Fairview's Parker Martin (3) led the Aggies with 11 points in their 34-31 win over Good Hope Wednesday night. (Martha Needham for The Cullman Tribune)
HANCEVILLE – The second game of Wednesday night’s Cullman County Basketball Tournament slate was another ninth-grade boys’ showdown, this time between (2) Fairview and (3) Good Hope for a chance to play (1) West Point for the ninth-grade boys’ championship on Saturday.
The Aggies got off a to a dominant start, leading the Raiders 8-0 at the end of the first quarter. Good Hope was able to fight its way back into the game during the second quarter and trimmed the lead to 14-8 by halftime.
The Raiders really began to make a push in the third quarter, taking a 15-14 lead early in the period. The lead continued to change hands for most of the third until Jorge Estudillo laid one in the final seconds of the quarter to give Good Hope a 23-20 lead going into the fourth. Fairview’s Bryson Chamness tied the game at 27 with just over a minute remaining in regulation, and neither squad could break the tie, sending the game into overtime.
Ben Gillespie knocked down a free throw with less than two minutes to play that put the Raiders in front 31-29 but the Aggies continued to respond. Parker Martin put Fairview ahead for good with a steal and layup that gave the Aggies a 32-31 lead with 30 seconds left in the game. Chamness added another bucket in the final seconds to ice the game at 34-31 and send Fairview to the ninth-grade title game.
Martin led the Aggies with 11 points in the overtime win, followed by Chamness with nine points and Mason Parker with seven. Gillespie led the way for Good Hope with 11 points, followed by Canaan Jones with seven.
Fairview will be back on the floor Saturday at 1 p.m. when they face (1) West Point for the ninth-grade boys’ championship.
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