. Peterson hit an amazing crossover on the defender, then nailed a long jumper just before the buzzer sounded, giving St. Bernard a 21-20 lead at the half.
The third quarter saw each team swap leads four times, but the last lead swap went in the favor of J.B. Pennington. After a Peterson three gave the Saints a 34-31 lead, Jaxon Bullard and McCay hit back-to-back layups to give the Tigers a 35-34 lead heading into the final quarter.
The lead swapping continued into the fourth quarter. The Saints took a 37-35 lead after a Peterson basket and a free throw by Caleb Guthery. J.B. Pennington took a 39-37 lead on back-to-back baskets by Heptinstall and Littleton. They increased their lead to 43-37 after two free throws by Stephens. Peterson nailed a huge three to cut the lead to 43-40. After Heptinstall went 1 of 2 from the line, Price hit another big three with 50.9 seconds left in the game to make it a 1-point game. After an empty possession by St. Bernard, Pennington got fouled, but they did not cash in their opportunities, even after they grabbed two offensive rebounds, as they missed four straight from the line.
The Saints looked for an open shot, and Peterson saw his opening. He missed the 3-point shot, but he got fouled during the shot. He calmly nailed all three from the line with two seconds left in the game to give St. Bernard a 46-44 lead. The Tigers had one more chance to win the game, but the shot from high court hit the left of the backboard.
Peterson finished with 24 points, four rebounds and six steals, five in the first quarter. Price ended up with nine points, four rebounds and three blocks. Sanchez had seven points, two rebounds and a steal. The Saints improve to 7-11 on the season and will travel to Athens next Tuesday night.
Heptinstall had 11 points, 12 rebounds and a steal for J.B. Pennington. McCay finished with eight points and two steals. Stephens ended up with seven points, seven rebounds and a steal. Bullard had seven points as well, and he also added three rebounds and two steals. The Tigers fall to 4-15 on the season and head home to take on Hanceville tomorrow night.
J.B. Pennington 54, St. Bernard 35 (Girls)
After a close first half with St. Bernard, J.B. Pennington outscored the Lady Saints, 10-3 in the third quarter, which was the difference in the game as the Lady Tigers went on to win by double digits.
Each team got off to a really slow start, but Ollie Carson finally got the first points for either team on a layup with 5:33 remaining in the opening quarter. A layup by Darby Hamm and a three by Misty Absher gave the Lady Tigers a 7-0 lead. Emma Tafazoli hit a layup for the first points for St. Bernard with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter. Hamm scored half of J.B. Pennington's points in the opening quarter as the Lady Tigers took a 12-6 lead after one.
The Lady Saints needed to take some momentum away from J.B. Pennington in the second quarter. After Hamm went 1 of 2 from the line, back-to-back layups by McKenna Kline and Tafazoli cut the lead to 13-10 with 5:27 remaining in the first half. Myers hit a three to make it a 1-point game at 16-15, but layups by Hamm and Carson pushed their lead to five. The Lady Saints finished the quarter strong, as Myers stole the ball and hit a layup, plus the foul. She missed the free throw, but St. Bernard went into the locker room, trailing 25-21 at the half.
Jaden Edge hit a basket to cut the lead to 25-23 to start off the third, but that was as close as they got the rest of the game, as the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Saints, 10-2, the rest of the quarter, to make it a 38-25 lead, and they went on to the double-digit victory to improve to 16-6 on the season.
Hamm finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals for J.B. Pennington. Carson ended up with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Madison Lipscomb had nine points, six rebounds, a steal and a block. The Lady Tigers head home to take on Hanceville tomorrow night.
Edge had 13 points and five rebounds for St. Bernard. Anna Myers finished with eight points, five rebounds and a steal. Tafazoli had six points, three rebounds and a steal. Kline had six points as well, and she added four rebounds and a pair of steals. The Lady Saints fall to 8-10 on the season and will travel to Athens next Tuesday night.
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