HANCEVILLE, Ala. – West Point and Fairview clashed in Saturday’s second county title game and for the second consecutive season, the Aggies are JV Boys County Champions. Points were hard to come by for both squads but a three-pointer from Zayden Cruce with 35 seconds on the clock put Fairview up by three and helped seal a 33-28 win and a county championship for the Aggies. Fairview Head Coach Logan Baird said his team relied on its defense throughout the game and was proud of the way they maintained their focus when shots weren’t falling.
“We leaned on our defense and our defense was there for four quarters. I’m just really proud of these guys for the way they finished those four quarters.”
Both teams dominated on defense to start out the game. Zayden Cruce knocked down a floater in the first few seconds to give Fairview the early lead, but Colton Thrower drained a trey from the right wing and Ayden Ennis added a basket in the paint to give West Point a 5-2 lead. Calin Collins buried a pair of free throws to cut it to 5-4, but a free throw by Asa Sutter and a layup by Teagan Heaton gave the Warriors an 8-4 lead going into the second period.
Conner Scott knocked down a floater, and Cruce put in a jumper to tie the game up at eight. Nolan Franklin and Kolt Redding each traded baskets to keep the game tied up at 10. J.J. Minck banked in a floater, and Heaton added a basket in the paint to give West Point a 14-10 lead. Redding split his free throws to trim the Aggie deficit to just three at 14-11. The Warriors would take a three-point lead into the locker room.
Camden Cullen scored off a West Point turnover to cut it to 14-13, but a basket on the other end by Franklin gave the Warriors a 16-13 lead. Collins’ and-one tied the game up at 16 early in the third. Later on, a trey by Ennis gave the Warriors a 19-18 lead. Redding, Cruce and Ty Babb each hit a free throw to give the Aggies the lead right back at 21-19 and they took a 2-point lead into the final period.
Collins and Thrower each traded baskets to keep it at a two-point game early in the fourth. A made shot by Cruce gave Fairview a 25-21 lead, but a steal and a layup by Franklin cut it to 25-23. A huge and-one by Asa Sutter gave West Point the lead right back at 26-25. Franklin added another steal and a layup to make it a 28-25 game with less than four minutes to go in the contest. Collins drilled three free throws to tie the game up at 28 with 2:23 remaining in the game. A big trey by Cruce from the left wing gave the Aggies a 31-28 with 35 seconds remaining in the contest. Collins added a pair from the line to help Fairview seal the 33-28 win over West Point to win the JV boys’ county championship.
Collins finished with 12 points for Fairview in the win, and Cruce added 10 points. Franklin led the way for West Point with eight points in the loss.
JV Boys All-County Tournament Team
Camden Cullen, Fairview
Zayden Cruce, Fairview
Nolan Franklin, West Point
Sawyer Harris, West Point
Ayden Black, Good Hope
Kyle McSwain, Good Hope
Hayden Robinson, Vinemont
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