FALKVILLE – West Point and Hartselle laid it on the line in a well-played contest at Falkville's Elementary gymnasium Tuesday. When it was over, Hartselle prevailed by a 71-58 decision.
Both teams executed on both ends of the floor, but Hartselle showed a little more firepower down the stretch after West Point cut a 15-point deficit to six with 9:00 remaining in the game. The Tigers flexed their muscles and controlled the battle for the rest of the way, sending the Warriors to their first loss on the Falkville campus in two days.
The game was a family affair with Hartselle coach Faron Key facing his brother-in-law, West Point's Randy Jones. A good, vocal crowd added to the atmosphere with the game very intense throughout 40 minutes.
West Point shot well early, with threes coming by Colby Sullins and Kolton Sapp on back-to-back possessions that propelled the Warriors to a 12-6 lead, four minutes in.
Hartselle produced a 7-0 run and moved ahead 13-12. Then the two swapped the lead on the scoreboard the next two possessions as Hartselle was back ahead 15-14 at the 13:04 mark.
A pair of treys from the Tiger guards enabled Hartselle to raise the score to 31-20 and force West Point into a series of catch-up hoops.
The Warriors managed to hang close with a three by Noah Allison being their final basket of the half. Intermission arrived with the Warriors down 39-30, but still in contention.
Things didn't start well for West Point in the second half. Hartselle sprinted out to a 47-32 spread as the Warriors went almost five minutes not getting on the scoreboard.
But they never stopped their game, even with Hartselle giving them pressure defense when the ball was in frontcourt.
A three-point play from sophomore center Tyler Thompson had the Warriors down 54-48 with 8:45 to go. The youngster scored on consecutive possessions and West Point had momentum.
But that quickly changed with the Tigers scored three treys in a 15-5 run, extending the advantage to 69-53 by the 2:00 mark.
Austin Dubberly accounted for the last two field goals for the Warriors, one off the glass and a three-point play near the final minute.
Sapp had the hot hand for the Warriors with 14, Sullins drilled nine, Thompson eight, Skyler Bowers seven, Noah Allison and Dubberly five each and Rylan Jones and Dalton White four apiece.
After the loss to Hartselle, the Warriors finished up the day meeting Falkville in Tom Drake Gymnasium. West Point led early and was never challenged by the Blue Devils. The final score was 90-48. A basket by Gammon surpassed the total points by one team of Hartselle's 85 in an easy win over New Hope (85-28).
The Warriors were 2-1 for the day and 5-1 through two days here in Morgan County with two more trips to come.
West Point will conclude the play-day series by traveling to Hartselle on Thursday and coming to Falkville for a series of games on Friday.
West Point girls:
Another good adventure was had by the West Point Lady Warriors, who postted a 3-0 record Tuesday at Douglas.
Coach John Welborn's Lady Warriors, who have been in sync all month, finish up their schedule with games at Russellville High School.
Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
