Tigers fall to Hazel Green in subregional play

For the Enquirer

The Hartselle Tigers and coach Josh Golden saw their season come to a close with a 50-46 loss on the road at 6A Area 16 champion Hazel Green.

“I am proud of the guys’ effort and performance tonight,” Golden said. “We came here as underdogs and pushed the Trojans to the final buzzer. We made them earn this victory.” The Tigers struggled early on with the Trojans’ size in the paint and fell behind. However, Hartselle rallied to lead 12-11 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 25-19 at the half after holding Hazel Green to eight points in the second quarter.

Following the halftime break, the Tigers struggled offensively and were held to just two points in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Trojans scored 13 points to take a 3227 lead into the fourth.

Hazel Green extended their lead to 10 points before the Hartselle offense found their groove. They chipped away at the lead, cutting it to one at 42-41. But the Trojans showed why they were area champs, securing the 50-46 victory.

Reed Springer finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists to lead Hartselle. Ty Odom and Gray Bennich each had 10 points. Rhett Boyd added six points.

Earlier in the week, the Tigers finished runner-up in the area tournament, falling 61-31 to Muscle Shoals. Hartselle defeated Athens 49-39 in the area tournament semifinals to get to the championship game.

Bennich finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals to lead Hartselle in the Muscle Shoals game. Odom added nine points.

Bennich and Odom each scored 14 points to lead the Tigers to a win over Athens. Bennich also had eight rebounds. Springer added eight points, while Brady Stiles had seven.

“Despite the loss spite the loss to Hazel Green, the future is extremely bright for Hartselle,” Golden said. “We will return four starters and three bench players who saw plenty of action in the subregional game.”