HANCEVILLE – Thanks to a 23-3 run in the second quarter, the Cold Springs Eagles shook off a sluggish first period, going on to eliminate the Vinemont Eagles 64-29 Wednesday night in the Cullman County Basketball Tournament.
Point guard Jesse Lee woke up from a first-period slumber and finished the first half with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting near the basket. Lee at one point hit five in a row and made seven of his last eight attempts to close the half with the No. 2 seed Cold Springs comfortably in front 33-17.
Vinemont had an 11-10 lead through a first period that featured four lead changes, the last of which happened when Vinemont's Garrett Boland scored on a baseline jumper from the left side; the Eagles were giving Cold Springs a challenge.
But Vinemont started to miss shots, turn the ball over and couldn't contain the penetration by Lee.
Cold Springs finished the half shooting 13-of-28 and had a 12-9 advantage in rebounds, plus they were 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
Lee had a minor injury early in the third quarter that sent him to the bench. Fisher Willoughby, Blake Wood and Eli Hamby shared the scoring in the second half, combining for 18 points, and the Cold Spring Eagles made the game a runaway.
Cold Springs was up 51-23 heading to the final stanza. A 3-pointer from Noah Henderson sent them to a 59-27 lead with 6:30 to play, presenting a running clock the rest of the way.
Lee's 19 was tops for the Eagles who are 14-7. Wood tossed in 14, Hamby scored 11, Willoughby netted 10, Mason Harris five, Henderson three and Hunter McClendon two.
Cold Springs was 26-of-50 in field goals, 20-of-35 from two-point range and 6-of-15 outside the arch.
Boland had a solid game for Vinemont with 16, knocking down four treys; Corbin Bennett scored six, Jaython Blanton four and Dustin Ford had three.
The Cold Springs Eagles take on sixth seed Hanceville Friday in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. This is a rematch of last year's championship game that was won by the Bulldogs.
Holly Pond 53, Hanceville 30 (Girls):
Ruth Horton and Kolby Holcombe combined to hit 12-of-21 shots from 3-point range with Horton matching her season high 30 points to send the Lady Broncos into a semifinal game on Thursday vs. No. 1 seed and defending tournament champion Cold Springs.
By halftime, the Lady Broncos led 30-10 with Horton knocking down 3-of-5 treys and Holcombe getting 4-of-6. Holly Pond was 6-of-12 from long range and well in command when the game entered the third period.
A 21-point third quarter had the Lady Broncos scoring five times from trey land, four by Horton and one from Holcombe. Holly Pond was ahead by the score of 51-20.
Hanceville had a 10-2 edge in the fourth period thanks to baskets from Kierra Merriweather, Cassidy Campbell and Malia Howell.
Holcombe supported the 30 points from Horton with 15, Haley Higginbotham had six and Presley Marks two.
Campbell's 10 led Hanceville with Howell scoring eight, Merriweather six and Desi Hackney, Karmen Johnson and Brooke Barnett two each.
West Point 48, Vinemont 22 (Freshmen semifinal):
No. 1 seed West Point led 19-6 after the first, 23-13 at the break and 41-16 following the third period to move on to the championship round.
Whitt Laney led the Warriors with 13, Tyler Thompson had 12 points and 15 rebounds, Tyler White scored nine, Levi Farley five, Will Brown four and Elvis Arroyo three.
Clay Rodgers got 11 in a losing cause for Vinemont with Dakota McGraw scoring eight and Teague Whatley and Jordan Hall two each.
Fairview 40, Good Hope 28 (Freshmen semifinal):
Leading 17-13 at the half, the No. 2 seed Aggies broke open a close game with a 23-15 second half to set up a title battle between them and West Point.
Dow Nichols scored 12 for the Aggies, Landon Talley seven, Sawyer Daniel six, Cody Cox and Cooper Harris five and Ethan Satterfield four.
For Good Hope, Zach Watson led the Raiders with 12, Eli Phares 10, Dawson Turner four and Justin Crumpton and Harper Chiaranda two each.
Thursday schedule:
- JV Girls: Cold Springs vs. West Point 5 p.m.
- Girls: Cold Springs vs. Holly Pond/Hanceville winner 6:15 p.m.
- Girls: Fairview vs. West Point 7:30 p.m.
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