HANCEVILLE – Hanceville moved a step closer to defending its Cullman County Basketball Tournament title by holding off Fairview 38-34 Tuesday at Wallace State's Tom Drake Coliseum.
Shooting guard Brendan Flanigan, the hero in the semifinals of the 2016 tournament, was a hero once again, when he scored twice from the foul line with 9.9 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead as Fairview was out of timeouts to stop the clock, if they scored following the made FTs by Flanigan.
Hanceville was 10 -of-14 at the line, 8-of-12 in the second half, and that was key for the Bulldogs to advance to the semifinal round Friday.
The Bulldogs shot better than the Aggies to begin the game, leading 12-3 after the first quarter. Hanceville was able to stay in front, but had a costly turnover right before the half ended. Tyler Ball stole the ball and took it half the length of the court to hit a layup and get the Aggies close by a score of 19-14 at the break.
Fairview stayed right on the heels of the Bulldogs, trailing 26-23 when the third period ended.
In the final minute, the Aggies got a much needed 3-pointer by Ball from the top of the circle and the score was 34-31 Hanceville.
Free throws by R.J. Evans upped the lead to 36-31 for the Bulldogs when Bryson Fletcher for the Aggies scored on a three and Fairview called their last time out with 11 seconds left to narrow the lead to 36-34.
The Bulldogs got the ball to Flanigan, who went to the line for the first time on the evening. He calmly made both shots, making Hanceville’s overall record even at 10-10 and avenging an early season loss to the Aggies.
Evans scored 14 to lead Hanceville, with Josh Stanley adding nine, Fred Ellis seven, Alex Campbell four and the two free throws by Flanigan.
Fairview fell to 12-14. Ball and Fletcher led the Aggies with eight points each, Luke Yarbrough had seven, Truman Boyd five and Sam Elrod, Cameron Guthrie and Grant Howard two each.
West Point 46, Good Hope 38 (Girls):
Eighth-grader Lexi Shadix shot 90 percent from the foul line, making 9-of-10, was 3-of-5 in field goals, had 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. Her performance inspired the No. 3 seed Lady Warriors to turn back No. 6 seed Good Hope and avenge a 51-45 loss to the Lady Raiders from just eight days ago.
Good Hope trailed 28-18 at the half and never quit playing. A 3-pointer from freshman point guard Savanna Derrick as time ended in the third brought the Lady Raiders to a 37-31 margin.
The Lady Raiders could not get any closer, with West Point finishing 13-of-18 from the line and using the performance of Shadix, a reserve forward in the lineup for coach John Welborn.
Her performance allowed the Lady Warriors to move to 19-5 on the season. Olivia Ball scored 10, Miriam Oldacre had eight, Bailee Yearwood six, Lillie Burdette three, Makenzie Carter two and Micah Oldacre one.
Kate Kent dropped in 10 points for Good Hope, now 9-13. Derrick netted nine, Sadie Abbott eight, Ericka Woodall and Leyton Seal four each and Charis Peek three.
West Point now moves on to play Fairview in the semifinals on Thursday.
West Point 53, Holly Pond 48 (JV semifinal):
No. 2 seed West Point closed out with a 15-7 fourth quarter to overcome a 41-38 deficit and prepare for a championship meeting with No. 1 seed Good Hope on Saturday afternoon.
A 3pointer from Hunter Persall tied the game at 27-27 for the Warriors when time ran out in the first half.
The Broncos went to work and moved on top by the score of 41-38 during the third period.
Persall paced the winners with 17 points, Matt McDonald had eight, Dalton White seven, Noah Allison and Landon Ray six each, Noah Gammon five and Cameron Bates four.
For Holly Pond, Kyler Chaney scored 11, Zach Shaw, Tyler Boatright and Isaac Ludwig seven each, Cooper Jones and Devyn Tanklersley six each and Reed Hollis, Brody Rowell and Alex Corneglio one each.
Wednesday's schedule:
- Freshmen – West Point vs. Vinemont 4 p.m.
- Freshmen – Good Hope vs. Fairview 5 p.m.
- Girls – Hanceville vs. Holly Pond 6:15 p.m.
- Varsity – Cold Springs vs. Vinemont 7:30 p.m.
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