HOLLY POND, Ala. – Monday was the first day of the 63rd annual Holly Pond Thanksgiving Tournament and the Lady Broncos were the local highlight after rallying from a slow first half to defeat Chilton County 37-20. The Fairview Aggies played earlier in the evening and fell in a nail-biter to Lincoln County 58-56 and in Monday’s nightcap, the Holly Pond Broncos used a big second half to rout JB Pennington 72-44.
Holly Pond 37 – Chilton County 20 (varsity girls)
To say this matchup got off to a slow start would be an understatement. After the Lady Tigers took an early 2-0 lead, neither team got on the board again until a three-pointer stretched the lead to 5-0 late in the first quarter. A three from Holly Pond’s Ella Duke trimmed the lead to 5-3 at the start of the second quarter but points continued to elude both teams.
The Lady Broncos managed to tie the game at seven early in the second, but the teams went to the locker room knotted at just nine at the half. Chilton County took a 13-12 lead early in the third quarter, but it was all Holly Pond after that. A steal and quick bucket by Elizabeth Miller put the Broncos on top 18-13 midway through the third and a 12-0 scoring run for Holly Pond made it a 24-13 late in the quarter. The Lady Broncos took a 26-15 lead into the final frame and continued to pull away from the Lady Tigers, taking their first tournament contest 37-20.
Kaylee Stallings led Holly Pond with 13 points in the win, followed closely by Miller with 12. Sarah Finley added eight points for the Lady Broncos and Duke finished with three. Holly Pond will be back in action at this year’s tournament Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Pisgah.
Lincoln County 58 – Fairview 56 (varsity boys)
The Aggies trailed for a lot of the second half but thanks to some timely shots and good defense, managed to make it a one-possession game and give themselves a chance to win at the end. Fairview trailed just 12-10 after the opening quarter but a scoring run from Lincoln County made it a 22-14 game with just under four minutes to play in the second.
A big basket by Preston Ryan cut the lead to seven late in the second quarter and the Aggies were able to trim the lead to 30-26 by halftime. Missed free throws from the Falcons kept them from creating separation early. Austin Turner laid one in to give Fairview a 31-30 lead early in the third, but Lincoln County was able to move back ahead 39-33 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Falcons held a 44-36 lead early in the fourth but a 4-point play by Owen Yarbrough made it a 44-40 game with around four minutes to play. A jumper from Dow Nichols cut the lead to 52-49 and with just over a minute to play, a put-back by Turner trimmed the lead to 54-53. Another basket from Turner tied the game at 56 with 15 seconds to play but after a pair of Lincoln County free throws, the Aggies were unable to score on their last possession and the Falcons held on to win it 58-56.
Turner led Fairview with 13 points in the loss. J.T. White and Yarbrough each finished with 10, Sawyer Daniel added seven and Austin Jackson posted four points for the Aggies. Fairview will play JB Pennington Wednesday at 4:15.
Holly Pond 72 – JB Pennington 44 (varsity boys)
The Broncos quickly jumped out in front 9-0 to start out the contest, but the Tigers had a quick answer as a 12-6 run made it a 15-12 score after one quarter. After J.B. Pennington took an 18-15 lead on back-to-back treys, Holly Pond’s Jordan Allbright and Kyler Chaney took over the rest of the first half, outscoring the Tigers by themselves 10-5 to take a 25-22 lead going into the locker room.
A 9-2 run by the Tigers to start out the second half gave them a 31-27 lead, but it would be all Broncos after that as their defense quickly turned into offense and a quarter-ending 17-2 run gave Holly Pond a 44-33 lead going into the final period. The Broncos continued to stretch their lead in the final period as almost everybody got involved scoring-wise and they outscored the Tigers in the fourth, 28-11, and wound up winning 72-44 to move on to the championship game against Lincoln County on Wednesday night at 6:45 p.m.
Chaney finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocks for Holly Pond. Allbright added 10 points, three rebounds and two steals, Levi Boatright ended up with eight points, five rebounds and three steals, Casey Brown chipped in with five points, Jayden Perkins (five rebounds and two steals) and Landon Rowell (three rebounds) each added four point and Shannon Kitchens added two points and two steals.
Other Monday scores:
Danville 60 – West Point 46 (varsity boys) (Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament)
West Limestone 67 – Vinemont 51 (varsity boys) (Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament)
Good Hope 61 – Brewer 47 (varsity boys) (Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament)
Meek 45 – Vinemont 26 (varsity girls) (Curry Thanksgiving Tournament)
Saturday scores:
Encore Girls Classic at Hartselle
Cold Springs 48 – Priceville 41 (varsity girls)
Cullman 67 – Russellville 13 (varsity girls)
Fairview 55 – Danville 44 (varsity girls)
Good Hope 61 – West Limestone 51 (varsity girls)
Hanceville 56 – Clements 29 (varsity girls)
Marx Optical Thanksgiving Tournament
Priceville 47 – Vinemont 36 (varsity boys)
Good Hope 56 – Randolph 26 (varsity boys)
Brewer 55 – West Point 44 (varsity boys)
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