GOOD HOPE, Ala. – Good Hope returned home to host a pair of matchups against its rivals from Hanceville Monday night and both Raider squads defended their home court with wins. Ava McSwain racked up a game-high 33 points for the Lady Raiders in an 86-28 blowout and in the boys’ game, K’mal Bell led the way with 28 to help the Raiders pick up a 53-37 win.
Good Hope 86 – Hanceville 28 (varsity girls)
Shots started falling early for the Lady Raiders. Bailey Tetro knocked down a three to give Good Hope an early lead and Ivey Maddox follows with back to back treys of her own to make it 9-0. Aaliyah Twitty laid one in to get Hanceville on the board, but Ava McSwain answered with a basket and another three-pointer to put the Lady Raiders in front 14-2. Maddox split a pair of free throws and nailed another three to make it a 19-4 game later in the period. After another Aaliyah Twitty basket, Good Hope finished the first quarter with a 7-0 scoring run to build a 26-6 lead going into the second.
The run continued for the Lady Raiders in the second quarter. Bailey and Heather Tetro each drilled three-pointers to stretch the lead to 32-6 and that’s when McSwain caught fire, burying a pair of threes and scoring 14 straight points for Good Hope to make it a 46-8 game midway through the period. Heather Tetro added another three-pointer and after McSwain laid another one in, Bailey Tetro got a floater to fall just before the end of the second to give the Lady Raiders a commanding, 54-12 lead at the halftime break.
McSwain scored Good Hope’s first five points of the third to stretch the lead to 59-16 and the Lady Raiders continued to pour it on, extending the lead to 67-16 as the quarter went on. Baskets by Jolee McHan and Bailey Tetro added to the lead and after Alex Twitty score on the other end, McSwain laid one in just before the end of the third to give Good Hope a 73-21 lead going into the fourth.
With the clock running throughout the final period, the Lady Raiders were able to cruise the rest of the way. Lucie Adams drained a three to make it a 79-23 game and after a McHan basket made it 81-23 later in the fourth, a three-pointer from Lillie McCluskey capped an 84-28 win for Good Hope.
McSwain led all scorers with 33 points in the win. Maddox finished with 14 and Heather Tetro posted 13. Aaliyah Twitty led Hanceville with 12 points in the loss, followed by Alex Twitty with 10.
Good Hope 53 – Hanceville 37 (varsity boys)
Tucker Malin scored inside, and K’mal Bell drilled a three from the corner to give Good Hope a 5-0 start in the opening period. Another Malin basket made it 7-0 before a Noah Jones basket on the other end trimmed the lead to 7-2. Baskets by Weston Hancock and Tyler Cone stretched the lead to 11-2 but a basket from JT Davis and a free throw by Jake Cornelius trimmed the lead to 11-5. After another score from Hancock, Tyler Byrd nailed a three just before the buzzer to give the Raiders a 16-6 lead going into the second quarter.
A basket from Davis and a pair of Carson Garrett free throws brought the lead down to 18-11 with three minutes remaining in the first half but Malin knocked down a three and Bell converted an and-one play at the line to make it a 24-11 game. A basket by Clements and a free throw from Konnor Helms trimmed the lead to 24-14 but Bell added two more free throws in the final minute of the second quarter and the Raiders went into the locker room leading Hanceville 26-14 at the break.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to 26-17 early in the third but baskets by Bell and Malin kept Good Hope in front 30-17. A 6-0 run from Hanceville trimmed the lead to 32-24 midway through the third and after Bell netted a pair of free throws, Dalton Pirkle laid one in to make it a 34-26 game with two minutes to play in the period. Bell got another layup to go in the final minute of the third and Good Hope went into the fourth with a 36-26 advantage.
Hancock laid one in to put the Raiders up by 12 at the start of the fourth and Bell knocked down a three to make it a 41-26 game. A pair of Eli Clements free throws and a Braxton Broad basket cut the lead to 41-30 but four more points from Bell kept Good Hope in front 45-30 midway through the period. Cornelius and Bell exchanged three-pointers to make it a 48-33 game with just over three minutes on the clock and the Bulldogs got another three from Noah Douglas in the final minute of the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Raider lead and Good Hope held on to win it 53-37.
Bell led the way for the Raiders with 28 points in the win, followed by Malin with 11 and Hancock with nine. Clements led Hanceville with eight points in the loss, followed by Cornelius with six.
Good Hope will travel to Cold Springs to take on the Eagles and Hanceville will hit the road to face Holly Pond Tuesday night.
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