CULLMAN – The Bearcats and Lady Bearcats had almost everyone in the scoring column in both games in their sweep of Mortimer Jordan at home Thursday night.
Cullman 70, Mortimer Jordan 51 (Girls)
The Lady Bearcats put up at least 20 points in the first three quarters, plus had five players in double-figure scoring, as they easily took care of business at home.
Anna Murphy and Hannah Hoffman each had big first quarters, as Murphy scored 10 and Hoffman put up eight, and Cullman took a 22-11 lead after one. The Lady Blue Devils cut the lead to seven on four straight free throws by MacKynzie Watson early in the second quarter, but four points by Anna Evans and a layup by Olivia Neal pushed the Lady ‘Cats’ lead to 28-15. Two free throws by Anna Boger cut the lead to nine at 28-19, but Cullman finished strong, outscoring Mortimer Jordan, 14-9, to take a 42-28 lead into the half.
The third quarter saw Anna Bowden put up a crooked number as she scored 11, nine of them from three-point range, and Hoffman added another one from long range; Cullman widened its lead to 66-37 en route to a dominant win.
Hoffman finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Lady Bearcats. Murphy ended up with 14 points, four rebounds, a steal and a block. Anna Katherine Eastman had 12 points and three rebounds. Bowden finished with 11 points and a steal. Evans ended up with 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Lady Bearcats improve to 3-1 on the season, and 3-0 at home. They will play in the Encore Thanksgiving Classic this Saturday in Hartselle. Their next regular season game will be next Monday when they travel to Athens.
Cullman 61, Mortimer Jordan 43 (Boys)
Cullman turned a close first quarter into a rout by halftime, shifting into cruise control the rest of the way en route to an easy home win.
Zane Manley scored Cullman's first basket of the game, and the Blue Devils' Trevor Chandler scored their first points of the game in what was a defensive first quarter between both teams. Mortimer Jordan held a 7-6 lead after a Chandler three, but Andrew Morton gave the Bearcats the lead on a pair of free throws, and Jayden Sullins added two more from the line after a Chandler layup. Two huge baskets by Dylan Finch, the second coming off a Blue Devil turnover, gave Cullman a 14-9 lead after one.
The second quarter was all Cullman as the Bearcats turned up the heat on defense, allowing just five Mortimer Jordan points, while putting up 19 of their own, and the first half had nine Cullman players scoring at least two points. Cullman took a 33-14 lead into the half.
Manley put up 10 of the game-high 20 points in the third period to make it 49-29 after three, and the Bearcats kept the double-digit lead the rest of the way to snap a mini two-game losing streak.
Manley also added four rebounds, a pair of steals and a block for Cullman. Finch finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. The duo was two of 11 players to score for the Bearcats to even their record to 2-2.
The Bearcats will travel to Athens next Monday, and will participate in the 61st Annual Thanksgiving Tournament at Holly Pond on Wednesday.
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