Brewer and Priceville split in battle of rivals

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A 44-point shooting performance by senior Josh Bedwell gave Priceville's Bulldogs (8-4, 1-2) all the firepower they needed and then some as they knocked down Brewer's Patriots (6-8) 80-65 in a hard-fought battle at Priceville Gymnasium Friday night.
The Lady Patriots (7-4) breezed by the Lady Bulldogs (7-5) 78-45 with seven players scoring eight or more points.
Bedwell's 44 points equaled a career high scoring mark he set last season. He canned 27 points in the first half and added 17 in the second, hitting on 15 of 22 shots from the field. He hit on nine of 13 three-point shots with one of them coming from just inside the mid-court line as the first half ended.
"I felt good going in and once I started hitting I just kept shooting," Bedwell said. "It was one of my better games and it's always great to win when you're playing a county rival."
"Josh had a great game but some of the other guys stepped up and contributed when the pressure was on him," said Priceville head coach Darrell Haynes.
"I told the players before the game to go out and have fun. They played with a lot of energy. It was a lift after losing two games in a row," he added.
Priceville's Robert Varner and JaColby Reid each had 13 points. Varner also had 12 rebounds. Reid had three steals.
Senior center Rusty Boyd led the Patriots in scoring with 28 points. Alex Brown followed with 10.
The Bulldogs were ahead 15-14 after the first period, 45-32 at halftime and 58-51 after three periods.
The Patriots had a good run in the third period and were able to cut Priceville's lead to three points (54-51) with 1:06 left. Then the Bulldogs pulled away for good by scoring nine unanswered points.
In the girls' game, Brewer's Lady Patriots led all the way. They had a 22-12 advantage after one period, were ahead 41-24 at halftime and in command 56-35 after three periods.
Senior center Courtney Scott was a dominating player in the low post for much of the game. She scored six of Brewer's first eight points on easy lay-ups and finished the game with a team high 16 points,
"We try to get the ball to Scott in the low post when she gets single coverage because she has the ability to post up, catch the ball and score," Brewer head coach Ricky Allen said. "When she gets double coverage, it opens up scoring opportunities for other players."
Brewer also got double-figure scoring from three other players. They were Emily Dabbs with 14 points and Genie Browning and Andrea Crawford with 13 each. Crawford also had nine assists. Meagan Hormel and Scott had nine and seven rebounds, respectively.
Keila Hamlin paced the Lady Patriots in scoring with nine points. Allison White had eight.