ADDISON, Ala. — Addison hosted the Meek Tigers for a pair of varsity matchups Friday and both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs collected a pair of wins. The Lady Dawgs crushed the Lady Tigers 63-18 in the night’s opening contest and the men’s game was a thriller that wasn’t decided till the final whistle sounded and Addison won a close won, 58-55.
Addison 63 – Meek 18 (Varsity Girls)
The ladies’ game was a tale of one team just being better than the other. The Lady Dawgs dominated from the opening tip. Addison cruised through the first period outscoring the Lady Tigers 25-2. Gracie “Bug” Manley was unstoppable inside and Anna Grace “The Glove” Luker couldn’t miss from the three-point line. It was a total team effort as Addison only has eight players on their varsity, so everyone has to contribute on a nightly basis. Addison’s crushing woman to woman defense totally confused the Lady Tigers.
The second period was where the Lady Tigers showed tremendous heart as they never quit and continued to hustle and play hard. The ladies from Meek were just over matched tonight. Meek hung close in the period as Addison outscored them 12-7 to take a 37-9 lead into the half. Meek was led by Sophomore Laney Phillips who chipped in eight of the nine points and had three rebounds.
The second half was more of the same as Addison’s pressure defense forced numerous Meek turnovers. Addison dominated the half outscoring the Lady Tigers 26-9 to come away with a resounding 63-18 win. Addison had 26 steals for the game and nailed seven three pointers. The Lady Dawgs totally controlled the glass by outrebounding the Lady Tigers 42-16.
Addison Head Coach Bailey Boland liked her team’s effort Friday night and wants them to continue building on this performance throughout the season.
“I am so proud of our girls and the effort, especially on defense that they put into tonight’s game. We started out well with a fast pace and forced a bunch of turnovers. We were able to get a lot of offensive rebounds and I was especially pleased with our intensity. I think we had something like 28 offensive rebounds. That is just effort and hard work.”
Unofficial stats:
Anna Grace Luker led all scorers with a game high 18 points and pulled down eight boards with six steals. Hadley “Shooter’ Butler had 15 points and six steals. Gracie Manley had a double double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Bracie “Tiny” Rodgers chipped in 10 points, five assists, four boards and seven steals. “Magic’ Molly Gilbreath had a solid six points, three boards, three assists and two steals. Lydia “Barbie” Ergle had four boards and two points.
Meek was led by Laney Phillips with nine points and five rebounds. Sophomore Marlee Mosley had five points with two boards.
Addison goes to 2-0 on the season while Meek falls to 0-1. Addison hosts Lindsay Lane tomorrow at 5:30 pm. Meek travels to Curry Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Addison 58 – Meek 55 (Varsity Boys)
The men’s game was an outstanding game with both teams playing their hearts out and the fans on both sides going nuts. Addison actually broke out a pep band for this game, first time in school history, and it made the gym into a madhouse.
The first period opened up with both teams running and gunning. Addison had a 22-18 lead at the end of the first period. Addison was led by Christian “Ice Man’ Roberts two three pointers and Eli “Curly” Howse’s two trays as well. Meek was led by Jarret Benson who had four points and Ephraim Milne who had four points. Both teams were playing quality defense and Addison’s largest lead of the period and for the game for that matter was only six points.
The second period then had Addison going ice cold and Meek getting hot. Addison’s shooting slump had a little something to do with Meek playing excellent defense and forcing the Dawgs into bad shots. Meek hit a last second jumper to take a 31-30 lead into the half. The refs were letting them play hard and physical in the first half so you would expect the same thing in the second half, and you would be correct. The second half looked like a football game with bodies flying everywhere and kids on both teams being assaulted by each other with limited intervention by the officials. When fouls were called neither team could hit a free throw to save their life. For the game Addison was 10 for 20 and Meek was 10-19.
The third period had Addison going back out front as they outscored the Tigers 11-8 to take a 41-39 lead into the fourth. Brady “Sticks” Gilbreath took it upon himself to carry the Dawgs as he tallied seven points in the period. Gilbreath drove to the basket and made several nice shots as he was man handled when he got into the lane. Meek may have found a new star in Freshman transfer Braylen Roberts. Roberts is built like a linebacker and is not afraid of contact. Roberts actually has a deft touch inside the lane and led Meek in points on the night.
The fourth period was the money period, and it was fantastic. It was a back and forth game with both teams giving it everything that they had. Meek was up by four and then Addison came back and led by five. With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Addison led 56-55 and had the ball. Addison freshman Jed “Wizard” Wilkins, who hadn’t scored all night, was fouled and went to the free throw line. Wilkins calmly drained the two free throws to give Addison the 58-55 lead. With the crowd going nuts, Meek threw up a desperation half-court shot that fell short, giving the hometown Dawgs a hard fought 3-point victory.
Addison Head Coach Ben Mastin was proud of the way his team played in the season opener and is looking forward to seeing how they can continue improving.
“I absolutely love these types of games. The crowd was crazy for both sides and it was an exciting game to coach, and I know the fans loved it. I have to give Coach (Bryan) Woods credit. They just started practicing and they are already really good,” Mastin said. “This Meek team is going to be reckoned with down the road when they have more time to work together. Meek is a really good basketball team. I am proud of our guys winning a game like this. We are usually on the short end of these type of games the last two years. I told them at halftime, we are going to have to make a stop and get a timely rebound. We did those things tonight. I told them we can celebrate tonight then we come back tomorrow and get ready for Lindsay Lane tomorrow.”
Unofficial stats:
Addison was led by Christian Roberts with 17 points and eight rebounds. Brady Gilbreath had 17 points and four rebounds. Eli Howse had 13 points and three boards. Justin “Rocky” Mather had five points and seven rebounds. Briley Hayes tossed in four points. Addison was led in assists by Lane Tubb with three.
Meek was led by Braylen “The Beast” Roberts with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jarrett Benson had a solid 10 points and six boards. Ephraim Milne had 13 points.
Addison goes to 1-1 on the season and Meek falls to 0-1.
Addison hosts Lindsay Lane Saturday at 7 pm. And Meek travels to Carbon Hill on Nov. 22.
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