HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Hanceville Bulldogs tipped off area play against Locust Fork Friday night and the Bulldog squads ended up splitting the matchups. In the varsity girls’ game, Hanceville jumped out to an early lead and the Lady Bulldogs pulled away in the second half to knock off Locust Fork 56-44. In the varsity boys’ game, Hanceville fell behind early and wasn’t able to recover, leading to a 66-48 loss for the Bulldogs.
Hanceville 56 – Locust Fork 44 (Varsity Girls)
Kynzlee Farr drilled a long jumper to put Hanceville on the scoreboard first, then later in the quarter, Alex Twitty and Kerrigon Moore each scored in the paint to give them an early 6-3 lead. The Lady Hornets ended up scoring the next four points to take a 7-6 lead, but Alex Twitty scored five straight points for the Lady Bulldogs to give them the lead right back at 11-7. A pair of Farr free throws made it 13-7, and Alex Twitty finished a strong quarter with a three from the left wing to make it a 16-10 game going into the second quarter.
Hanceville continued their red-hot shooting from deep, as threes by Piper Butts and Farr stretched their lead to 22-10. A three-point play by Locust Fork cut it to 22-13, but free throws by Aaliyah and Alex Twitty and Moore made it 26-14. Mattie Keith put in a pair of baskets in the paint, and Mckenzie Aaron drained a long jumper to give Hanceville a 32-19 lead late in the second. A basket down low by Aaliyah Twitty and a free throw by Keith increased their lead to 35-23 at the half.
Hanceville’s lead only grew wider in the third quarter, as Keith’s rebound and putback, and back-to-back baskets by Moore and Keith saw their lead swell to 41-23. Aaliyah Twitty put in a basket in the paint to make it 43-26, and the Lady Bulldogs would take a 43-29 lead into the final period. A rebound and putback by Aaliyah Twitty and a basket down low by Moore made it 47-31. The Lady Hornets went on a little run, as they ended up cutting it to 49-39, but Hanceville didn’t let them get closer than that the rest of the game. A basket in the paint by Aaliyah Twitty and two free throws each by Alex Twitty and Farr stretched their lead to 55-41, and the Lady Bulldogs would go on to pick up a huge 56-44 region win over Locust Fork.
Alex Twitty finished with 14 points for Hanceville (4-4, 1-0). Aaliyah Twitty posted 12 points and Farr and Keith each added nine points.
Locust Fork 66 – Hanceville 48 (Varsity Boys)
Peyton Twilley knocked down a short jumper, and Drake Bentley drained a pair from the line, as that gave Hanceville an early 4-2 lead. That lead was short-lived, though, as Locust Fork went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-4 lead. Twilley got fouled while shooting a three and ended up hitting all three free throws to cut it to 13-7 late in the first. The Hornets, though, scored the final five points of the quarter to make it an 18-7 game after one.
Locust Fork would stretch their lead to 24-7 to start out the second quarter, but Hanceville answered right back with a big run of their own. Bentley scored the first five points of the run, then a basket in the paint by Brodie Brenner, followed by a top of the key trey by Twilley, cut it to 24-17 with 4:28 remaining in the first half. The Hornets, though, would answer right back with a 10-3 run to make it a 34-20 game. Bentley drilled a long-range trey just before the buzzer sounded to trim it to an 11-point game at 34-23 at the half.
Bentley put in a driving layup, and Brenner buried a three to cut it to 37-28 early in the third quarter. Another big run by Locust Fork quickly pushed their lead to 49-28. Four straight points by Brenner and a free throw by Twilley made it a 53-33 game going into the final quarter. A rebound and putback by Samuel Abney and a three-point play by Twilley cut it to 58-38. Late baskets by Bentley and Twilley made it a 64-47 game, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome for Hanceville, as they ended up dropping their region opener to the Hornets, 66-48.
Bentley led the way for Hanceville (3-7, 0-1) with 19 points. Twilley finished just behind with 18 points and Brenner posted nine points.
Hanceville will continue area play next Tuesday at J.B. Pennington.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
