Cullman's Zane Manley (15) and West Point's Rylan Jones (5) / Bill Piper
WEST POINT – The West Point Warriors hosted the Cullman Bearcats Tuesday for a night full of basketball starting with the two junior varsity squads at 4:30. The girls duked it out in the auditorium while the boys settled things in the gym. The JV Lady Warriors took their matchup over the Bearcats 36-25. The Warriors held Cullman to just 10 points in the first half. West Point’s defense made it difficult for Cullman to get in a rhythm offensively for the entire game. Meanwhile in the gym, the JV boys Bearcats and Warriors played in a thriller that came down to the final seconds. The Warriors led it 36-27 at the half, but the Bearcats battled back in the second half until the game was tied at 43 with 20 seconds to play. That’s when Warriors guard Tyler White drove to the basket and got a layup to go with two seconds remaining and secured a 45-43 victory for West Point.
The ninth-grade boys also played in the auditorium once the JV Girls had finished their contest just before the varsity girls tipped in the gym. The freshmen Bearcats were able to collect a big road win 42-27 in a game that featured strong offense and defense from Cullman.
The Lady Warriors and Lady Bearcats tipped next in the varsity showdown at 5:45. The Lady Warriors got off to a fast start early in the game and never looked back on their way to a 64-50 victory over the Cats. Warriors’ guard Miriam Oldacre was a big factor in the game on both ends of the floor and around the glass. She led the game in scoring with 21 points while also tying for the game-high in rebounds with six. Oldacre also generated two steals and a block on the defensive end.
One of Oldacre’s partners in the backcourt, Lexi Shadix, also had a big night for West Point. Shadix was second in scoring with 15 points and also recorded four rebounds and a steal in the win.
The Lady Bearcats couldn’t come up with enough consistency on offense despite a 15-point performance from guard Anna Katherine Eastman and 10 more points from forward Kennedy Wren. Eastman also came up with a game-high four steals in the road loss.
The loss snaps a four-game win streak for the Lady Bearcats and they’ll try to bounce back with a good performance against Randolph Thursday night. The Lady Warriors put together a great performance against the Cats after crushing Vinemont last week and look to stay hot against the Hayden Wildcats Friday night back at home.
The last game of the night tipped next between the Bearcats’ and the Warriors’ varsity boys units. The Bearcats were able to put together a high-scoring performance that West Point couldn’t keep pace with and pulled away from the Warriors in the fourth to win it 74-64. A lot of the scoring for the ‘Cats came from 3-point range, particularly from guard Trey Tucker. Tucker led the game in scoring with 25 points, 21 of which came the 3-point line. Tucker finished 7-of-10 from deep in one of his best shooting performances of the season.
Tucker’s teammate and fellow guard Drew Morton also had a good game shooting, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc and finishing with 14 points and five rebounds. Forward Dylan Finch was a presence inside for the ‘Cats once again, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game’s only double-double performance.
The Warriors couldn’t keep pace with the ‘Cats Tuesday night, but one of their starting guards, Kolton Sapp, did everything he could to keep West Point close. Sapp led the Warriors with 24 points, 15 of which came in just the first half, while also coming up with three steals. Guard Coby Sullins was also a handful for the ‘Cats to deal with as he created a game-high four steals and scored eight points in the loss.
The ‘Cats snap a two-game losing streak with the road win and will try to build some momentum when they face Randolph at home Thursday. The Warriors have now lost three of their last four and will try to get back on the winning path on the road against Curry next Monday.
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