WEST POINT, Ala. – The West Point Warriors and Lady Warriors hosted Hanceville in their home openers at Jim Boyd Gymnasium Tuesday night and both West Point squads collected wins over their county rivals. The Lady Warriors bounced back from a slow first half and outscored Hanceville 30-8 in the second half to earn a 59-35 win and in the boys’ game, Maddox Chapman racked up 33 points to lead the Warriors past the Bulldogs 73-47.
Before the start of the girls’ game, Lady Warriors Head Coach John Welborn was recognized for earning his 200th win at West Point, which was recorded in their victory at Holly Pond last Friday. With the win Tuesday night, Welborn now has a career record of 201-104.
West Point 73 – Hanceville 47 (Varsity Boys)
Drake Bentley knocked down a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs an early, 5-2 lead. Maddox Chapman sank four straight free throws to give the Warriors a 6-5 lead but another three from Bentley kept Hanceville in front 8-6. Cade Welborn answered with a three on the other end to put West Point back in front 9-8 and Chapman laid one in to make it 11-8. Dalton Pirkle laid one in, and Kingsley Brown drilled a three to give Hanceville a 13-11 lead but baskets from Welborn and Nolan just before the end of the first quarter gave the Warriors a 15-13 lead at the start of the second.
After Samuel Abney laid one in for Hanceville to tie the game at 15 early in the second quarter, West Point put together a 9-0 scoring run to pull ahead 24-15. Welborn’s next three-pointer made it a 27-17 game with three minutes remaining in the second. Bentley sank three free throws on the other end to trim the lead to 8 later in the period but Welborn scored in the final seconds of the half to give the Warriors a 30-20 lead at the break.
West Point continued to create separation early in the third quarter when Chapman hit a pair of free throws and Shelton laid one in to make it 34-22. Back to back buckets from Chapman stretched the lead to 14 and Kade Vincent buried a three to make it 41-26. Chapman scored the next 6 points for the Warriors to give them a 47-28 lead but a 6-1 run from the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 48-34 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Baskets by Shelton and Chapman kept West Point in front 52-34 early in the fourth. Vincent drilled another three to make it 56-36 and Chapman continued to dominate the paint, scoring six of the next nine points for the Warriors to make it a 65-42 game with just over three minutes to play. Franklin scored six points in the final two minutes to wrap up a 73-37 win for West Point.
Chapman led all scorers with 33 points in the win. Shelton and Welborn each scored 10 and Franklin finished with eight. Bentley led Hanceville with 14 points in the loss and Twilley added 10.
West Point 59 – Hanceville 35 (Varsity Girls)
The score was knotted at 4 early in the opening period, Aaliyah Twitty drove to the basket and scored to give Hanceville a 6-4 lead. Jaelyn Faulkner sank four free throws on the next two possessions to keep things tied at 8 and Patton Fell split a pair from the line to put West Point in front 9-8. A basket by Camryn Faulkner and a free throw from Kealie Harbison made it a 12-8 game with two minutes to play in the first quarter but the Bulldogs were able to cut the lead down to 15-14 by the start of the second.
Baskets by Alex and Aaliyah Twitty put Hanceville in front 18-15 early in the second quarter and Kynzlee Farr knocked down a jumper to make it 20-15. Jaelyn Faulkner and Mary Beth Penn each scored inside to help tie the game at 20, but Alex Twitty responded with a three on the other end to put the Bulldogs ahead 23-20. However, the Warriors were able to take control in the final four minutes of the period, pulling ahead to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
West Point’s momentum continued to build in the third quarter. Eight straight points from Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner gave the Warriors a 37-25 lead early in the third quarter and Laklin Shadix laid one in to make it 39-25. Camryn Faulkner put eight more points on the board before the end of the period and West Point went into the final frame leading Hanceville 47-28.
Two more baskets from Camryn and Jaelyn Faulkner put the Warriors in front 51-28 midway through the fourth quarter. Three-pointers by Kenadi Pagan and Jaelyn Faulkner stretched the lead to 57-31 and with the game of our reach, the Warriors cruised the rest of the way to collect a 59-35 win over Hanceville.
Camryn Faulkner led West Point with 20 points in the win, followed closely by Jaelyn Faulkner with 19. Alex Twitty posted 13 points for Hanceville in the loss and Aaliyah Twitty finished with 11.
West Point will be back home to host Fairview and Hanceville will travel to Oneonta on Thursday.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
