CULLMAN – Tuesday was another night of sub-regional play for local basketball teams, with some varsity boys’ squads looking to advance to the Sweet 16 at Wallace and keep their seasons alive.
Mars Hill Bible 68, St. Bernard 36 (Boys)
The Saints got off to a slow start offensively, their only points of the first quarter coming on a 3-pointer by John Christian Rose; they trailed Mars Hill, 11-3, after one, with the defense trying its best to keep the Saints in the game early. But the Panthers made things worse for the Saints, with a 17-8 quarter by Mars Hill putting the Saints at a 28-11 disadvantage at the half.
A three by Gavin Whaley made it a 28-14 game to start off the third as the Saints looked to start the second half on the right path, but the Panthers scored seven in a row to put the Saints in a 35-14 hole. St. Bernard looked to straighten it out offensively as a three by Elijah Price, followed by a Christian Peterson layup, made it a 39-20 game, but couldn't shave the deficit any closer.
The Saints trailed 56-24 after three, and despite their best efforts in the final quarter to get back in the game, the deficit was too much for them to overcome. The Saints fell, 68-36.
St. Bernard finishes the season with a 15-7 overall record. Price finished with 11 points to lead the Saints. Peterson had six and Chanh Pham ended up with five for the Saints, who will lose Price, Peterson, Alec VonThulen, Pham and Luis Zatarain, to graduation this season.
Pinson Valley 109, Cullman 59 (Boys)
The Bearcats looked for a big upset on the road at Pinson Valley to keep their season alive, but they wound up falling, ending their season with a 18-14 overall record. Cullman will lose seven seniors to graduation: Nick Williams, Trey Tucker, Drew Morton, Zane Manley, Dylan Finch, Jake McAfee and Jacob Adams. They will look to have some JV boys move up to the varsity squad and step up their game to help fill the shoes of the seniors who are graduating.
Fairview 71, Mae Jemison 64 (Boys)
The Aggies, in their first season under head coach Branch Whitlock, won the area championship against Hayden last Friday. Now, they can add the Sweet 16 to their accomplishments this season as they defeated Mae Jemison to go on to Wallace next Monday morning against Wenonah at 10:30 a.m. The winner of that game will play the Pleasant Grove-Lee winner next Wednesday. They are now 17-14 overall.
Hanceville 58, East Lawrence 57 (Boys)
The Bulldogs held off a pesky East Lawrence County team at home to advance to the Sweet 16, where they will meet Holly Pond on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will play the Lauderdale County-Elkmont winner next Wednesday afternoon.
Deshler 69, Good Hope 54 (Boys)
The Raiders looked to make a Sweet 16 appearance possible as they traveled to Tuscumbia to take on Deshler. They stuck with the no. 4 team for most of the game, trailing 22-16 after one, 36-21 at the half and 48-40 after three. The Raiders were looking for the big upset, but they couldn't quite cut more into that deficit and wound up falling, 69-54. They end their season with a 16-15 record and will lose Isaac McDonald to graduation, which will hurt Good Hope big-time. But the Raiders still have some great young talent coming back for coach Drew Adams next season as they look to take that next big step in 2018-2019.
Holly Pond 87, Colbert Heights 69 (Boys)
The Holly Pond Broncos eliminated Colbert Heights Tuesday night, 87-69, behind a barrage of 3-point shots to punch their ticket to Tom Drake Coliseum and an appearance in the Sweet 16. See the full feature story at www.cullmantribune.com/articles/2018/02/13/sub-regionals-holly-pond-outworks-colbert-heights-87-69.
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