BREMEN, Ala. — The Cold Springs Eagles were back home hosting the Winston County Yellow Jackets Thursday night and the home crowd was treated to a dramatic finish. Cold Springs held a double-digit lead at the half and after a wild second half, Eagles freshman Ethan Day hit a pair of free throws in the game’s final second to lead Cold Springs to a 57-56 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Cole Bales put in a floater to put Cold Springs on the scoreboard first, then later drilled a trey to give the Eagles an early 5-1 lead. Four straight points by Winston County tied the game up at five. Bales continued his red-hot shooting from the field, scoring the next five points, as that gave Cold Springs a 10-5 lead with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter. A pair of treys by the Yellow Jackets gave them the lead right back at 11-10 late in the quarter. Bales, though, finished off his amazing first quarter in style, as he hit a three from the top of the key, to give the Eagles a 13-11 lead going into the second period.
Zane Brown and Day each hit a three early in the second to stretch Cold Springs’ lead to 19-11. Winston County got their first points of the quarter on a pair of free throws to cut it to 20-13 with 3:35 remaining in the first half. Bales hit another trey to push the Eagle lead to 23-13, and later converted on an and-one opportunity, to make it a 26-15 game. Tycen Kilgo got in on the fun, as his trey from the left wing increased the Cold Springs lead to 29-15. The Yellow Jackets cut it to 29-20, but the Eagles kept the three-point barrage going to end the first half. Day and Bales each added one more from long range to give them a 35-22 lead at the half.
Winston County got off to a red-hot start to the third period, scoring the first 14 points of the quarter, to give them a 36-35 lead, prompting head coach Cade Willingham to call not one, not two, but three timeouts during that run. Josh Winfrey stopped the bleeding with a jumper from the free throw line to give Cold Springs the lead right back at 37-36 with 3:27 remaining in the quarter. The Yellow Jackets continued their strong start to the quarter, scoring the next eight points, to take a 44-37 lead with a little over two minutes to go in the period. A free throw by Day, and a basket in the paint by Bailey Gann, cut it to 44-40. The Eagles went into the fourth quarter trailing 46-40.
A Kilgo steal led to a basket down low by Bales to make it a 46-42 game, then Day hit a long-range shot to cut it to 46-45. Each team traded a three to keep it at a one-point game. A layup by Day made it a 51-50 game, then after Winston County split their free throws, Seth Ingram hit a trey to give Cold Springs a 53-52 lead, but a pair of baskets in the paint by the Yellow Jackets gave them the lead right back at 56-53.
The game got really crazy at the end, as Winston County got hit with a technical for having too many players on the court. Bales hit both technical free throws to cut it to 56-55 with six seconds remaining. The Eagles had a chance to win the game on their final possession and after Day was fouled with 1.2 seconds on the clock, he knocked down both free throws to give Cold Springs a 57-56 lead. Winston County’s last-second heave missed wide of the mark and the Eagles held on to defeat the Yellow Jackets 57-56.
Bales finished the game with 27 points for Cold Springs. Day put up 14 points and Winfrey collected five points.
Cold Springs will host J.B. Pennington Friday night.
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