HANCEVILLE, Ala. – West Point clashed with Good Hope in Friday night’s second JV Boys semifinal game at the Cullman County Tournament and after building a convincing lead in the first half, the Warriors fended off an aggressive, come from behind push from the Raiders to knock off the bracket’s top seed 49-44 and advance to Championship Saturday.
West Point got on the scoreboard first on a rebound and putback by Asa Sutter. Tucker Keef put in a layup on the other end to tie the game up at two, but J.J. Minck banked in a trey from the top of the key to give the Warriors an early 5-2 lead. Sawyer Harris followed that up with a jumper to make it 7-2. Kye McSwain knocked down a short jumper to cut it to 7-4 with 3:29 remaining in the opening period, but Noah Franklin converted his and-one opportunity and Teagan Heaton drilled a three from the left corner to stretch the West Point lead to 13-4 late in the first quarter. A floater by Franklin and a basket in the paint by Sutter gave the Warriors a 18-6 lead, and they would take a 19-6 lead into the second period.
Harris put in a layup to make it a 21-6 game early in the second, but an and-one by Owen Armstrong trimmed the Good Hope deficit to 12 at 21-9. McSwain and Ayden Ennis each traded basket to keep it at a 12-point game at 23-11. Baskets by McSwain and Ayden Young cut it to 23-15, but a jumper by Franklin gave West Point a 25-15 lead. Ayden Black drilled a three from the left wing to make it a 26-19 game late in the first half, but Franklin put in one of his own to beat the buzzer to push the Warrior lead to 29-19 at the half.
A pair of free throws by Colton Thrower gave West Point a 31-19 lead early in the third. Armstrong and Sutter each traded baskets to keep it at a 12-point game at 33-21. McSwain drained a short jumper, and Black put in a floater to cut it to 33-25. Franklin answered with a trey from the right wing to stretch the Warrior lead to 36-25. Black drilled a pair from the line, and Young drained a pair of threes from the right corner to make it a 36-33 game late in the third. A trey by McSwain tied the game up at 38. The game would remain tied going into the final period.
Back-to-back baskets by Thrower and Harris gave West Point a 42-38 lead with a little over four minutes to go in the game. A jumper by McSwain cut it to 43-40, then a rebound and putback by Armstrong made it a 43-42 game with less than three minutes to go in the contest. Black knocked down a floater to give the Raiders their first lead of the game at 44-43 with 1:33 remaining in the game, but Harris hit a tough basket in the paint and Minck put in a floater to give the Warriors the lead right back at 47-44. Heaton and Sutter each knocked down a free throw to help seal the 49-44 win for West Point, as they will move on to the championship game on Saturday.
Franklin led the way for West Point with 15 points, followed by Harris with eight points. McSwain finished with 13 points for Good Hope in the loss and Black added 11 points.
West Point advances to the JV Boys County Championship Game with the win and will play Fairview for this year’s JV Boys title Saturday at 4 p.m.
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