HANCEVILLE – Holly Pond was challenged strongly Saturday afternoon by Lauderdale County in the AHSAA Class 3A Northwest Regional semi-final, but the Broncos survived the scare by the Tigers 71-66 and will return to Tom Drake Coliseum on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. play for a trip to Birmingham and the Final Four.
Holly Pond's 15th consecutive victory was much closer than many people expected, with Lauderdale County reaching the Round of 16 with 13 wins and 15 losses.
The Tigers, who started two freshmen and a sophomore, overcame a slow start and went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 ranked team in 3A basketball.
Holly Pond led by 11 at the 5:45 mark of the first period before Lauderdale started to settle down and play their own game plan.
The Tigers used eight points each by Reece Thacker and freshman Wyatt Newton to keep them close, closing the margin to 23-19 after the opening quarter.
Lauderdale narrowed the deficit to 36-34 at halftime, thanks to shooting 65 percent from the field in the opening half, scoring on 13-of-20 field goal attempts.
Holly Pond was respectable at 43 percent (13-of-30), but only 6-of-16 scoring from long range. Drew Jones had 17 when the game reached intermission. He was held in check from scoring field goals in the second half.
Matt Cahoon gave the Broncos a spark in the third period with three field goals and a free throw for seven points, with five points between Griffin Morris and Caleb Jones.
The Broncos led 56-51 heading into a heart-stopping fourth quarter.
Jones made four free throws early in the period then was out for the final moments of the game when he suffered an ankle injury.
Bailey Smith picked up the slack and saved the Broncos from a near defeat as he hit his final four free throws inside the last minute of the game.
That allowed the Broncos to breathe a sigh of relief after being tested for four quarters for the first time this year by an opponent from the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Jones and Smith both scored 21 points for the Broncos' 31st win in 32 games. Smith scored 11 in the final period. Cahoon and Caleb Jones had seven each, Tanner Duke three and Dawson Foust and McKinley Garrett two each.
For Lauderdale County, Newton delivered 20 while Thacker tossed in 18. What hurt the Tigers was missing five free throws in the second half out of 15 attempts, three coming when the game was up for grabs late in the fourth quarter.
Lauderdale shot 59 percent on 23-of-39 field goals while the Broncos were 23-of-61 in total field goals for 37 percent. The free throw shooting was good enough with 18-of-29 for the game for 62.1 percent.
A month ago, the Broncos cut down the nets after winning the Cullman County Tournament at the Coliseum. Now comes a much bigger prize Wednesday afternoon in one of the best seasons in the history of Holly Pond basketball.
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