By Staff
Clif Knight &Charles Prince, Hartselle Enquirer
The Danville Hawks are off to an impressive 6-0 start after capturing the title in the Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament. The Hawks were one of seven local teams to compete on the hardwood during the holiday break.
"We beat three schools out of Class 4A. That's pretty good," Danville coach Robert Pope said. "We played well the entire tournament. I thought Nate (Orr) and Matt (Young) were solid the whole way. All the starters played well and our bench was solid."
Danville opened the tourney on Thursday night with a 58-46 win over West Point. Nate Orr led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Matt Young had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. DJ Bridges scored 10, grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists, while Dexter Wimberly scored five, had two rebounds and two assists. Stratton Garner added eight points, while Patrick Pinchon and Chris Vest had two each.
In the semi-finals Danville turned back Hayden 57-51 after holding a double-digit lead.
Orr poured in 22 and grabbed seven rebounds, while Young scored 13, grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists. Garner had six, Vest and Pinchon five each, Wimberly three, Bridges two and Alex Archer scored one. Pinchon added eight rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals to power the Hawks' defense. Danville's outside shooting was key, as the Hawks sank seven three-point shots.
In the finals the Hawks trailed by one at halftime, but pulled away in the second half on their way to a 59-42 win over Corner.
"Our defense was the key to winning the championship game," Pope said. "Our half court defense didn't give them many good shots. Our kids were hustling all night."
Young scored 12, grabbed seven rebounds and added four assists. Pinchon scored 11 and pulled down eight rebounds, while Orr scored nine, in addition to six rebounds and four assists. Vest scored 10, while Bridges scored eight and had 10 boards. Garner had six and Wimberly three to round out the Hawk offense.
Homewood Invitational
Hartselle led by one-point at halftime, but a cold shooting third-period allowed Spain Park to grab the lead and go onto a 50-41 win in the tourney semi-finals. The setback was the first loss of the season for Hartselle.
Shan Jones had 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead Hartselle. Anna Reeves added 10, while Mary Virginia Reeves added eight points and seven rebounds. Lauren Drake scored four and Tess Hill added two.
The Lady Tigers bounced back to win the third-place game over Pelham, 55-43.
Drake poured in 18 to lead all scorers. She added nine rebounds. Jones scored 13 and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Mary Virginia Reeves scored 14. Anna Reeves and Jessica Andrews had four each, while Kayla Orr scored two.
SportsMed Shootout
Hartselle fell to 6A Grissom 57-51 in the opening round of play. Coach Johnny Berry said the Tigers foul shooting (they hit 22-of-33) let a close game slip away.
Samuel Massey scored 20, while Keith Rodgers scored 15 and grabbed 11 boards. Eric Norwood followed with five points, while Alex Thompson had three more, Jackson Holmes, Loren Grantland and Steven Chop all scored two each. Daxton Maze and Mitchell Klan had one each.
The Tigers bounced back to whip Grenada, Ms., 45-44. Hartselle trailed by 10 at the half, but roared back behind the scoring of Rodgers and Massey, who scored 13 and 10, respectively. Justin Billings and Maze added six each, while Holmes had four and Grantland added three. Alex Flannagin scored two and Norwood added one.
Next, the Tigers fell to Austin for the second time this season, 71-63. Rodgers scored 14, Norwood 13 and Billings 12 to lead the way. Massey added nine, Maze six, Holmes five, while Flannagin and Chop had two each.
Lawrence County Thanksgiving Tournament
The Blue Devils lost to host Lawrence County High School and Hatton in the Lawrence County Thanksgiving Tournament last week, falling to 1-5 on the season. The Blue Devils were outscored by Lawrence County, 58-37, in the tournament's opening round on Friday. They trailed 22-8 after one period, 44-25 at halftime and 58-37 after three periods.
Heath Alford paced the losing effort with 24 points. Cody Sewell added eight points. Chris Pugh knocked down 15 points for the winners. Miles King followed with 12 points.
In the consolation game on Saturday, the Blue Devils lost to Hatton, 83-72. They were behind 22-7 after one period, 41-25 at halftime and 57-45 after three periods.
Alford paced the Blue Devil attack with 19 points. Cody Tapscott scored 13 points. Thomas Holt and Adam Dye paced Hatton's offense with 11 points each.
"We hurt ourselves with turnovers and poor free throw shooing, 18-of-42 attempts, in the Hatton game," said Blue Devils head coach Yancey Randolph. "But they played better in the second half."
"In the last two or three games, we have gotten behind early and had to play catch up.
"We knew before the season started that our lack of experience would be hard to overcome and that's been the case.
"We're still struggling to get the offense down." he pointed out.
"I applaud our kids for their great attitude and good work ethic. "They're going to get better," he added.
The Blue Devils recorded their only win of the season against Mount Hope on Nov. 12.
Athens Bible Thanksgiving Tournament
The Priceville Bulldogs whipped Skyline High in the opening round, 64-56. Ryan Mouser scored 15 and grabbed six boards, while Josh Bedwell added 13 and had eight rebounds and five assists.
Stephen Hardiman had 11 points and seven rebounds. Alex Cannon added eight more, while Andrew Johnson added seven more. Dale Taylor had six points and six boards, while Will Stevens and KC Green added two each.
Priceville fell to Lexington in the next round, 65-43 and slipped to 2-4 on the season.
Hardiman and Taylor had nine each, while Cannon and Mouser had five points and five rebounds each.
Johnson had three points and five rebounds, while Green added three more and Bedwell added two points and five boards. Stevens scored one.
Priceville won their final tourney game over Covenant High, 58-52.
Bedwell led the way with 21 points and five boards, while Taylor added 16 points and five boards of his own. Cannon added nine, Johnson and Mouser four each, while Stevens and Hardiman had two each. Mouser handed our four assists.
Scottsboro Thanksgiving Tournament
Brewer High School's Patriots lost to Buckhorn, 72-57, and defeated Daphne, 79-36, in the Scottsboro Thanksgiving Tournament Nov. 26-27.
The loss was the first of the season for the Patriots.
They came out of the tourney with a 4-1 record.
In the opening round against Buckhorn on Friday, the Patriots got off to a slow start and were never able to catch up.
They trailed 19-14 after one period, 36-23 at halftime and 48-42 after three periods.
Austin Mooney canned 17 points to lead the Brewer offense.
Matt Wilson chipped in 12 and Matt Cobbs added 10. Trant Simpson paced the winners with 26 points. Tony Montague had 10.
On Saturday, the Patriots bounced back with an impressive win over Daphne.
They were out front 20-9 after one period, 46-16 at halftime and 64-29 after three quarters.
Mooney paced the win with 22 points. Neilsen followed with 19 and Alex Brown had 10. Cobs had seven assists.
"Buckhorn shot the ball well and we didn't defend as well as we should have," said Brewer head coach Sam Brown.
"We played better against Daphne. We got off to a fast start and did a much better job on defense."