HOLLY POND, Ala. — Holly Pond hosted its home opener against Fairview Thursday night and the Broncos split their varsity matchups with the Aggies. After a close first quarter in the girls’ game, he Lady Aggies quickly got the lead and pulled away in the second half to win the game 67-43 while in the boys’ game, Holly Pond held a slim lead at the half, then quickly pulled away in the second half to take its game over Fairview 80-63.
Fairview 67 – Holly Pond 43 (Varsity Girls)
Holly Pond’s Mattie Earl got the team off to a quick start to the game as she scored the game’s first six points to give the Lady Broncos a 6-0 lead. Jayla Gorham got Fairview on the board with a basket down low, but Madison Butts drilled a three from the left corner to give Holly Pond a 9-2 lead with 4:23 left to go in the opening period. A Maycie Black basket made it 11-4, but Gorham got her team back in the game as she scored the final seven points of the quarter for the Lady Aggies as they trimmed the deficit to just two at 13-11 going into the second period.
Earl knocked down a short jumper to make it a 15-11 game early in the second period, but the three-ball helped Fairview get the lead. A three each from Somer Harris and Rachael Dunkin gave the Lady Aggies a 17-15 lead. Gorham added a pair of free throws to make it 19-15, then later on, a Darby Nichols trey pushed Fairview’s lead to 22-16. Samantha Giles stopped the bleeding for a little bit with a basket down low to make it a 24-18 game. A pair of Alana Phillips free throws kept it at a six-point game at 26-20, but Jaycee Aleman hit a layup and Gorham finished out a strong first half with an and-one as the Lady Aggies took a 33-21 lead into the half.
Kamryn Tankersley got in the scoring column for Holly Pond to start out the second half, scoring the first three points to cut it to 33-24. Lexi Golden knocked down a three as Fairview pushed their lead to 38-24, then back-to-back and-ones from Gorham made it a 44-24 game. Later on, consecutive threes by Nichols and Golden increased the Lady Aggie lead to 51-27, but baskets by Ellie Burks and Phillips made it a 51-31 game going into the final period.
The Lady Broncos looked to get a rally started in the final period, but they couldn’t get one started as both teams traded baskets and points for most of the fourth quarter. A Bai Widner basket made it a 57-37 contest, but baskets by Gorham and Dunkin pushed the Lady Aggie lead to 61-37 and they went on cruise control from there as they ended up defeating the Lady Broncos, 67-43.
Gorham finished with a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds for Fairview. Nichols added 10 points. Dunkin ended up with seven points and Aleman added six points. For Holly Pond, Phillips finished with 10 points. Earl added nine points and Maddi Ham ended up with five points.
Holly Pond 80 – Fairview 63 (Varsity Boys)
A pair of free throws by Kollin Brown got Holly Pond on the scoreboard first, then Christian Couch got their first basket of the game on a layup to make it 4-0. It was a tough time scoring for both teams early on, but a pair of Kobe Payne free throws with 3:30 left in the opening period got Fairview on the scoreboard. Blake Rickard scored on a basket down low to make it a 6-2 game, but Antonio Gambrill drilled a three from the left corner to cut it to 6-5. Brown hit four free throws to push the Bronco lead to 10-7. Will Smith gave the Aggies a huge spark off the bench as he scored the next five points to give the Aggies a 12-10 lead, but an and-one from Brown saw Holly Pond take a 13-12 lead into the second period.
A Daniel Farr basket and a Brown trey push the Bronco lead to 18-12 early in the second quarter. A Cade Yeager three cut the Aggie deficit to just one at 18-17, but a Christian Couch basket and a pair of Brown free throws made it 22-17. Bryson Fletcher drilled a three to swivel the Bronco lead to 24-22 and back-to-back baskets by Cylas Yarbrough and Smith tied the game up at 26. Free throws by Gunnar McBee, Brown, and Sawyer Olinger gave Holly Pond a 31-28 lead a little more than halfway into the second period. Later on, another Gambrill three from the left corner tied it up at 35. Brown and Farr each added a basket down low for the Broncos as they would take a 39-36 lead into the half.
Holly Pond looked to create some distance from them and Fairview to start out the second half. Rickard knocked down a three from the right corner and Brown added yet another basket down low as the Broncos increased their lead to 44-36. Payne drilled a long-range shot to trim the Aggie deficit to just four at 44-40, but a Rickard three-point play pushed the Bronco lead to 47-40. A Brown basket made it 49-40, then after a Fletcher basket cut it to 51-44, Brown knocked down a three to make it a 54-44 game. Carson Ryan added one of his own from long-range to push Holly Pond’s lead to 57-46. A Couch basket down low made it a 61-48 game going into the final period.
Brown continued his huge night shooting from the field as he drilled a three, then added another basket down low and Couch hit a layup to make it a 68-48 game. Fairview kept fighting as they looked to cut into the sizable deficit, but it would be too much for them to overcome in the end as the Broncos ended up defeating the Aggies, 80-63.
Brown had an unreal game on Thursday as he finished with 41 points. Couch added 14 points and Rickard ended up with 11 points. For Fairview, Payne and Yarbrough each finished with 14 points. Smith added 11 points and Gambrill ended up with eight points.
The Lady Aggies will host the Tip-Off Classic Saturday as they will take on Chelsea at 6:15 p.m., while the Lady Broncos will travel to take on Fyffe Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Holly Pond’s varsity boys will take on Fyffe on the road Tuesday and the Aggies will travel to take on Susan Moore Tuesday as well.
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