Tigers fall in game one of Golden era
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Tigers tipped off the Josh Golden era with a 51-50 loss on the road at Brewer this past Thursday. It was the first game for the Tigers, who returned just one starter from last season. Brewer entered the game as the more experienced squad, returning all five starters from last season.
“I thought it was a great high school basketball game in a fun environment,” Hartselle head coach Josh Golden said. “I give a lot of credit to Brewer. They are a senior laden team that has been together a long time and they are well coached. I thought our guys played really hard. Certainly, our youth showed at times. At one point, we had two freshmen and three sophomores on the floor but I was proud that the moment didn’t seem too big for them in front of a packed house.” The Tigers got off to a strong start as they jumped out to an 18-11 first quarter lead. Senior Ty Odom scored seven points and sophomore Reed Springer added six as Hartselle built a sevenpoint lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw the young Tigers struggling to build on the first quarter momentum as they were only able to score six points. The Patriots on the other hand scored 14, including a 40-foot buzzer beater by Austyn Holmes to take a 25-24 lead into halftime.
Odom got hot in the third quarter, scoring all 13 of the Tigers’ points,as he outscored the Patriots 13-11. Hartselle was able to grab a 37-36 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. As the game drew to a close, the lead changed hands multiple times in the final two minutes. The Patriots took the final lead of the game with less than five seconds remaining when Cam Ballinger knocked down two free throws giving Brewer the 51-50 lead.
“We took the lead twice with under a minute to go. On the last possession I thought we played really good defense, but we just weren’t able to secure the rebound that led to Brewer’s final two points.” Odom finished with a game-high 26 points and four rebounds to lead the Tigers. Gray Bennich added 11 points, four steals and three rebounds, while Springer finished with six points. Rhett Boyd finished with seven rounds.
Jackson Dunn and Austyn Holmes each finished with 13 points to lead the Patriots. Cason Oden added 12 points. Dayton Wilson finished with a career-high five blocks.
