WEST POINT, Ala. – This year’s Cullman County Basketball Tournament officially tipped off Saturday at West Point High School with the opening round of the JV Boys and Girls tournaments. Holly Pond’s JV Boys squared off against Hanceville’s JV squad in Saturday’s first game and after a competitive, physical four quarters, the Broncos finished in front of the Bulldogs 48-30.
Kollin Brown dropped in a running floater for Holly Pond’s first bucket of the day and later in the opening quarter Brown drained a three-pointer to make stretch the lead to 6-1. Drew Campbell and Konner Helms each netted a free throw to cut the lead to 6-3 with two minutes to play in the first but Diego Garcia laid one in with 30 seconds on the clock to give the Broncos an 8-3 lead going into the second.
Campbell and Brayden Cason exchanged baskets to make it a 10-5 game early in the second quarter and Edgar Avilia and Carter Thomas each buried three-pointers to make it 13-9. Blake Richard turned a steal into an easy two points for Holly Pond to extend the lead to six with five minutes remaining in the half and Thomas added another trey late in the second to put the Broncos on top 19-9. Hunter Farr laid one in to make it 21-9 with just under a minute to play in the period and Brown added another free throw to make it a 22-9 game at the halftime break.
Farr stayed hot and scored Holly Pond’s first four points of the third to give the Broncos a 26-11 advantage and he netted four straight shots from the free throw line to make it 31-13 with three minutes to play in the period. Helms and Kelton Whatley each scored to trim the lead to 31-17 but the Broncos continued to do damage at the free throw line. Hanceville trailed by 19 late in the third but Helms and Jake Cornelius each knocked down three-pointers for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 36-23 going into the fourth quarter.
Levi Farr scored inside to stretch the lead to 39-23 early in the fourth but Helms converted an and-one play on the other end to trim the lead to 13. Thomas came up with a steal and laid it in for Holly Pond to make it a 41-27 game with four minutes to play and the Bulldogs weren’t able to close the gap. The Broncos pulled away to take their first-round matchup over Hanceville 48-30.
Brown led Holly Pond with 12 points in the win, followed by Farr and Thomas with eight, Garcia with six and Cason with five. Helms led the Bulldogs with 12 points in the loss. Avilia and Campbell added five and Cornelius finished with four.
The Broncos will advance to play top-seeded Fairview Tuesday night at 6:30 at Holly Pond High School.
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