WEST POINT, Ala. — Day one of the 2021 Cullman County Basketball Tournament concluded with a pair of JV boys matchups at West Point High School Saturday night. In the first game, the third-seeded West Point Warriors, dominated no. 6 Vinemont 43-13 and the no. 2 seed, Good Hope, pulled away in the second half to defeat the no. 7 Cold Springs 53-32.
West Point 43 – Vinemont 13 (JV Boys)
West Point got on the scoreboard first on a basket down low by Ashton Rodgers almost a minute into the game. Rodgers, along with Kolten Perry, Christopher Owens, and Kanen Trussell, helped the Warriors get off to a 10-0 lead before Vinemont finally got on the scoreboard with 2:11 left in the opening period on a basket by Toby Hill. Perry added another basket down low to give West Point a 12-2 lead after one.
The second quarter was more of the second as Vinemont couldn’t get anything going against a suffocating Warrior defense. West Point had five different players score in the second quarter, including baskets from Aiden Dujoud, John Cochran, and Patrick Adcock, as they pushed the lead to 23-2, but the Eagles cut into the deficit to end the quarter as four straight points by Hill made it 23-6 at the half.
Kanaan Sutter and Hill each traded baskets to start out the second half to make it 25-8, but the Warriors went on a 16-1 run to blow the game wide open as Perry added six points, Trussell had four, and Dujoud, Rodgers, and Sutter each added a basket as well and West Point built its lead up to 30 at 41-11. The hot clock was in effect for the final period and the Warriors wound up taking the game, 43-13, as they moved on to the semi-final round.
Perry finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds for West Point. Rodgers added eight points, three rebounds and four steals. Trussell ended up with five points and three steals and Sutter finished with four points, six rebounds and six steals. For Vinemont, Hill ended up with nine points, while Brody Speer and Tristan Poole each added two points.
Good Hope 53 – Cold Springs 32 (JV Boys)
John Mark Smith got the scoring started for Cold Springs with a basket down low, but Good Hope scored the next 12 points, including seven from Tyler Cone; Tucker Malin added a three and Konner Stevens added a basket as well to give the Raiders a 12-2 lead. The Eagles battled back behind Cole Shelton as he scored five points and Cold Springs made it a 16-8 game after one.
Stevens, Malin and Weston Hancock each scored a basket for the Raiders to start out the second period as they stretched the lead to 22-8, but John Mark Smith drilled back-to-back threes to make it a six-point game with 5:01 remaining in the first half. Seth Ingram added a basket down low as Cold Springs made it 22-18 with less than four minutes to go in the half, but Malin hit a pair of layups to make it a 26-16 game at the half.
A rebound and put-back by Cody Smith, followed by a trey from John Mark Smith, cut the Eagle deficit to 28-21 with 4:20 remaining in the third period, but Good Hope would counter with another huge run of their own as Cone’s three-point play helped start a 12-0 run as he and Malin each scored five points during the run and Stevens added a pair of free throws as well to help push the Raider lead to 40-21. A Cody Smith basket made it a 40-23 game after three.
Another John Mark Smith trey, followed by a Dillan Burgess basket, cut the Good Hope lead to 40-28, but the duo of Stevens and Cone helped put any dreams of a Cold Springs comeback to rest as they each scored five points during a 10-0 run to help increase the lead to 50-28 and the Raiders moved on to the semi-final round with a 53-32 win over the Eagles.
Cone led the way for Good Hope with 19 points and six steals. Stevens added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Malin also ended up with 14 points; he added a pair of steals and a block as well. Hancock finished with six points, 10 rebounds and three steals. For Cold Springs, John Mark Smith finished with 14 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Shelton added five points and Cody Smith ended up with four points, seven rebounds and a steal. (2) Good Hope and (3) West Point will face off in the semi-final round at Holly Pond on Tuesday night at 7:45 p.m.
