PREP BASKETBALL: Holly Pond squeaks past Lady Eagles 47-43, Eagles topple Broncos 61-52

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Vinemont's Katch Johnson finished with 21 points in Vinemont's 61-52 win over Holly Pond. (Sammy Confer for The Cullman Tribune)

VINEMONT, Ala. — Vinemont hosted Holly Pond in a pair of area matchups Tuesday night and the county rivals split the varsity showdowns. The girls’ game saw the Lady Broncos edge the Lady Eagles 47-43 while the Eagles held on late to win their game over the Broncos 61-52.

Holly Pond 47 – Vinemont 43 (varsity girls)

It was a low-scoring first quarter in the varsity girls’ game and Vinemont held a slim 8-5 lead after one. The offense picked up a little bit on both sides as Holly Pond’s Kaylee Stallings scored nine of her team’s 13 second-quarter points, but four different Lady Eagle players scored in the period as well and Vinemont took a 21-18 lead into the half.

The Lady Broncos outscored the Lady Eagles in the third period, 14-10, to take a slim, 32-31 lead into the final frame. Vinemont’s Sadie Stanley had a huge fourth quarter, posting 10 points in the period, but Holly Pond sealed its 47-43 win at the free-throw line as Elizabeth Miller knocked down a pair at the line and Kennedy Twilley and Stallings each added one as well to push the Lady Broncos’ winning streak to three in a row.

Stallings led Holly Pond (6-6, 2-0) with 18 points. Twilley added 10 points, Miller ended up with nine, Tate Duke finished with seven and Sarah Finley chipped in with three. For Vinemont (2-10, 0-2), Stanley led the way with 19 points. Madyson Hacker added 14 points, Hailee Moore and Kanasta Daniel each chipped in with three and Bailey Preiss and Abby Young each scored two.

Vinemont 61 – Holly Pond 52 (varsity boys)

Vinemont held a slim, 7-6 lead in the first quarter over Holly Pond. Back-to-back treys by Holly Pond’s Jordan Allbright and Vinemont’s Jordan Hall put the score at 10-9. Kyler Chaney tied the game at the free-throw line, but Katch Johnson hit a trey from the right wing to give the Eagles a 13-10 lead going into the second period.

Another Johnson three stretched Vinemont’s lead to 18-12 but Holly Pond cut it to 18-16 on layups from Levi Boatright and Allbright. Another three-pointer by Johnson and a layup by Hall increased the Eagles’ lead to 23-16. A Tanner Brown layup pushed the Eagle lead to 28-20, but a trey from Landon Rowell made it a 28-23 game at the half.

A 6-2 Vinemont run made it a 34-25 score with 5:09 remaining in the third period. Every time Holly Pond looked to make a run; the Eagles countered with one of their own. A Rowell layup cut the Bronco deficit to seven at 38-31, but layups from Hall and Brown, plus a free throw by Colby Miller, pushed the Vinemont lead to double digits at 43-31. A Boatright three made it a 43-34 score going into the final period.

Vinemont got a quick trey from Johnson to start out the final period as only four seconds came off the clock and Curtis Kennedy added a pair of free throws to stretch their lead to 48-34. Johnson added yet another one from long range to make it 51-36, but Holly Pond countered with a huge run that included a Boatright three and the Broncos hit four from the free-throw line to make it a 51-43 game. 

The Broncos forced some turnovers and turned them into easy layups or points at the line to cut the deficit to just five at 54-49. A huge trey by Hall and a free throw by Kennedy pushed the lead back to nine at 58-49. Three quick points by Boatright saw the Vinemont lead drop to six at 58-52, but the Eagles sealed the 61-52 win with a Kennedy three-pointer from the top of the key.

Johnson finished with 21 points for Vinemont (4-9, 1-1). Hall added 15 points, Brown ended up with eight, Kennedy added six and Colby Miller, Teague Whatley and Collin Teichmiller each chipped in with three. For Holly Pond (4-7, 1-1), Rowell finished with 14 points, Chaney added 13 points, Boatright ended up with 11, Allbright added nine and Jayden Perkins finished with five.

Vinemont will travel to Brindlee Mountain on Thursday while Holly Pond returns home to host New Hope on Friday.

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