CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman returned home Tuesday night for a pair of massive area showdowns against the hated Hartselle Tigers and the Lady Bearcats won the right to host next week’s Area 14 tournament after blowing past the Lady Tigers 55-26. The Bearcats and Tigers went back and forth for 32 minutes but after coming up big at the free throw line late in the game, Hartselle was able to pull away late and edge Cullman 76-71. During halftime of the boys game, a special presentation for Lady Bearcats standout A.K. Eastman was held to recognize her for becoming the all-time leading scorer at Cullman High School. Eastman passed former Cullman star Baylee Johnson to reach the top of the list. Eastman passed Johnson’s 1,701 career points during Cullman’s win at Decatur last Friday and after tonight’s win over Hartselle, she sits at 1,724 and counting.
The Bearcats and Lady Bearcats will wrap up the regular season against Athens Friday night.
Cullman 55 – Hartselle 26 (varsity girls)
A three-pointer from Jaden Winfrey and a bucket from Hannah Hoffman gave Cullman a quick, 5-0 start to the opening quarter and the Lady Bearcats continued to put the pressure on early. A Sidney Smith basket stretched the lead to 9-0 midway through the first and Kinslee Borden netted a pair of free throws to make it 13-0 with under two minutes to play in the period. Baskets from Winfrey and Emma Ray put Cullman on top 17-0 with just under a minute to play in the first but Hartselle was finally able to get on the board and cut the lead to 17-3 going into the second quarter.
Alexandria Barker scored down low to make it a 21-7 game early in the second, but A.K. Eastman drilled a three to stretch the lead to back out to 17 midway through the quarter. The press continued to give the Lady Tigers problems and Hoffman laid another in to give the Lady Bearcats a 28-10 lead with two minutes to remaining in the half. Hartselle managed to get on the board one more time but trailed Cullman 28-12 at the break.
Ella Collum knocked down a three to extend the lead to 32-13 early in the third quarter and another Borden basket made it 35-19 with three minutes to play in the period. Winfrey scored to put the Lady Bearcats in front 39-21 late in the third and with 30 seconds left before the buzzer, Smith laid one in to give Cullman a 41-23 lead going into the final frame.
Another Hoffman bucket made it 43-23 at the start of the fourth quarter and a Reagan Quattlebam bakset stretched the lead to 50-26 with just under four minutes to play. Quattlebaum buried a three to add to the lead late in the fourth and the Lady Bearcats cruised to an area-clinching, 55-26 win over the Lady Tigers.
Eastman led Cullman with 12 points in the win, followed by Hoffman with 11. Winfrey posted eight, Quattlebaum added seven and Collum finished with five.
Hartselle 76 – Cullman 71 (varsity boys)
Both teams were knotted at four early in the first quarter but back to back buckets from Kaleb Heatherly put Cullman in front 10-4 midway through the opening period. Noah Bussman drilled a three to keep the ‘Cats in front 13-10 late in the first and they led the way 19-16 with less than a minute to play in the quarter. Tucker Apel got one to fall in just before the buzzer to give Cullman a 21-16 lead going into the second.
Baskets by Jayden Sullins and Max Gambrill stretched the lead to 25-16 early in the second quarter but the Tigers managed to chip away as the game progressed. Another Sullins layup kept the Bearcats in front 27-23 midway through the period and another Heatherly basket made it 31-30 with just over a minute remaining in the half. Hartselle managed to score four straight to end the second and the ‘Cats went into the locker room trailing the Tigers 34-31 at the break.
A three-pointer from Max Gambrill tied the game at 34 to start the second half but Hartselle was able to pull ahead 44-40 by the four-minute mark of the third. The scoring run continued and extended the Tigers lead to 49-40 late in the period but a pair of free throws and another trey by Gambrill trimmed the lead to 56-48 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Cullman mounted a comeback effort in the final period, starting with a three-pointer from Jaden Orr that cut the deficit to 65-57 with just under five minutes to play. A pair of Orr free throws made it 66-62 midway through the fourth and Sullins later laid one in to cut the lead to three. Heatherly scored inside to make it a 2-point game with three minutes on the clock but the Tigers answered with a 6-0 run to create some separation. Gambrill scored inside one more time and buried another trey to make it a 3-point game with 20 seconds remaining but it wasn’t enough to come all the way back and Hartselle escaped with a 76-71 win.
Gambrill racked up 24 points for the Bearcats in the loss. Heatherly finished with 17, Sullins added 11 and Orr posted nine.
Other Tuesday scores:
Winston County 51 – Vinemont 36 (varsity girls)
Winston County 65 – Vinemont 53 (varsity boys)
Fairview 46 – Brewer 37 (varsity girls)
Fairview 70 – Brewer 61 (varsity boys)
Good Hope 58 – Hayden 45 (varsity girls
Good Hope 53 – Hayden 48 (varsity boys)
West Point 56 – Cold Springs 51 (varsity girls)
West Point 89 – Cold Springs 67 (varsity boys)
Southeastern 73 – St. Bernard 51 (varsity girls)
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