Backboard buffet

By Staff
From Tennessee to Birmingham, area teams spent their Turkey Days on the basketball court
Justin Schuver and Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Lady Tigers win Homewood Classic
Hartselle's Lady Tigers improved their record to 3-2 as they defeated two Birmingham-area Class 6A schools to win the Homewood Classic over Thanksgiving break.
Hartselle opened the tournament with a 49-42 win over Spain Park on Friday, and came away with a 52-28 win in the championship game against Pelham.
Against Pelham, the Lady Tigers held the Lady Panthers to just three free throws in the second half, outscoring their opponent 27-3 in that span.
"We're really trying to stress the defensive end of the court right now," Hartselle coach Greg Adams said. "Some of our big scorers aren't scoring a lot right now, so we're hoping to use defense to win games while we work out our offensive problems."
Against Spain Park, Lauren Drake led the Lady Tigers with 22 points. Anna Reeves followed with eight and Mary Virginia Reeves had six. Drake also led the team with 10 rebounds. Jessica Andrews had five assists.
In the championship game against Pelham, Shan Jones led the way with 20 points, followed by Mary Virginia Reeves with 10 and Drake with nine. Drake had 13 rebounds and Anna Reeves and Andrews led the team with three assists each.
Tigers drop pair at SportsMed Shootout
Hartselle dropped two games at the SportsMed Shootout at Huntsville's Von Braun Center over Thanksgiving break, falling to 0-5 on the season.
The Tigers opened the tournament with a 60-33 loss to Madison Academy Thursday and followed with a close 51-44 loss to Lee-Huntsville Friday. Madison Academy finished in third place in the 16-team tournament.
"Madison Academy was probably the biggest team we're going to play all year," Hartselle coach Johnny Berry said. "They caused a lot of problems for us. That's a team that you have to shoot the ball well to beat, and we didn't shoot very well."
Against Lee-Huntsville, Hartselle played a much more competitive game and the Tigers were down just four points after three quarters. But the Tigers were never able to get the score much closer and finished the tournament still searching for their first win of the season.
"We had a chance against Lee," Berry said. "Their pressure bothered us a little, but we were able to work through it and did a great job on defense. We probably played our best defense all season in that game."
Against Madison Academy, Clay Whatley led the Tigers with nine points, followed by Jackson Holmes with seven and Victor Stansbury with five. Whatley also led the team with six rebounds.
Three players scored in double figures for Madison Academy – Tyler Hanback with 19, James Doggette with 15 and Bawa Moniru with 12.
Steven Chop led the team in scoring against Lee-Huntsville with 13 points. Johnny Jones had seven points and three players scored five. Holmes had five rebounds and Chop pulled down four boards.
Stansbury and Nick Flannagin each picked up three assists, and Flannagin added three steals. Darian Stewart led Lee-Huntsville with 16 points.
Patriots take third place at East Limestone
The Patriots finished in third place at the East Limestone Tournament over Thanksgiving break, defeating Albertville 53-30 on Friday afternoon before losing to Tanner 67-57 later that night.
Brewer then defeated East Limestone 55-44 in the consolation game. The Patriots' record currently stands at 4-2 for the season.
In the victory over East Limestone, the Patriots held an 11-2 advantage after one quarter of play and a 13-point lead after a half as they cruised to an easy victory.
Matt Nielsen led the team with 16 points, followed by Alex Brown with 11 and Rusty Boyd with 10. Tyler Shelton had eight rebounds and Boyd pulled down seven boards. Brown also led the Patriots in assists, with six.
East Limestone's Chad DeWitt scored 15 in a losing effort.
Against Tanner, Brewer held a 32-31 halftime lead but could not hold on as they dropped their second game of the season. Nielsen scored 24 points and Boyd had 20 in the loss.
DaMarcus King led the Rattlers with 25 points.
In its game against Albertville, Brewer opened up a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back.
Matt Nielsen paced the team with 18 points against Albertville, while Alex Brown also reached double-figures with 10 points. Tyler Shelton had six rebounds and Rusty Boyd and Nielsen each had five boards. Levi Stevens led the Aggies with seven points.
Lady Patriots finish 1-2 at Tennessee tournament
Brewer's Lady Patriots finished 1-2 at the Bradley Central Thanksgiving Tournament in Cleveland, Tenn. Brewer dropped its first two games of the tournament, 46-40 to Beardon (Tenn.) Thursday and 68-66 to Gatlinburg-Pittman (Tenn.) Friday before finishing Saturday with a 57-50 win over Pigeon Forge (Tenn.).
In the win over Pigeon Forge, the Lady Patriots were led by Nichole Hayes' 25 points and Ashley West's 17. Meagan "Chili" Hormel led the team with seven rebounds.
Against Gatlinburg-Pittman, the Lady Patriots were led by West with 16. Also scoring in double figures were Andrea Crawford with 15, Hormel with 14 and Hayes with 13. Hormel had 10 rebounds and Cristen Slate added nine.
The Lady Patriots shot just 40 percent from the field and 13 percent from the three-point arc (2-of-13) in their loss to Beardon. Crawford finished with 17 points and hit both Brewer three-pointers.
West added 13 points and Slate led with nine rebounds and five assists. Hormel had a team-high four steals.
Danville loses twice in Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament
Danville's Hawks fell twice in the Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament, losing to West Point, 59-58, and Hayden, 44-37. The Hawks entered the tournament with a 3-0 record.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Hawks led West Point 14-12 after one period, 35-31 at halftime and 48-43 after three periods before falling behind late in the game.
"We had a couple of turnovers late in the game that hurt," Danville head coach Robert Pope said. "But we also had two or three opportunities to win and weren't able to take advantage of them."
Chris Vest paced the Hawks with 23 points and seven rebounds. Stratton Garner followed with nine points and eight rebounds, Tyree Murphy had eight points and five assists and Roger Smith knocked down eight points and added eight rebounds.
Justin Monk led the winners with 18 points. Nick Graham added 11 points.
The Hawks outscored Hayden 13-9 in the first quarter and were ahead 18-17 at halftime in a Friday game.
"We had a horrible third quarter," Pope said. "It was one of those games where we were flat and just couldn't get anything going our way."
Vest paced the Hawks with 19 points and nine rebounds. Roger Smith had seven points.
Priceville finishes third in Hanceville Tournament
Priceville's Bulldogs defeated Hanceville, 60-50, on Saturday to claim third place in the Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Bulldogs had to overcome a 28-22 halftime deficit to claim the win and pick up their third win against three losses on the season.
Alex Cannon led the Bulldogs in scoring by knocking down five three-pointers and scoring 17 points. Stephen Hardiman followed with 12 points. Josh Bedwell had 10 points and 10 assists and K. C. Green canned eight points.
Xavier Malcolm led Hanceville with 14 points. Tristan Purifoy and Greg Dulz each added 10 points.
The Bulldogs blitzed Hayden, 62-43, in the opening round on Thursday night. They were ahead 24-10 after one period and 37-21 at halftime.
Bedwell scored 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Marco Benetti followed with nine points and Alex Cannon added seven points.
Jesse Ship led Hayden with 12 points.
West Point defeated the Bulldogs 73-57 in their second game on Friday night. The Bulldogs led by two, 16-14, after one period and trailed by only one point, 32-31, at halftime.
Bedwell led the Bulldogs with 22 points and five rebounds. Cannon followed with 17 points and Hardiman had seven points and four rebounds.
Justin Monk paced the winners with 19 points. Nick Graham and Chase Mosley each had 17 points.
"We played well against Hayden and were able to come from behind and get a win against Hanceville," Priceville head coach Darrell Haynes said.
"Hopefully, the experience will be a plus for us as we get ready to take on the competition in our area."