CULLMAN, Ala. — After collecting wins over Lawrence County and Decatur Heritage earlier this week, Cullman was back on the court at Bearcat Arena Wednesday night to play Hewitt-Trussville in the final matchup of this year’s Coach Mike Dean Turkey Shootout. The Huskies gave Cullman problems on the defensive end throughout the night and were able to pull away late to give the Bearcats their first loss of the season, 62-39.
Brooks Loftin laid one in to tie the game at 2 early in the first quarter but an 8-0 run from the Huskies put the ‘Cats behind 10-2. Evan Wilson knocked down a three later in the period to make it a 10-5 game, but Hewitt-Trussville was able to extend its lead to 14-5 by the start of the second quarter.
Three-pointers from Sam Dorough and Loftin trimmed the lead to 14-11 early in the second but another scoring run from the Huskies made it a 19-11 game. Baskets by Loftin and Gray Hopper stopped the run and cut the lead to 19-15 midway through the second quarter. Jake Dorough laid one in to make it a 3-point game later in the period, but Hewitt-Trussville scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 24-17 lead into the halftime break.
A three-pointer from Preston Gay made it a 29-20 game early in the third quarter and after a 7-0 run from the Huskies, Owen Graves laid one in to hold the lead to 36-23. Emory Bonds split a pair of free throws and Hopper scored inside to make it a 10-point game with two minutes remaining in the third. Gay hit a pair of free throws to make it 40-28 in the final minute of the period and the Bearcats went into the final frame trailing 42-29.
Three-pointers by Hopper and Wilson cut the lead to 44-35 early in the fourth quarter. Jake Dorough drove to the basket and laid one in to make it 46-37 but the Huskies turned up the intensity on the defensive end, outscoring Cullman 16-2 in the final five minutes to pull away with a 62-39 win.
Loftin led the Bearcats with nine points in the loss. Hopper finished with eight, Wilson posted six and Gay added five. Jake Dorough and Loftin both earned all-tournament honors.
Cullman (6-1) will be back home at Bearcat Arena to play Arab Monday night.
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