Tigers pick up two area victories
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Tigers continued their impressive run over the last three weeks, winning three games last week and extended their streak to eight wins in the last 10 games.
“The team is playing really well right now as we picked up three victories this last week,” head coach Josh Golden said. “They learned to play through adversity in two of our three victories. Our next three games, including two on the road, will test our will but will make us stronger in the long run.” Hartselle 63, Hayden 53 The Tigers entered their Randy Jones Classic matchup with Hayden in David versus Goliath fashion. The Wildcats had three players who had a significant height advantage over the Tigers. But Hartselle played with the heart of David to get the victory.
After a back and forth first couple of minutes, the Tigers went on a 19-5 run to take a 21-9 lead late in the first quarter. Hayden answered with a 6-0 run to close the quarter and cut the lead to 21-15.
Hartselle continued to pull away from the Wildcats in the second as they outscored Hayden 17-7 to extend their lead to 38-22 heading into halftime.
The third quarter belonged to the Wildcats as they outscored the Tigers 12-10 to cut the lead to 48-34 heading into the final quarter.
Hayden started to use their size advantage in the fourth as they looked to score in the point to compliment their three-point shooting. But it was the Tigers who looked to pull away, pushing their lead to 55-40 early in the fourth. The Wildcats responded with a 10-3 run to cut the lead to eight but that would be as close as they would get as Hartselle held on for the 10-point victory.
Ty Odom finished with 27 points to lead the Tigers (8-4) to victory. Reed Spring added 12 points, while Aiden Pointer had six points.
Hartselle 67, Decatur 51 Hartselle opened their area matchup with Decatur with a 20-4 run on their way to a 67-51 area win over the Red Raiders.
Decatur fought hard over the second and third quarters as they tried to get back in the game. The Tigers saw the Red Raiders get as close as nine in the second quarter and eight in the third.
Hartselle, after seeing their lead fall to 47-38 late in the third quarter, closed the game on a 20-12 run to earn the 16-point victory.
Gray Bennich led Hartselle with 18 points, while Odom added 16 points. Carter Sheats, Rhett Boyd and Springer each had seven points. Sheats also had seven assists and four rebounds.
Hartselle 61, Athens 49 The Tigers opened area play with a visit from the Athens Golden Eagles and found themselves struggling for much of the game. The Golden Eagles led 11-9 after the first quarter. They opened the second on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 19-9 before the Tigers rallied and outscored Athens 13-6 to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 25-22 heading into halftime.
After both teams went scoreless for the first three minutes of the third quarter, Athens pushed their lead to 35-27 with a 10-5 run. The Tigers responded with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 37-37 to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with the teams trading baskets and Hartselle leading 42-41 early in the final quarter. The Tigers then went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 48-41. After Athens cut the lead to 48-45, the Golden Eagles began to fall apart as they were hit with four technical fouls over the final four minutes of the game leading to eight Hartselle free throws. Odom made seven of the eight free throws as he scored 12 points in the quarter. The Tigers outscored Athens 13-4 over the final four minutes to get the 12-point victory.
Odom finished with 27 points and four rebounds to lead Hartselle. Sophomore Brady Stiles added 12 points including seven consecutive in the third quarter. Sheats added seven points.
