Franklin County Times

The Belgreen Bulldogs boy’s varsity team avenged its first loss of the season by defeating the Phil Campbell Bobcats 67-50 in the final game of the Franklin County Tournament on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and managed to stay ahead throughout the contest.

“This was a total team effort,” Belgreen head coach Greg Watson said. “They have some good shooters that we were able to guard, and if we could hold them to 50 [points] then we know we were doing good.”

Belgreen jumped out to an early lead that saw them ahead 15-6 by the end of the first quarter. Phil Campbell came firing back, pulling to within 6 by the midpoint of the second.

The Bobcats were down by only three when Jake Tittle hit a lay-up for the Bulldogs, putting them back up by five.

Skeeter Benford hit a 3 for Phil Campbell to pull to within one at 24-23. Tittle hit a 3 of his own followed by Chase Landers drawing an and one for Belgreen.

The Bulldogs ended up with an eight-point lead at 31-23 at the half.

“Playing good teams only makes you better,” Phil Campbell head coach Will Copeland said. “I’m glad we got to play them again in the big game. This makes us nothing but better.”

The Bobcats were still within five points halfway through the third when Chaney Simmons drained a 3-pointer for Belgreen. Cameron Harris answered with a shot from downtown for Phil Campbell, but two free throws by Brock Hester and two shots by Landers put the Bulldogs up by 10 at 42-32 going into the fourth and final quarter.

Zach Leverett of Belgreen and Ben Stancil of Phil Campbell traded 3-pointers. Landers and Simmons hit field goals for the Bulldogs, but Colton Vickery answered with two of his own for the Bobcats.

The contest had been hard-fought throughout, but one defining moment captured the intensity of the two teams’ play.

Jamie Dorroh of Phil Campbell had the ball stripped away by Simmons before reaching midcourt. Dorroh responded by hooking Simmons’ arm and slamming him to the court. Dorroh was immediately called for a technical while Simmons’ teammates restrained him.

This incident ended up being a catalyst for both sides of the gym, as the crowd became very loud and rambunctious throughout the rest of the game, more so than before.

Belgreen had a 50-41 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the contest. The teams traded field goals, but a late run by the Bulldogs allowed them to pull away for the 17-point win.

“We won the tournament last year, and this year was a pride thing,” Watson said. “Hopefully our guys will stay focused and finish the season strong.”

Landers led the Bulldogs in points with 24, while Simmons tallied 11. Also scoring for Belgreen were Tittle (9), Tyler Medina (8), Hester (6), Leverett (5), Jared Mitchell (2) and Dustin Smith (2).

Vickery led Phil Campbell in points with 19. Benford had 14, Harris totaled 8, Stancil added 7 and Chase Swinney contributed 2.