Drew Maddox (20) celebrates with his fellow Raiders after hitting a game-winning 3-pointer to lift Good Hope over Brewer 69-67 Thursday evening (Nick Griffin for The Cullman Tribune)
WEST POINT – Day one of the 2018 West Point Christmas Tournament is in the books and it featured close games full of big plays and clutch performances. Good Hope defeated Brewer in the first game of the evening thanks in large part to a go-ahead three from Drew Maddox in the final seconds, Hayden edged past Danville 77-75, West Point knocked off Priceville 57-53 and Cullman ran past Cold Springs 75-62.
(10-3) Good Hope 69 – Brewer 67
The first game was a dandy that was decided in the final seconds. Early on, Good Hope struggled to score against Brewer, held to just five points in the first quarter and down 18-5 after one.
The second quarter saw the Raiders slowly chip into the Patriot lead, cutting a 29-15 lead to nine after five straight points by Cole Maddox. After Brewer made it 32-20 on an and-one, Good Hope finished the first half strong, outscoring the Patriots 16-6 the rest of the way to cut the double-digit deficit to just two at 38-36. The Raiders put up 31 points in the period.
Both teams went back and forth for most of the third until a late 6-1 Raider run to end the quarter made it a 53-52 score.
A 9-4 Good Hope run to start out the final period gave the Raiders a 61-57 lead, but Brewer retook it by scoring five in a row and later held a 64-63 lead. The Patriots went 3-4 from the line to make it 67-63, but Good Hope's Noah Fendley nailed a huge trey from the top of the key to make it a 67-66 contest. The Raiders forced a bad pass, getting the ball back with a chance to win the game.
They melted the clock down until Dawson Turner found Drew Maddox in the left corner and he nailed the biggest shot of the game to give the Raiders the 69-67 victory.
Cole Maddox finished the game with 29 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals for Good Hope. Fendley added nine points, five rebounds a pair of steals, and a block. Drew Maddox ended up with nine points, four rebounds and three steals. Matt Dixon added eight points and four rebounds. Michael Lowe finished with six points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Tanner Malin added five points. Turner chipped in with three points and a pair of rebounds. Eli Phares added two points and three steals.
Good Hope moves on to take on Hayden, who defeated Danville 77-75, Friday night at 7:45 p.m.
(7-9) West Point 57 – Priceville 53
West Point got off to a slow start in this one and quickly fell behind to Priceville 12-0, but the Warriors made a little run to end the quarter, going into the second period down 21-9.
After the Bulldogs made the score 28-12, West Point finished the quarter strong, picking up the intensity on both sides of the court and going on a quarter-ending 13-5 run to make it a 33-25 game going into the half.
Priceville pushed its lead back to double-digits at 39-26, but the Warriors made another comeback behind the hot shooting of Will Cochran and Kobe Bowers, who scored 11 of the team's final 18 points in the period. Kolton Sapp and Aubrey Cleghorn each added a shot as well and West Point went into the final period trailing by just two at 46-44.
A Bowers three, later followed by a Sapp dunk after a great hustle play, gave the Warriors a 52-50 lead. Bowers later added another one from long range to help stretch the lead to four at 55-51. Priceville hit a shot to make it 55-53, but Rylan Jones sealed the 57-53 Warrior victory by hitting a pair from the free-throw line.
Bowers led the way for West Point with 15 points, three rebounds, a steal and a block. Will Cochran added 10 points, three rebounds and a steal. Levi Farley added seven points, as did Sapp. Jones ended up with six points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Whitt Laney chipped in with five points, a steal and a block.
The Warriors will face off against Cullman on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
(12-3) Cullman 75 – (10-6) Cold Springs 62
The beginning of the game started out with both Cullman and Cold Springs feeling each other out. The Bearcats held an 8-6 lead early, but a quick 9-1 run pushed their lead to 10 at 17-7 and the ‘Cats wound up leading after one, 26-13.
Cullman continued to put extreme pressure on the Eagles in the second period, turning numerous Cold Springs turnovers into easy baskets and pushing its lead to 43-24 at the half.
The Bearcats held a 57-33 lead at one point in the third period, but the Eagles slowly started to chip away at the deficit and finished the quarter on a 10-3 run to make it a 60-43 game going into the final period.
Both teams traded baskets to start off the fourth quarter, but after Cullman's Cooper Beck made it 65-49 on a layup, Cold Springs looked for one final run to get back in the ball game, going on a 9-3 run to make it a 68-58 contest. Cullman, though, scored the next seven points in the game to erase any hopes of an Eagle comeback. The Bearcats wound up winning 75-62 and will meet up with West Point on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
Mason Herron finished the game with 14 points and two steals for Cullman, who ended up having 11 players in the scoring column tonight. Beck ended up with 11 points and a pair of steals. Jayden Sullins added 10 points, five rebounds and a steal. J.D. Parrish ended up with nine points and two steals. J.T. White added eight points, four rebounds, two steals and a block. Tucker Gambrill chipped in with eight points and a pair of steals.
Cold Springs was led by Brody Peppers (four rebounds and a steal) and Landyn Freeman (six rebounds), who each finished with 14 points in the game. Mason Harris added 10 points and six rebounds. Adam Hill ended up with eight points, a block and a steal. Seth Williams added seven points, three rebounds and three steals.
The Eagles will play Priceville in the loser's bracket game on Friday at 4 p.m.
Other Thursday scores:
Austin 62 – Cullman 50 (varsity girls)
Cullman 65 – Homewood 26 (varsity girls)
Spain Park 50 – Fairview 22 (varsity girls)
Fairview 39 – Brewer 35 (varsity girls)
Piedmont 65 – Holly Pond 53 (varsity boys)
Oneonta 51 – Holly Pond 41 (varsity boys)
Danville 59 – Cold Springs 50 (varsity girls)
Cold Springs 42 – Red Bay 25 (varsity girls)
Belgreen 76 – Addison 65 (varsity girls)
East Lawrence 36 – Vinemont 25 (varsity girls)
West Point 72 – Ider 50 (varsity girls)
Copyright 2018 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
