Bearcats Win Holly Pond Thanksgiving Tournament

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GAME ONE
West Point 66 – Hartselle 69

It was an offensive explosion in the fifth-place game between the West Point Warriors and the Hartselle Tigers. The Warriors got it going early thanks in part to Cameron Moors who had eight of the 26 Warriors  first quarter points.

Hartselle responded well in the second pushing their first half total to 40, one better than the West Point 39 at the end of the first half.

Tobias Mitchell opened the third quarter with a rim rocking dunk but Tanner Rusk responded with a three from the corner to tie the game. Points were easy to come by but the advantage wasn't. Momentum swung from side to side the entire quarter. The game remained tied for the majority of the quarter but a deep three from Kyle Edde and another two handed jam from Mitchell led to a 5-2 run, ending the quarter with Hartselle on top 55-52 going to the fourth.

Hartselle started the last quarter with a flurry, leading to a 10-4 run and a nine point lead three minutes into the quarter. The run didn't seem to phase the Warriors as they went on an offensive barrage of their own to cut the Tiger lead to just three with 2:34 left to play, but this was as close as the Warriors would come, as Hartselle closed out the game with strong defense and didn't allow West Point a clean look at the basket and took the game 69-66.

GAME TWO
Arab 54 – Pennington 52

The third place game was a tight, back and forth affair and it took overtime to decide the winner. With 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Pennington barely missed a desperation, half-court three and fell to Arab 54-52.

GAME THREE (CHAMPIONSHIP)
Holly Pond 73 – Cullman 75

Cullman jumped out to a quick lead thanks to 9-2 run early thier championship game against the host Holly Pond Broncos. The green and white responded with some good looks at the bucket but could not get them to fall. The result was a healthy 24-11 lead for Cullman after one quarter of play.

Holly Pond came fighting back in the second, rattling off an 8-0 run cut the Bearcat lead to five. Back and forth went the action for the rest of the quarter with each team hitting key shots. At the end of two, Cullman held the 37-34 advantage.

The Broncos were on fire to open the third, snapping off a 9-2 run that gave them their first lead of the night 43-39. Cullman fought back late in the quarter, sparked by  Seth Swalve lay up and one to give Cullman the lead back. Matt Cahoon quickly responded for Holly Pond hitting a three from the top of the key to pull the Broncos back even. Swalve hit the final bucket of the quarter and the Bearcats took a 56-53 lead to the final quarter in a thrilling championship contest.

The lead was pushed to eight two minutes into the final frame, putting the Broncos' back to the wall. Cullman continued to shoot the ball well the entire quarter, pulling ahead by as much as 15 but Holly Pond was not done. A 10-2 run stunned Cullman and forced a time out to slow down the Bronco momentum. The break in the action worked as Cullman was able to hold on and take the title 75-73.