Vinemont's Jordan Hall shoots from the free-throw line in the Eagles' 57-41 loss to J.B. Pennington Friday night. (Nick Griffin for The Cullman Tribune)
CULLMAN – Friday was the final day of the St. Bernard Christmas Tournament and in the championship games, St. Bernard's girls fell short to Southeastern 52-32 while Vinemont's boys wound up falling to J.B. Pennington 57-41.
Southeastern 52 – St. Bernard 32 (varsity girls championship game)
The first quarter was closely contested as the Lady Saints stayed close thanks in large part to Claire Sanders and Emma Tafazoli. The duo combined for all of St. Bernard's 10 points. A Sanders trey gave the Lady Saints a 10-9 lead, but they didn't keep it long as seven straight points by the Lady Mustangs gave them a 16-10 lead after one.
Southeastern quickly made it 22-10 to start out the second period, but Sanders converted an and-one and Claudia Fallin added a jumper to cut the deficit to just seven at 22-15. The Lady Mustangs closed the quarter on a 13-0 run and the Lady Saints found themselves trailing 35-15 at the half.
Tafazoli and Sanders scored the first six points of the third period for St. Bernard to make it 35-21, but the Lady Saints couldn't cut more into the deficit, ending up on the wrong side of a 52-32 score to finish second in the tournament.
Tafazoli finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and a steal for St. Bernard. Sanders added 13 points and a steal. Jackelyn Arteaga had two points, four rebounds and three blocks, while Macy Whaley ended up with seven rebounds, a pair of steals and a block.
The Lady Saints will not play again until 2019 when travel to Falkville on Jan. 8.
J.B. Pennington 57 – Vinemont 41 (varsity boys championship game)
The first quarter was dominated by both defenses as both teams were held to just five baskets. Three of them came from behind the arc by Vinemont's Katch Johnson and the Eagles held a 9-8 lead after one.
After a layup gave the Tigers a 10-9 lead, Vinemont went on a 10-0 run, with four different players scoring, the Eagles going up 20-10. Vinemont took a 23-16 lead into the locker room.
Both teams traded baskets to start out the second half. After an and-one by J.B. Pennington cut the Eagle lead to five at 32-27, Jordan Hall hit a layup and Curtis Kennedy nailed a three from the left corner to make it a 37-27 contest, but the rest of the quarter belonged to the Tigers, who finished on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 37 going into the final period.
Hall gave Vinemont a 39-37 lead with a pair from the line, but that was the Eagles' last lead of the game as J.B. Pennington held them to just one basket and wound up outscoring the Eagles 20-2 the rest of the way. The Eagles fell 57-41 to finish second in the tournament.
Johnson led the way for Vinemont with 18 points, four rebounds and a block. Hall finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Clay Rogers added five points and four rebounds. Kennedy ended up with five points and a steal, while Collin Teichmiller chipped in with a point, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Eagles will not play again until Jan. 3 when they host Winston County.
Other Friday night scores:
West Point 65 – Good Hope 58 (varsity boys)
West Point 66 – Good Hope 36 (varsity girls)
Arab 66 – Holly Pond 58 (varsity boys)
Arab 43 – Holly Pond 34 (varsity boys)
Spain Park 55 – Cullman 33 (varsity girls)
Cold Springs 51 – Lauderdale County 36 (varsity girls)
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