CULLMAN – The St. Bernard Christmas Tournament kicked off last night, with St. Bernard playing host to the Sumiton Christian Eagles and Lady Eagles, the Southeastern Mustangs and Lady Mustangs and the Vinemont Eagles and Lady Eagles.
Sumiton Christian 42, Vinemont 29 (girls)
Game one was a battle of Lady Eagles when Sumiton Christian took the floor against Vinemont. Neither team could mount much of an offense in the first. Sumiton Christian scored the first six points of the game thanks to baskets by Alyson Hays and Amber Haynes with a pair of free throws by Lexi Jackson. Emily Hays added a free throw later in the quarter. Vinemont survived the mini-run and got offense from Maddie Harbison with a three. Sadie Stanley and Kelsey Rogers each added a basket to pull even at 7-7 after one.
The second was a mirror image of the first with both teams matching point for point. The big shot of the quarter came from the hand of Sarah Smith as she buried a bucket at the buzzer to tie the game at 17 all heading to the half.
After a nearly even third where Sumiton Christion was able to squeak out a two-point lead, 26-24, the Sumiton Christian Lady Eagles controlled the fourth. They outscored Vinemont 16-5, thanks in part to nine points by Jackson. Sumiton Christian moved on in the winner’s bracket and dropped Vinemont to the loser’s bracket by a final of 42-29.
Vinemont 46, Sumiton Christian 41 (boys)
From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Vinemont fought in every aspect of the game to emerge as the only local team to record a victory on day one of the St. Bernard Christmas Tournament.
Sumiton Christian jumped out to an early lead on a score by Thornton Muncher and a free throw from Judson Laird but Vinemont stayed close thanks to the play of Seth Campbell, Garrett Boland, Nate England and Dustin Ford. After the dust settled in the first, Sumiton Christian clung to a 14-13 lead.
Sumiton Christian opened the second with a six-point flurry, led by Jeremy Brown. Once again, Vinemont rode out the storm and maintained their composure, matching Sumiton Christian shot for shot the rest of the half. Vinemont trailed by just five at the halftime break.
The third quarter belonged to Vinemont as Corbin Barnett, Carl Price, Boland and Campbell all scored for the red and white Eagles to pull them even with Sumiton Christian, 32-32, heading into the final frame.
Vinemont established their dominance early in the fourth, going on a 7-0 run before Sumiton Christian hit their first bucket of the quarter. Vinemont head coach Todd Johnson had his team keep their foot on the gas for the entire quarter, culminating in a 46-41 victory for his squad.
Southeastern 49, St. Bernard 36 (girls)
Host team St. Bernard took the floor for the first time on the night in game three of day one when they welcomed the Lady Mustangs of Southeastern to town.
Southeastern controlled the opening tip and the early momentum with a 6-0 run before Jaden Edge dropped in the first points for the Lady Saints. Unfortunately for St. Bernard, those were the only points of the quarter as they found themselves down 13-2 after the first eight minutes of play.
Down but not out, the Lady Saints put on an offensive clinic in the second quarter. Led by Emma Tafazzoli with seven and Ashley Duke with six, St. Bernard scored 20 in the quarter and held the Lady Mustangs to just nine to even up the score 22-22 at the half.
St. Bernard started the third like they had left off in the second, scoring the first four points of the frame, but they were only able to score once more in the quarter. The Lady Mustangs ended the third with a flurry, scoring the last nine of the quarter and taking a 34-28 lead to the fourth.
Southeastern continued to apply pressure defensively while hitting their open shots on the offensive side of the floor. The Lady Mustangs outscored St. Bernard 15-8 in the fourth to take the game 49-36.
Southeastern 55, St. Bernard 44 (boys)
The last contest of day one was a boys' contest between the Saints of St. Bernard and the Mustangs of Southeastern. The first quarter of play was all of the run and gun that was expected from the two well-conditioned teams. St. Bernard got the best of the Mustangs early to forge a 15-11 lead at the end of one.
The second played out much like the first with St. Bernard hitting their open shots and Southeastern picking up points in the paint. The two teams played to a virtual stalemate with the Saints holding on to a 23-18 lead at halftime.
Thanks in part to the shooting of 6’4” sophomore Jordan Graham, Southeastern closed the five-point gap in the third, tying the score at 33-33 as they headed to the final and deciding frame.
The Mustangs quickly took control of the quarter and the game, opening the fourth with four quick points to force a St. Bernard timeout. The break in the action did not seem to slow down the visiting team as they extended their lead to 12 on the strength of a 12-0 run. St. Bernard fought back but could not overcome the early quarter onslaught, falling to Southeastern by a final of 55-44.
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