WEST POINT, Ala. – West Point hosted the Golden Tigers of Russellville for the opening round of the 5A, Area 15 Tournament Tuesday night and it was another nail-biter for the Warriors. Both teams exchanged leads throughout the first three quarters and the score was knotted at 36 going into the fourth but the Warriors were outscored 22-9 in the final frame, allowing Russellville to pull away and collect a 58-45 win.
Andrew Lynn drilled a three for West Point’s first points of the game, but Russellville answered with one of their own to tie the game up at three. Jay Lamar put in one of his own to give the Warriors an early 6-3 lead. The Golden Tigers then scored eight straight points to take an 11-6 lead, but a driving layup by Kolten Perry stopped the run and cut the West Point deficit to three at 11-8. Russellville went on another 8-0 run and the Warriors quickly found themselves down 19-8 after one period.
West Point started to cut into the deficit to start out the second quarter as Kanen Trussell got the steal and he laid it up and in as that made it 19-10. A Lynn trey and a basket in the paint by Aiden Dujoud cut it to 21-15 with 4:25 remaining in the first half. A Perry jumper made it a 25-19 game late in the first half, but a three-point play by Russellville pushed their lead up to nine. West Point got a huge momentum boost before the half as Dujoud hit a short jumper just before the buzzer and the Warriors went into the half down, 28-21.
Sam Wheeler rattled in a three to start the second half to make it a 28-24 game, then Perry knocked one down from the left corner to cut it to 30-27 early in the third period. Russellville put in a shot down low to push their lead to 34-27, but a driving layup by Perry made it a five-point game. A huge three-point play by Cade Simmons cut the Golden Tiger lead to 35-32, then back-to-back baskets by Perry tied the game up at 36. The game would go into the fourth quarter with both teams tied up at 36.
A huge rebound and put-back by Kanaan Sutter gave West Point a 38-36 lead. Trussell then added a free throw and Wheeler drilled a pair from the line to give the Warriors a 41-38 lead with a little over six minutes to go in the game. A pair of baskets by the Golden Tigers saw them get the lead right back at 42-41, but Perry banked in a short jumper as West Point took a 43-42 lead with less than five minutes to go in the contest. Russellville then took complete control of the contest after that as they scored 16 straight points to quickly open up a 58-43 lead and the Warriors ended up falling to the Golden Tigers, 58-45.
Perry finished with 15 points for West Point (10-19). Wheeler added seven points. Lynn ended up with six points. Simmons added five points. Dujoud ended up with four points. Trussell and Lamar each added three and Sutter chipped in with two. Tuesday’s game was the last for five West Point senior: Ethan Gammon, Cade Simmons, Andrew Lynn, Sam Wheeler and Jayden Laney. Coach Mason Voce will have some great young talent coming back next season as the Warriors look to make a postseason run.
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