HANCEVILLE – Friday night started regional play for Hanceville as the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs faced off against Oakman, and both Hanceville teams ended the night with resounding wins.
Hanceville 69, Oakman 48 (Girls)
Almost every Hanceville player found the scoring column, and they upped their scoring in each quarter, including putting up 25 in the final quarter, in their rout of the Lady Wildcats.
Kelly Pickett was one of a trio of players who finished in double-figure scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 24 points. Karmen Johnson ended up with 19, and Malia Howell finished with 14. The Lady Bulldogs improve to 4-3 on the season with their third straight win, and are 1-0 in region play.
Hanceville 87, Oakman 56 (Boys)
Hanceville turned a close first quarter into a double-digit lead at the half, and put up more than 20 points in the first and third quarters en route to a dominating win in the Bulldogs’ regional opener.
It was a close first quarter as the Bulldogs held a 19-13 lead with less than two minutes to play, then Allen Jones nailed a three from the left corner to increase the lead to nine, followed by R.J. Evans, who hit a layup to make it 24-13. Later on, Evans hit a layup and got fouled, and he completed the 3-point play at the line to push Hanceville’s lead to 27-15. Oakman's Skylar Hice hit a three to cut it to 27-18 after one.
After Evans hit 1-2 from the line to make it 32-20, Kahlil Wallace hit a layup, then Christian Hubbard nailed a trey to cut it to 32-25, but that was the closest the Wildcats got, as five quick points by Josh Stanley, plus another 3-point play by Evans, pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 40-28. The lead grew to 46-32 after Stanley and Brendan Flanigan each hit a pair of technical free-throws, and that was the score at the half.
The Bulldogs carried their strong play into the second half, as they moved the ball around and continued to get contributions from almost every player. After three, it was 68-49 after three, with the lead hitting 30 at one point. The Bulldogs took the game, 87-56.
Evans had a huge night, finishing with 25 points, one of four Bulldogs to reach double figures in scoring. Stanley ended up with 16. Zeke McDonald finished with 13. Flanigan ended up with 11. Damion Johnson had eight. Jones finished with seven off the bench. Raiden Morgan ended up with six, and Romael Simmons had one. The Bulldogs improve to 4-3 on the season and 1-0 in region play; they will travel to Vinemont next Tuesday.
"We passed the ball really well and we made our shots," Hanceville coach Daniel Wakefield said. "We hit our layups. We turned our defense into offense; we didn't want them to run and see them start hitting their threes. We shut them down in that department. I thought that we defended a lot better against them after they scored 92 on us last year. They had an off shooting night, but they'll be ready for us next time."
Other scores
St. Bernard 55, Winston County 36 (Varsity Boys)
Brewer 62, Cullman 58 (Varsity Boys)
Brewer 60, Cullman 47 (Varsity Girls)
West Point 77, Curry 58 (Varsity Boys)
West Point 71, Curry 22 (Varsity Girls)
Cordova 65, Good Hope 50 (Varsity Boys)
Good Hope 64, Cordova 15 (Varsity Girls)
Fairview 84, Hayden 61 (Varsity Boys)
Fairview 46, Hayden 38 (Varsity Girls)
Holly Pond 83, Cold Springs 53 (Varsity Boys)
Cold Springs 58, Holly Pond 51 (Varsity Girls)
Carbon Hill 62, Vinemont 43 (Boys)
Vinemont looked good Friday night, hitting shots and playing good defense to keep Carbon Hill close. However, the Bulldogs were able to open up a 14-8 lead after one.
The Eagles were solid in the second quarter and all but erased the Carbon Hill lead, trailing by just two at the half, 22-20, but Carbon Hill opened up the game in the third, taking a two-point lead and turning it into 13 heading to the fourth.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs were able to keep the Eagles at arm’s length, snuffing out any hope of a comeback. Carbon Hill took the game 62-43.
Carbon Hill 51, Vinemont 12 (Girls)
From the opening tip to the final horn, the Lady Bulldogs controlled the game Friday night against Vinemont.
Carbon Hill got off to a hot start in the first with a quarter-spanning 12-2 run to set the tone for the game.
In the second, the Lady Bulldogs doubled their lead, outscoring Vinemont 13-3 to take a 25-5 lead to the half.
The Lady Bulldogs poured it on in the second half, hitting the 30-point mark just minutes into the fourth to institute the hit clock on their way to a 51-12 victory.
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