HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Friday night was homecoming at Hanceville High School and both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs put on a show for an excited home crowd. Victoria Stanley lit up J.B. Pennington for 27 points with seven made three-pointers in Hanceville’s 75-21 rout and after dropping 25 on the Lady Tigers, senior point guard Kelly Pickett was crowned Homecoming Queen later in the evening. In the varsity boys game, Raiden Morgan put up 22 for the Bulldogs as they blew past J.B. Pennington 79-53 to win the Area 12 crown and the right to host the upcoming area tournament. The Bulldogs will be back in action Monday night at 7:15 to face Fairview in the opening round of this year’s Cullman County Tournament and the Lady Bulldogs will begin their tournament run Tuesday night at 6:15 against the Lady Aggies.
Hanceville 75 – JB Pennington 21 (varsity girls)
A three-pointer from Jessica Thompson gave the Lady Bulldogs a 3-0 lead right out of the gate and just a couple of minutes later in the first, Kelly Pickett fired a bullet down low to Victoria Stanley who finished it off at the rim to stretch the lead to 7-0. A Pickett basket gave Hanceville an 11-3 lead midway through the first quarter and Cassidy Campbell converted an and-one play at the free throw line to make it 14-3. In the final minute of the opening quarter, Stanley knocked down her first three of the night and Pickett turned a steal into an easy layup to build a 21-9 lead at the end of the first.
Pickett was a nightmare for the Lady Tigers’ backcourt. She collected two more steals and four more points at the start of the second quarter to stretch the lead to 25-9 and added a jumper to make it 27-9 midway through the period. Back to back three-pointer from Stanley gave the Lady Bulldogs a 33-12 advantage with just over two minutes to play in the half and a bank shot from Katelynn Boyd made it 35-12 with a minute remaining. Hanceville got on the board one more time in the quarter after Zoe Joles hit Pickett with a long pass and she drilled a jumper to make it a 37-15 game at the half.
A quick steal and layup from Stanley gave the Lady Bulldogs another fast start in the third quarter and back to back threes by Pickett and Thompson put Hanceville in front 45-15 early in the period. Stanley’s fourth and fifth three-pointers of the game fell next to make it 53-15 midway through the third and the Lady Bulldogs continued to pour it on. A basket from Joles followed by another steal and score by Pickett gave Hanceville a 57-17 lead with less than a minute to play in the quarter and in the final seconds of the third, Katie Twilley found Jolee McHan under the basket and she put it in to make it a 59-17 game going into the fourth quarter.
Stanley drilled another triple to build the lead to 62-17 early in the fourth and with just under five minutes to play, she knocked down her seventh three-pointer of the night to make it 69-17. Joles and Twilley each scored again in the final two minutes to stretch the lead to 73-21 and the Lady Bulldogs finished off a dominant performance with a 75-21 win.
Stanley led Hanceville with 27 points in the win, followed by Pickett with 25. Thompson posted eight points for the Lady Bulldogs and Twilley and Campbell each finished with four.
Hanceville 79 – JB Pennington 53 (varsity boys)
Hanceville jumped out to a 5-0 start over the Tigers and maintained a 13-7 lead midway through the first quarter until Matthew Cornelius knocked down a three to put the Bulldogs in front 16-7 with under two minutes to play in the period. A pair of Brodie Malcom free throws made it 20-7 with a minute to play in the first and a quick steal and score by Zach Campbell gave Hanceville a 24-8 lead going into the second.
Tyson Bellmon drilled a three to get the second quarter started for the Bulldogs and a Garrett Turner basket put Hanceville on top 30-13 early in the period. A three-pointer from Malcom stretched the lead to 35-15 just under the five-minute mark and Raiden Morgan knocked down a jumper to make it 38-15 midway through the second. Bellmon followed up Morgan’s bucket with a steal and three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 41-18 lead and Cainon Moore finished off an and-one play with less than a minute to play in the half to make it a 44-26 game at the break.
Hanceville led the way 48-30 early in the third quarter and Morgan netted a pair of free throws midway through the period to hold the lead at 52-34. Back to back buckets from Ephram Milne made it a 56-38 game late in the third and the Tigers were able to keep the lead down to 61-40 by the start of the final period.
Bellmon knocked down a deep three to make it 64-40 at the start of the fourth another jumper knocked in by Morgan gave the Bulldogs a 73-46 lead with just under four minutes to play. Another Milne basket stretched the lead to 77-51 in the final two minutes and Hanceville cruised to a 79-53 win, winning the area crown and home court advantage in the Area 13 tournament in the process.
Morgan led the way for the Bulldogs with 22 points. Malcom posted 17 in the win, Bellmon finished with 12 and Campbell added eight.
Other Friday scores:
West Point 63 – Russellville 36 (varsity girls)
West Point 69 – Russellville 61 (varsity boys)
Fairview 44 – Oneonta 37 (varsity girls)
Cullman 54 – Jasper 38 (varsity girls)
Cullman 67 – Jasper 42 (varsity boys)
St. Bernard 46 – Athens Bible 44 (varsity girls)
Good Hope 52 – Ashville 20 (varsity girls)
Good Hope 70 – Ashville 22 (varsity boys)
Addison 40 – Winston County 32 (varsity girls)
Addison 48 – Winston County 47 (varsity boys)
New Hope 46 – Holly Pond 42 (varsity girls)
New Hope 58 – Holly Pond 32 (varsity boys)
Falkville 52 – Vinemont 34 (varsity girls)
Vinemont 65 – Falkville 57 (varsity boys)
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