HANCEVILLE – Two teams are going to Saturday's Cullman County basketball championship game with winning streaks and plenty of momentum.
On Friday night at Tom Drake Coliseum, the No. 1 seeded Holly Pond Broncos got into their routine of up-tempo basketball, running past the No. 4 seeded West Point Warriors 73-48.
That was followed by a gut-check performance from the No. 2 seeded Cold Springs Eagles, who edged the No. 6 seeded Hanceville Bulldogs 51-44.
Holly Pond has won eight straight games and is 24-1, waiting to battle the Eagles for the grand prize in Cullman County.
Cold Springs has claimed nine straight wins and is 15-7 for the season. The Eagles are looking to be the first team from the county this season to take down the Broncos- a team that has not lost a game inside the state of Alabama.
Holly Pond 73, West Point 48 (Varsity boys’ semifinal no. 1)
The Broncos took control after West Point fought hard to stay in striking distance in the first period, down by a 19-13 margin.
The Broncos went 18-of-32 from the field in the first half, used a 24-point second quarter to get breathing room and lead the Warriors at halftime 43-26.
Drew Jones, Griffin Morris and Bailey Smith were a dominant force for Mitch Morris' Broncos, combining to score 29 points by intermission, hitting 13-of-18 attempts.
Jones and Morris delivered a pair of treys that was too much for the Warriors to contain with a half of hoops remaining.
Holly Pond got 30 on the scoreboard in the second half and stayed hot, shooting 8-of-14 from two-point territory, offsetting a 1-of-12 performance in the second half with 3-pointers and 10-of-16 from the line.
For the game, the Broncos were 27-of-58 total, 20-of-34 in two-point shots and 11-of-21 at the foul line.
Jones led the Broncos with 17; Morris, Smith and Matt Cahoon had 12 each; Jake Harris and Dawson Foust four each, Caleb Jones and McKinley Garrett two each and one by Michael Lambert.
Austin Dubberly came off the bench to score 15 for the Warriors, Brandon Farley netted 13, Kolby Sullins six, Rylan Jones and Kolton Sapp five each, Toby Cunningham three and Michael Keller two.
Cold Springs 51, Hanceville 44 (Varsity boys’ semifinal no. 2)
After Hanceville took a 13-11 lead when Alex Campbell buried a trey from the top as time ran out in the first, Cold Springs got the lead and kept it, using a 9-0 run to begin the second stanza.
The Eagles led 27-23 at the break as they were 50 percent from the field by the half, hitting 9-of-18 total field goals.
Hanceville stayed right with the Eagles thanks to 8-of-12 shooting, but some turnovers and foul problems were an issue at the time and got worse when the contest moved to the second half.
For the Eagles, the man getting it done during the third period was Fisher Willoughby. Willoughby went 4-of-4 from the floor in the stanza, getting a shot to go from the left wing as time ran out, lifting Cold Springs to a 41-36 advantage.
The Eagles got enough scoring from the field and the line in the fourth to make a return trip to the title round Saturday.
Eli Hamby anchored a balanced attack for the Eagles, scoring 13, with Willoughby having 12, Jesse Lee 11, Blake Wood nine and Hunter McClendon four.
Hanceville was led by Fred Ellis with 15, shooting 6-of-8 for the game, scoring three times from long distance. RJ Evans added 13, Brendan Flanigan scored eight, Alex Campbell five and Josh Stanley five.
Fairview 34, Holly Pond 28 (JV girls’ semifinal)
Fairview allowed Holly Pond one point in the fourth period, overcoming a 27-24 deficit to punch their ticket to the championship round.
The game was tied at 12-12 after the first with Holly Pond moving ahead at the break 21-19 and taking a 27-24 lead into the fourth.
Two free throws in the final minute, one each from Payton Golden and Katie Ball, proved to be enough for the No. 2 seeded Lady Eagles to prevail over a determined effort by the No. 3 seeded Lady Broncos.
Golden scored 10, Ball had nine, Isabella McGukin eight, Daisy Manasco five and Taylor Vincent two for the Lady Aggies.
Mckenna Folds netted 10 for Holly Pond, followed by Maddie Heatherly with eight, Liz Miller and Kara Hollis three each and Lili Harris and Kirsten Campbell two each.
CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY:
- Freshmen – no. 1 West Point vs. no. 2 Fairview 1 p.m.
- JV Girls – no. 2 Fairview vs. no. 4 West Point 2:30 p.m.
- JV: no. 1 Good Hope vs. no. 2 West Point 4 p.m.
- Girls: no. 1 Cold Springs vs. no. 2 Fairview 5:30 p.m.
- Varsity: no. 1 Holly Pond vs. no. 2 Cold Springs 7 p.m.
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