HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The top-seeded Good Hope Raiders faced off against Fairview in Friday night’s first varsity boys’ semifinal and after a tight first half, the Raiders outscored the Aggies 20-9 in the third quarter to begin pulling away and went on to defeat Fairview 58-42, securing a spot in Saturday’s county title game with the win.
Landun Smith put in a basket in the paint to put Fairview on the scoreboard, but a steal and a layup by Tyler Cone tied the game up at two. A pair of treys by Colt Fletcher gave the Aggies an 8-2 lead. A pair of free throws by K’mal Bell and a floater by Cone cut it to 8-6, then later on, Jacob Haynes drilled a trey from the left corner to make it a 10-9 game with a little over two minutes to go in the opening period. A floater by Haynes kept it at a one-point game at 12-11 going into the second quarter.
Rickard drained a trey from the left wing to give Fairview a 15-11 lead early in the second, but a floater by Cone cut it to 15-13. Kobe Payne and Weston Hancock each traded baskets to keep it at a two-point game at 17-15. A trey by Bell made it a 19-18 game with a little over two minutes remaining in the first half. Bell knocked down a short jumper to tie the game up at 20. Baskets by Smith and Bell kept the game tied up at 22, and a free throw by Tucker Malin gave the Raiders a 23-22 lead at the half.
A steal and a layup by Cone gave Good Hope a 25-22 lead early in the third, but a trey by Payne tied the game up at 25. Malin quickly caught fire as he scored the next eight points for the Raiders to give them a 33-25 lead. Bell scored through a foul and made the free throw to push their lead to 36-25 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. Payne and Smith each knocked down a pair from the line to cut it to 38-29, then Fletcher and Smith each added a free throw to make it a 38-31 game. A rebound and putback by Hancock stretched Good Hope’s lead to 40-31 late in the third, and Bell drained a trey before the buzzer to give them a 43-31 lead going into the final period.
The Raiders carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, as back-to-back threes by Dakota Overton and Malin pushed their lead to 49-31. A layup by Payne made it a 49-33 game, but another trey from Malin gave Good Hope a 52-33 lead. Baskets by Rickard and Gavin Pace cut it to 52-37, but Hancock put in a pair of reverse layups to increase the Raider lead to 56-37. Good Hope would go on to collect a 58-42 win over Fairview to move on to the championship game.
Malin finished with 17 points for Good Hope, and Bell added 15 points. Payne finished with 10 points for Fairview in the loss, while Fletcher and Rickard each collected seven points in the game.
Good Hope will face either West Point or Holly Pond in this year’s County Championship Game Saturday night at 7:30.
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