GOOD HOPE, Ala. – After picking up a pair of area wins at East Lawrence last Friday, the Good Hope Raiders returned home Tuesday night to take on the West Morgan Rebels in two more big area games. The Lady Raiders and Raiders each picked up a big win at home. In the girls’ game, Good Hope jumped out to a big lead and ended up rolling past West Morgan 75-25 and in the boys’ game, a huge fourth quarter was key for the Raiders as they got past the Rebels 80-68.
Good Hope 75 – West Morgan 25 (Varsity Girls)
A rebound and putback by Ava McSwain put Good Hope on the scoreboard first, and that would be the start of a huge first quarter for the Lady Raiders. Seven early points by McSwain, a basket by Charly Johnson, and a trey by Ivey Maddox gave them an early 12-0 lead. Bailey Tetro put in a pair of long-range shots, and Heather Tetro added one of her own to make it a 23-0 game. A pair of baskets by Jolee McHan, and one each by Emma Thompson and McSwain, gave Good Hope a 33-0 lead going into the second.
McSwain continued her red-hot shooting from the field, scoring seven of the first eight points for the Lady Raiders, to give them a commanding 41-0 lead. West Morgan got on the scoreboard with less than four minutes to go in the first half on a trey, but Maddox scored eight straight points to make it a 51-7 game at the half.
Good Hope continued to put in shots from long-range, as Thompson, Heather Tetro, and Maddox each added a three in the third quarter, to give them a 65-19 lead going into the final period. There was a running clock in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Raiders cruised to a 75-25 area win over the Lady Rebels.
Maddox led the way for Good Hope (19-2, 4-0) with 22 points. McSwain wasn’t too far behind with 20 points, while McHan and Heather and Bailey Tetro each put in eight.
Good Hope 80 – West Morgan 68 (Varsity Boys)
West Morgan jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but Weston Hancock put in back-to-back shots in the paint to tie the game up at six. Tucker Malin then drilled a trey to give Good Hope a 9-6 lead. Each team traded a trey to keep it at a three-point game at 12-9, then later on, an and-one by the Rebels tied the game up at 14. K’mal Bell broke the tie with a trey to give the Raiders a 17-14 lead. Malin and Hancock each had a rebound and putback late in the quarter to make it a 21-18 game going into the second period.
A steal by Bell led to a fast-break layup by Jacob Haynes, and that gave Good Hope a 23-21 lead early in the second. Later on, back-to-back layups by Hancock made it a 27-23 game, but a quick 8-0 run by West Morgan gave them a 31-27 lead. Another Rebel trey pushed their lead to 34-28 late in the first half, but a basket each by Bell and Haynes cut it to 36-32 at the half.
The three-ball helped West Morgan widen its lead even more in the third, as two more from long range gave them a 42-34 lead. Dakota Overton put in one from long-range to cut it to 42-37, then back-to-back rebounds and putbacks by Hancock, including an and-one, made it a 44-42 game with less than five minutes to go in the third. Layups by Malin and Hancock tied the game up at 46 with less than three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Good Hope went on a late run to get the lead right back. Malin drained a trey, and later put in a basket in the paint to give them a 51-50 lead. Hancock then drilled a three from the right corner, and Tyler Cone put in a layup to push their lead to 56-50. A three by West Morgan just before the buzzer, though, made it a 56-53 game going into the final period.
The Raiders couldn’t have gotten off to a better start to the fourth quarter. Jacob Haynes put in a layup to give Good Hope a 58-53 lead, then a technical foul was called on West Morgan. Bell put in a pair of foul shots and then added a basket of his own to increase the Raider lead to 62-53. Another rebound and putback by Hancock made it a 64-53 game with only a minute gone in the fourth. Five straight points by West Morgan cut it to 64-58, and later on, a trey made it a 66-61 game. The Rebels kept the pressure on Good Hope, as a mini 5-0 run cut it to 68-64 with a little over three minutes to go in the game.
Hancock, though, put in two big baskets in the paint to push the Raider lead to 72-64 with a little over two minutes to go in the contest. Free-throw shooting helped Good Hope at the end of the game, as Bell went 6/6 from the stripe, while Overton and Haynes each added one as well. The Raiders ended up getting a huge 80-68 win at home against West Morgan.
Hancock had a monster game offensively, finishing with 33 points for Good Hope (13-8, 3-1). Bell added 20 points. Malin put in 12 points and Haynes posted seven points.
Good Hope will continue area play Friday night when it hosts Priceville.
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