HOLLY POND, Ala. – After toppling West End earlier this week, the Holly Pond Broncos were back on the court Friday night to play Decatur Heritage for this year’s 2A, Area 13 Championship. The Broncos trailed by as many as 13 at one point in the third quarter but they rallied as the second half went on and come from behind to defeat the Eagles 54-49 and capture this year’s 2A, Area 13 Championship.
Decatur Heritage drilled a three-pointer to take an early lead and after Kollin Brown sank a pair of free throws on the other end, a 5-0 run by the Eagles made it an 8-2 game. Basket by Christian Couch and Gunnar McBee cut the lead to 8-6 later in the first and McBee knocked down a long jumper to make it a 10-8 game going into the second quarter.
Brown laid one in to tie the game at 10 early in the second and Blake Rickard drained a three to give the Broncos a 13-10 lead. Another Rickard basket kept Holly Pond in front 15-14 later in the period but the Eagles were able to pull ahead 19-15. Couch scored inside to trim the lead to 19-17 and the Broncos went into the locker room at halftime trailing by two.
An 11-0 run by Decatur Heritage stretched the lead to 30-17 at one point early in the third quarter but baskets from McBee and Couch and a pair of free throws by Brown cut the lead to 33-23 midway through the period. Brown netted two more free throws and Diego Garcia buried a corner three to make it a 36-28 game. A free throw and a layup from Rickard helped bring the lead down to eight and Brown converted an and-one play in the final seconds of the third and trimmed the lead to 39-34 going into the fourth.
Holly Pond continued to ride its momentum at the start of the fourth quarter, starting with a three from Sawyer Olinger that made it a 2-point game. Brown hit two more free throws to tie the game at 39 and a basket by Rickard kept the score knotted at 41 later in the period. Olinger knocked down another three-pointer to give the Broncos a 44-43 lead with three minutes to play. Brown laid one in to keep Holly Pond in front 46-45 and after Olinger sank a pair of free throws to extend the lead to three with 1:30 on the clock, the Broncos were in control. Brown drove to the basket and scored to add to the lead and he drained two more free throws with 25 seconds remaining to give Holly Pond a 52-47 advantage. Rickard was fouled in the final seconds of the game, and he tacked on two more free throws to secure a 54-49 win and an area championship for the Broncos.
Brown led Holly Pond with 21 points in the win. Rickard finished with 12 and Olinger added eight.
The Broncos will be back home Tuesday night to host Tanner in the Sub-Regional round.
Copyright 2023 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
