VINEMONT, Ala. – Holly Pond made the trip to Vinemont Thursday night for a pair of varsity matchups against the Eagles and the Broncos ended up splitting their road games. In the girls’ matchup, Vinemont held a double-digit lead at the half but had to withstand a late run from the Lady Broncos to hold on and win the game 64-53. In the boys’ game, the Broncos got huge baskets from Kollin Brown and Blake Rickard late in the game on their way to a 61-53 win over the Eagles.
Vinemont 64 – Holly Pond 53 (Varsity Girls)
Maggie Burks got Vinemont on the scoreboard with a short jumper. Baskets down low by Maddi Ham and Madison Butts gave Holly Pond a 4-2 lead early in the opening period. Points were hard to come by for most of the first quarter, but Reagan Robinson hit a shot down low and Whitney Quick drilled a three to give the Lady Eagles an 8-4 lead. A three from the left corner by Berkley Gable pushed Vinemont’s lead to 11-5 and a pair of Raylee Quick free throws made it 13-5. Ham drilled a deep trey just before the buzzer sounded to make it a 13-8 game going into the second period.
Burks pushed the Vinemont lead to 15-8 with another short jumper, but a pair of free throws each by Alana Phillips and Emma Earl cut it to 15-12. Caroline Miller and Raylee Quick each scored down low to help make it 21-12, but a Maggie Nail trey cut it to 21-15. Morgan Flanagan made it 23-15 on a basket down low, then Robinson scored the next five points to make it a double-digit lead for Vinemont at 28-15. A floater by Kamryn Tankersley and a trey by Bai Widner trimmed the deficit to eight at 28-20, but a Whitney Quick basket down low gave the Lady Eagles a 30-20 lead at the half.
Holly Pond quickly cut into the Vinemont lead to start out the third quarter as Earl and Phillips each made a basket down low to make it a 30-24 game, then later on, Samantha Giles added a basket of her own and Widner knocked down a long-range shot to make it 32-29 with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter. A Ham three kept the deficit at three at 35-32, but back-to-back huge threes by Flanagan and Carley Stephens pushed the Vinemont lead to 42-32 and ended up taking a 43-35 lead into the final quarter.
A Tankersley trey cut it to 43-38 to start out the final period, but baskets down low by Stephens and Robinson made it 47-38. As quick as a flash, though, the Lady Broncos continued their barrage from three-point range as Phillips, Tankersley, and Ham each hit one as the game was now tied up at 47. Raylee and Whitney Quick, though, quickly put a halt to the Holly Pond run as they scored the next seven points for Vinemont as they held onto a 54-47 lead. Miller added a basket down low to make it 56-47, but another Ham trey cut it to 56-50. Vinemont kept them at arms’ length the rest of the way as baskets by Robinson and Miller were key in the end as the Lady Eagles ended up winning the game, 64-53.
Robinson led the way for Vinemont (2-0) with 14 points and 10 rebounds; nine of those rebounds came in the first half. Raylee Quick added 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Whitney Quick ended up with 10 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Burks added eight points and six rebounds. For Holly Pond (2-2), Ham drilled six threes en route to a 20-point night; she also added six rebounds and a steal. Tankersley added eight points and a steal. Phillips ended up with seven points and Widner added six points.
Holly Pond 61 – Vinemont 53 (Varsity Boys)
Levi Farr hit a basket down low for Holly Pond to put them on the scoreboard first. Sawyer Olinger knocked down a trey and Blake Rickard hit a basket down to give the Broncos a quick 7-0 lead. Vinemont got on the scoreboard with 3:47 left in the first quarter on a Toby Hill free throw; he later added a basket down to make it 7-3. A pair of Olinger free throws and a three by Kollin Brown gave the Broncos a 12-5 lead going into the second quarter.
Three free throws by Rickard and a driving layup by Gunnar McBee pushed the Bronco lead to 17-5 early in the second period. Vinemont quickly got things going offensively behind Isiah Jones as he scored eight straight points to make it an 19-13 game and Ryan Stewart drilled a three from the left corner to cut it to 19-16 with a little over four minutes to go in the first half. A basket each by Rickard and Christian Couch gave the Broncos a 23-18 lead at the half.
Another Jones basket down low cut it to 23-20 early in the third period, but an and-one by Brown pushed the Holly Pond lead to 26-20. Jones converted on one of his own on the other end to make it a 27-23 game with a little over five minutes to go in the third period. Jaxon Holcombe knocked down a three from the top of the key and Isaac Moody hit both of his free throws to give the Eagles a 28-27 lead. The Broncos, though, countered with a run of their own as baskets each by Couch and Farr sandwiched around an and-one by Brown gave them a 34-28 lead. Holcombe, Chayce Sandlin, and Hill each hit a basket down low to cut the deficit to two at 36-34. Both teams traded baskets to end the third quarter and the Broncos would take a 38-36 lead into the final period.
A Holcombe free throw made it 40-37, then Jones hit four straight free throws, including a pair of technical free throws, and then added a short jumper to give the Eagles a 43-40 lead. Brown scored six straight points for the Broncos as that gave them a 46-45 lead. A basket by Levi Farr and a huge and-one by Brown gave Holly Pond a 51-48 lead. A Sandline basket down low cut it to 51-50, but Rickard hit a pair of free throws and drilled an enormous trey from the left wing to push the Holly Pond lead to 56-50 with 1:26 left in the game. Holcombe banked in a jumper to make it a 56-52 game, but free throws by Rickard, Olinger, and Diego Garcia helped keep the Eagles at arms’ length after that as the Broncos ended up defeating Vinemont, 61-53.
Brown finished with 20 points and four steals for Holly Pond (3-0). Rickard added 13 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Olinger ended up with 10 points and a pair of steals, while Couch and Farr each added six points. For Vinemont (1-1), Jones finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Holcombe added 10 points, six rebounds, and four steals, while Hill ended up with nine points and four rebounds.
Vinemont will travel to take on Fairview Friday night and Holly Pond will take a road trip to Bremen to take on Cold Springs that night as well.
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