ADDISON, Ala. — Addison hosted the Falkville Blue Devils in a pair of varsity matchup between two area foes Thursday night. The Lady Devils won a close contest 61-54 in the opener and the Addison boys won a similarly close game 68-63 in the nightcap.
Falkville 61 – Addison 54 (varsity girls)
The opening game featured two teams which figure to be chasing Cold Springs for the area title, since both Addison and Falkville have already lost to the Lady Eagles this season. The opening frame was a back and forth affair as the Lady Dawgs led 13-11 after one period. The second was a hard fought one as well. Cold Springs started going down low to their Senior center Makenzie Veal and Addison really didn’t have an answer. At the half Falkville clung to a 28-27 lead and it was anyone’s ballgame. Falkville also had a deadly outside shooter in Senior Sydnee Fitzgerald who had 12 first half points. Addison responded with Sophomore Gracie “Bug” Manley who had 8 points of her own.
The second half was both teams swapping buckets and fouls. The main difference was that Falkville nailed their foul shots while the young bulldogs treated their free throw opportunities like the coronavirus. No one wanted it. Addison could have put distance between them and the Lady Devils, but Addison was an atrocious eight of 19 for the game from the line. The third period ended, and the game was still close with Falkville leading 41-40.
The fourth period came, and the Lady Devils started pulling away and the Lady Dawgs ran out of steam. Falkville outscored Addison 20-14 and ended the game winning by the score of 61-54.
The Lady Devils were led by Fitzgerald who ended with a game high 20 points and three rebounds. Veal had 14 points and nine rebounds while fellow Senior Savannah Fowler tossed in six points but grabbed nine boards.
Addison was led by “Bug” Manley who had 19 points, 11 boards, six assists and three steals. Bracey “Tiny” Rodgers had 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Addisyn Smothers had five points but had 11 boards and two steals. Mollie Gilbreath tossed in six points with two assists. Anna Grace “The Glove” Luker had six points, four boards, two assists and four steals.
Addison Head Coach Bailey West said after the game, “We played hard, we always do but we just ran out of gas. We didn’t execute at the end and Falkville’s #22 (Makenzie Veal) is a real good player in the post.”
Addison 68 – Falkville 63 (varsity boys)
The win places Falkville in second place in the area while Addison falls a game behind in third.
The boys game had the Bulldogs trying to clamp down on sole possession of first place in the area as they were 2-0 while Falkville came in at 1-1. Both teams were hitting on all cylinders in the first period as the score stood at Addison 21 Falkville 19. Falkville’s Senior Dawson Norwood was raining threes and the Bulldogs Junior Eli “Curly” Howse was matching them. The second period had Addison starting to pull away as the home crowd got excited and the threes kept coming. Addison’s Cannon “TNT” Hiller and Howse were nailing bombs and Logan “Baby Shaq” Wilkins was dominating inside, Addison rolled to a 43-31 halftime lead.
The game looked like it was over, but Falkville had heart and other ideas. Howse picked up his fourth foul in the early in the third and had to sit. The Blue Devils defense stifled the Dawgs and their offense doubled Addison up. Falkville’s Camron Reid and Wyatt Tomlin carried the Devils as they outscored the Dawgs in the third, 16-8. The fourth period began with Addison holding onto a slim 51-47 lead and the Devils holding the momentum.
The fourth period was as contested as the third but Howse was able to play the period without picking up his fifth foul and Addison outscored Falkville 17-16 to come away with a tough 68-63 win on its home court. The difference in the game was Addison dominating the glass as they outrebounded Falkville 52-32 for several second chance points.
Falkville was led by Wyatt Tomlin who had 18 points and six rebounds. Reid had 16 points and three boards. Norwood had nine points and three boards.
Addison was led by their dynamic duo, Wilkins had 24 points and nine boards while Howse had 22 points, four assists and four steals. Hiller had 11 points, four boards, three assists. Christian “Ice Man” Roberts had five points, 12 boards, three assists and three steals. The Barley twins, “Smooth” and “Fabio” combined for only three points but had an amazing 20 rebounds between them, with “Fabio” nabbing 12.
Addison Head Coach Ben Mastin wasn’t thrilled after the game. “I didn’t like how we played tonight. I am happy we stuck together and got the win, but this was not our best game. We let them back into the game in the second half. I need to get through to our guys that we can’t play bad and expect to win. We did some good things especially rebounding but I would love to see us put a complete game together. I know we haven’t done that yet.”
Addison moves to 3-0 and remains in first place in the area while Falkville falls to 1-2 and drops to third behind Cold Springs.
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