Tigers win two at Marx Optical Thanksgiving Classic
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Tigers showed some growth last week in their three games at the Marx Optical Thanksgiving Classic at Priceville. After dropping their opening game to Oakwood, the Tigers rebounded with two dominating wins over quality opponents in John Carroll Catholic and Deshler.
“I was proud of how the team played the last two nights,” head coach Josh Golden said. “We did some growing up as a team in our two victories. We had outstanding performances by Ty and Gray, but the victories were a total team effort. We worked hard on both ends of the floor and did a lot of the little things that lead to wins.”
Hartselle 74, Deshler 42
With less than two minutes left in the first quarter, the Tigers trailed 17-10, but completely turned the game around by cutting the lead to 17-16 at the end of the first quarter. They continued their run in the second quarter as they outscored Deshler 16-7 to take a 32-24 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was dominated by Hartselle as they continued to pull away by outscoring Deshler 20-7 to take a commanding 52-31 lead into the fourth quarter. The final quarter saw the Tigers score 22 points in the quarter, outscoring Deshler by 11 to make the final score 74-52.
Sophomore Gray Bennich finished with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Hartselle. Ty Odom added 23 points, while Reed Springer had eight points and five rebounds. Rhett Boyd added eight rebounds and four assists.
Hartselle 79, John Carroll 51 Hartselle entered their game with John Carroll looking to correct some things that led to their 11-point loss to Oakwood Academy to open the Mark Optical Tournament. The Tigers corrections came to fruition in the first quarter of their game with John Carroll as they outscored the Cavaliers 26-17. Hartselle trailed once in the quarter, 10-9, but after that it was all Tigers.
The Tigers continued their impressive play in the second quarter as they outscored John Carroll 18-13 to lead 44-30 at halftime. The third quarter might have been Hartselle’s best quarter of the season thus far. They scored 27 points and held John Carroll to 11 in extending their lead to 71-41 heading into the fourth quarter. With a running clock, the Tigers were outscored 10-8 to make the final score 79-51.
Odom finished with a career-high 31 points to lead Hartselle. He also had six rebounds. Bennich added 12 points, while Asa Priola had nine points and four rebounds. Springer had eight points, three rebounds and three assists, while Aiden Pointer finished with six points and eight rebounds.
Oakwood 65, Hartselle 54
The Tigers found themselves in a battle with Oakwood Academy to open the 2024 Marx Optical Thanksgiving Classic at Priceville.
Oakwood led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime. The Tigers cut into the lead by outscoring Oakwood 18-16 in the third quarter to trail 44-40 heading into the final quarter. Oakwood outscored Hartselle 21-14 in the fourth to win 65-54.
Odom and Bennich each finished with 10 points to lead Hartselle. Odom had five rebounds and four assists, while Bennich had five rebounds. Springer had nine points and Carter Sheats had seven.
