Priceville defeated West Morgan to claim championship honors in the boys’ division of the Morgan County Middle School Basketball Tournament on Saturday night. Team members, from left, are: (front row) Aubrey Richardson, John Williams, Devon Coleman, Da Han Southerland, Will Hughes, Dylan Cross ands managers Hunter Smith and Andrew Bandaslick; (back row) Coach J.R. Dilbeck and son Riley, McClain Thompson, Brandon Speegle, Travis Bandaslick, Eli Freeman, Andrew Hester and manager Tyler Williams. | Clif Knight

Priceville’s boys and Danville’s girls claimed championship titles in the Morgan County Middle School Basketball Tournament at Falkville High School Saturday night.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 17-4 first quarter lead and went on to blast West Morgan’s Rebels 54-27 in the boys final. Danville’s Lady Hawks came out on top in the girls final, posting a 37-31 decision over Eva’s Lady Eagles.

Priceville pushed its lead to 31-12 at halftime and was ahead 44-21 after three quarters.

John Williams led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said head coach J.R. Dilbeck as he stood by and watched his players cut down the net to celebrate the success of their county title run. “This is the toughest team I’ve coached. They love one another and they’ve worked hard every day. In fact, they usually beat me to the gym for practice.”

“After finishing last season at .500, they dedicated themselves to make something special out of this season,” he added.

Danville’s girls pulled out to a 17-13 first half lead thanks to a three-pointer by McKayla Stover with 1:10 left. While they never trailed in the second half, the Lady Hawks led by only one point with 4:30 left in the final quarter thanks to a lay-up by Eva’s Victoria Roberts.

Stover paced the winners in scoring with 21 points. Roberts had 13 points for Eva.

“They played hard and hung in there at the end,” said Danville head coach Gary Walker. “Once we got the lead, they were able to make enough of our shots to stay ahead. “The free throws we made at the end were also a big factor in the game.”

The Lady Hawks finished the season with a perfect 23-0 record.