VINEMONT, Ala. – The Vinemont Eagles hosted the J.B. Pennington Tigers in Friday night hoops action. Vinemont’s varsity girls cruised past J.B. Pennington 54-17 but in the boys’ game, a late comeback effort by the Eagles came up just short and the Tigers were able to edge Vinemont 57-54.
Vinemont 54 – J.B. Pennington 17 (Varsity Girls)
Neither team scored for the first two-plus minutes of the game before Morgan Flanagan drilled a three from the right corner to put Vinemont on the scoreboard first. A layup by Caroline Miller made it 5-0, but J.B. Pennington got on the scoreboard on a short jumper. Vayda Yarbrough knocked down a trey to push the Lady Eagle lead to 8-2 and later on, hit another one from long-range as Vinemont took an 11-4 lead into the second period.
It didn’t take long at all for the Lady Eagles to start pulling away from the Lady Tigers. Maggie Burks hit a pair of shots down low, then Whitney Quick hit a shot down low as well to make it 17-4. The Lady Tigers hit a shot to cut it to 17-6, but a steal and layup by Addison Holcomb made it 19-6, then six straight points by Miller increased the Lady Eagle lead to 25-6. Reagan Robinson knocked down a shot as well and Vinemont went into the half with a commanding 27-8 lead.
A three-point play by Whitney Quick gave Vinemont a 30-8 lead, then Raylee and Whitney Quick hit a basket down low to make it 34-8. Burks and Flanagan each hit a basket as well and that made it 38-8. The Lady Eagles ended up taking a 44-10 lead into the final quarter, which was run under a hot clock. Vinemont ended up taking the game, 54-17.
Robinson led the way for Vinemont (5-4) with 11 points. Miller added 10 points. Burks ended up with eight points. Whitney Quick added seven points and Yarbrough finished with six points.
J.B. Pennington 57 – Vinemont 54 (Varsity Boys)
J.B. Pennington jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead before Vinemont got on the scoreboard on a shot by Isiah Jones. Jaxon Holcombe hit a shot down low to make it 8-4 late in the first period, but the Tigers went on a run to push their lead to 15-6. Each team traded baskets to end the first quarter and Vinemont went into the second quarter down, 17-8.
A steal and layup by Chayce Sandlin made it a 17-10 game early in the second period. Later on, Jones converted on an and-one opportunity to cut it to 20-13 and later on, he hit another shot down low to make it 23-15. A layup by Connor Gibbs saw Vinemont cut their deficit to just eight at 27-19, but a 9-0 run by the Tigers quickly pushed their lead to 36-19. Ryan Stewart knocked down a jumper for the Eagles as they ended up going into the locker room trailing, 36-21.
A quick layup by the Tigers made it 38-21, but that’s when Vinemont ended up going on a huge run to get back in the game. Isaac Moody drilled a three and then he, along with Gibbs, hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 38-28. Jaxon Holcombe and Moody each hit a long-range shot to make it 38-34, then Sandlin and Holcombe each hit a layup to tie the game up at 38. J.B. Pennington stopped the long run with a pair of free throws, but the Eagles weren’t done yet. Dawson Wilhite hit a shot down low to tie it up at 40, then Stewart gave Vinemont their first lead of the night on a three from the right wing. The Tigers hit a shot before the quarter ended and Vinemont took a 43-42 lead into the final period.
Holcombe hit one of his own from long-range to give the Eagles a 46-42 lead early in the final quarter. A driving layup by Gibbs gave Vinemont a 48-44 lead, but a 9-0 run by the Tigers gave them the lead right back at 53-48. Holcombe and Moody each hit a free throw to make it 53-50 with 1:25 remaining in the game. The Tigers hit a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game, but a technical foul was called on the Tigers and Gibbs ended up hitting both of his free throws to trim the deficit to just three at 55-52. Jones hit a short shot to make it a one-point game with 11 seconds left to go in the contest. J.B. Pennington hit both of their free throws to make it a three-point game, and multiple attempts at tying the game came up just short in the end and the Eagles dropped a tough game to the Tigers, 57-54.
Jones finished with 13 points for Vinemont (1-5). Holcombe added 11 points. Moody ended up with nine points and Gibbs added eight points.
Vinemont will host Southeastern Monday night.
Copyright 2022 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
