Hartselle sweeps Brooks in regular season finale
For the Enquirer
If the goal was to look as crisp as possible before the postseason, mission accomplished for the Hartselle Tigers.
In the regular season finale on Tuesday, Hartselle swept Brooks, with the boys winning 59-48 and the girls 69-26.
“I thought we got off to a good start. We shot it well and got out in transition,” said Hartselle boys head coach Josh Golden. “They made a little bit of a comeback at the end, but they’re a great team that’s going to make a run in (Class) 4A. Overall I thought we played really well.” In the boys game, Hartselle led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter and 33-18 at halftime. Brooks rallied to cut it to 42-36 at the end of the third quarter, but Hartselle put the game away in the fourth.
Senior Ty Odom led Hartselle with a gamehigh 28 points, while Gray Bennich finished with 14.
Hartselle now prepares for the Class 6A, Area 15 tournament, which will start Monday at Muscle Shoals High School. The Tigers will take on Athens in the first round.
Muscle Shoals swept area play with several close wins this season, while Hartselle, Athens and Decatur all traded wins and losses, making the area tournament a true toss-up.
“I’ve said all year that anybody can beat anybody in this area,” Golden said. “To get through this tournament, we have to go into the game as tight as we’ve been all year and trust each other. We have to share the ball, rebound and find the best shots we can get.
“This is going to be a challenge, but we’re excited. It’s the best time of the year,” Golden said.
Hartselle girls 69, Brooks 26: Hartselle dominated from the tip Tuesday, never allowing the game to be even a little in doubt.
The Tigers led 26-6 at the end of the first quarter and 42-8 at halftime before resting the starters for the entire second half. “We executed very well early, and we were able to get our bench a lot of playing time, which was great,” said Hartselle head coach Amber Deline.
Elsie Boyd and Hannah Burks led Hartselle with 14 points each.
Hartselle will host the Class 6A, Area 15 tournament this coming Monday, facing off against Decatur in the first round. The Tigers have been dominant in area play in recent seasons but did suffered a two-point overtime loss to Muscle Shoals last week.
“First thing’s first, we have to focus on Decatur and then if we make it to the finals and happen to see Muscle Shoals again, you know it’s hard to beat a team three times, so maybe that relieves some of the pressure,” Deline said. “We have a lot of seniors and players that have been there before, so we hope that’s going to be a benefit for us this postseason. Our players know what to expect.”
