HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Cullman Bearcats hit the floor at Tom Drake Coliseum Tuesday afternoon to compete in this year’s Wallace State Christmas Classic and their first foe was the Demopolis Tigers. The ‘Cats were relentless on the defensive end of the floor and made nearly ever possession frustrating for the Tigers on their way to a 54-33 win. Cullman improves to 12-0 with the win and Head Coach Stu Stuedeman is very pleased with how his team is coming along on the defensive end.
“Our depth has come a long way and I just trust everyone 1-12 to be in the ball game. We still have a couple kids hurt and when they get back, I’ll trust them in the game too, but our depth has been remarkable, it’s awesome. We have really improved on the defensive end, full court and half court and it’s really fun to watch them,” Stuedeman said. “When I go home at night and put the tape on, it is really fun to watch these guys fly around and make plays. That’s not to say that they don’t mistakes, but they’re a lot of fun to watch and I’m really proud of them. We just have to keep getting better and make sure that we play to our standard every quarter.”
Tucker Cagle scored inside to give the Bearcats a 2-0 start and after a three-pointer from Demopolis on the other end, Jamar Kay drilled a three of his own to put Cullman back in front 5-3. Garrison Sharpe drove to the basket and scored through a foul and after hitting the free throw, the lead was up to 8-3 midway through the first quarter. Sharpe stayed hot and knocked down another three to make it an 11-3 game. Tucker Apel and Cagle each scored to extend the lead to 15-3 and after Nate Zills added another basket inside, the ‘Cats went into the second quarter leading 17-5.
Another bucket from Zills and a pair of free throws by Cagle made it a 21-5 game early in the second Kase Nixon knocked down a three to keep Cullman in front 24-9 later in the period. Another Nixon basket made it 26-9 and after a pair of Tucker Gambrill free throws, Sharpe drained a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bearcats a 31-12 advantage going into the halftime break.
A three-pointer by Gambrill and another Apel layup stretched the lead to 36-14 at the start of the third and Cagle buried a three from the top of the key to make it 39-14. Another three-pointer from Gambrill and a basket by Sharpe made it a 44-22 game midway through the third quarter and Kay and Sharpe each scored one more time in the period to put Cullman in front 48-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Kay knocked down another three-pointer early in the fourth to make it 51-24 and after Nixon split a pair of free throws and Colton Echols laid one in, the Bearcats cruised to a 54-33 victory over the Tigers to remain unbeaten.
Sharpe led the way for Cullman with 13 points in the win. Cagle finished with nine points and Gambrill and Kay each posted eight. Nixon scored six, Zills and Apel each added four and Echols finished with two.
The Bearcats will be back in action at this year’s Wallace State Christmas Classic Wednesday at 3 p.m. when they take on Pleasant Grove.
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