HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Eagles of Cold Springs traveled to Hanceville’s Lane Horton Gymnasium for a pair of varsity matchups with the Bulldogs Tuesday night. After a tight first half, the Lady Eagles pulled away from the Lady Bulldogs in the second half to collect a 64-26 win and in the boys’ game, Hanceville fought its way past Cold Springs to pick up a 62-43 win.
Cold Springs 64 – Hanceville 26 (Varsity Girls)
Ella Dickerson drilled a three to get the scoring started for Cold Springs, then Maci Brown put in a floater to give them an early 5-0 lead. Aaliyah Twitty split her free throws to put Hanceville on the scoreboard with 5:48 remaining in the first period. then Alex Twitty put in the Lady Bulldogs’ first basket of the game to cut it to 5-3 with less than five minutes to go in the opening quarter. Baskets by Aaliyah and Alex Twitty tied the game up at seven, but Ciara Calvert broke the tie with a basket in the paint, and Cold Springs took a 9-7 lead into the second period.
The second quarter was more of the same for both teams as both defenses kept the game low-scoring. A pair of Alex Twitty free throws tied the game up at nine, then a rebound and putback by Kate Sterling gave the Lady Bulldogs an 11-9 lead with 5:25 remaining in the first half. Aaliyah Twitty added another basket in the paint to make it a four-point lead for Hanceville, but the Lady Eagles finished the first half strong. Calvert got things started with a trey, then a steal and a layup by Kenady Graves gave Cold Springs a 14-13 lead. Dickerson put in a layup to push their lead to 17-13 at the half.
Cierra Merriweather knocked down a short jumper to start the third period for Hanceville, as that made it a 17-15 game. A Dickerson long-range shot pushed Cold Springs’ lead to 20-15, but a basket by Alex Twitty cut it to 20-17. All of a sudden, the Lady Eagles got red-hot from behind the three-point line, led by Dickerson and Ella Bruer, who proceeded to score the next 22 points, which included five straight threes at one point during their run. That quickly pushed their lead to 42-17. Sterling stopped the bleeding with a basket in the paint, but a three-point play by Bruer, free throws by Dickerson and Brown, and five points by Paizley Whitlow, made it a 54-21 game going into the final period. The fourth quarter was run under a hot clock, and Cold Springs went on to cruise past Hanceville, 64-26.
Dickerson finished with 21 points for Cold Springs (4-0). Bruer scored all 16 of her points in the third period, while Brown ended up with seven. For Hanceville, Alex Twitty finished with 10 points. Aaliyah Twitty added five points, while Sterling chipped in with four points.
Hanceville 62 – Cold Springs 43 (Varsity Boys)
Carson Garrett got the scoring started for Hanceville with a rebound and putback, but a trey by Cole Bales gave Cold Springs an early 3-2 lead. A basket in the paint by Matt Williams gave the Eagles a slim 5-4 lead early in the first period, but the Bulldogs took over after that. Peyton Twilley put in a shot down low, then a rebound and putback by Eli Clements gave them an 8-5 lead. Later on, a steal and a layup by Twilley made it 11-5, then Noah Jones and Dalton Pirkle followed that up with baskets of their own to push their lead to 15-5. A three by Jake Cornelius made it 18-5, and Hanceville took a 20-5 lead into the second period.
Five quick points by Bales cut it to 20-10 early in the second quarter, then he later added another long-range shot to make it a 21-13 game with 4:56 remaining in the first half. Twilley got fouled after he made his three-point shot and completed the four-point play to increase the Hanceville lead to 25-13. Konnor Helms drilled a trey to give the Bulldogs a 29-13 lead with 3:28 remaining in the first half. Four free throws by Bales and a made basket in the paint by Landon Bishop cut it to 31-19 with two minutes left to go until halftime, but Noah Douglas banked in a trey from the top of the key, and Drake Bentley put in a shot in the paint to give Hanceville a 36-19 lead at the half.
Bales drilled a trey from the left corner, and Tycen Kilgo knocked down a shot in the paint to cut it to 37-24, but it didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to go on another run. Douglas hit a long-range shot, then baskets by Twilley and Braxton Broad pushed their lead to 44-26. An and-one by Twilley, plus three straight points by Broad, made it a 50-26 game going into the final period. The Bulldogs kept a sizable lead for the final eight minutes of the game, and they would go on to defeat the Eagles 62-43.
All but two players found the scoring column for Hanceville (1-1). Clements and Twilley each finished with 13 points for the Bulldogs. Douglas added nine points, while Helms put in six points. For Cold Springs (0-2), Bales led all scorers with 24 points, and Kilgo added 10 points.
Hanceville will host West Point, and Cold Springs will travel to take on Holly Pond Friday night.
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