Bobcats repeat as champs in overtime thriller

By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – It took some extra time, but the Phil Campbell varsity boys basketball team was able to defend its title at the Franklin County Basketball Tournament Saturday night thanks to a 56-54 overtime victory against Red Bay.
The Bobcats, which had already lost to Red Bay during two area games this season, blew a five-point lead with 35 seconds to play in regulation. They build a tree-point lead twice in overtime and were able to keep the Tigers at bay to secure the win.
"Everybody makes a run," Phil Campbell coach Darit Riddle said. "You have to weather the storm and play."
The Bobcats led 15-10 at the end of the first, but Red Bay put together a strong second quarter and led 22-20 at halftime. Phil Campbell's Lawrence Butts hit a 3-pointer early in the third to reclaim the lead for the Bobcats.
The teams swapped the lead before Phil Campbell took control late in the third and extended the lead to 36-31 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Red Bay continued to chip away but a basket by Matt Waid gave the Bobcats a 45-40 lead with about a minute to play.
Red Bay's Curtis Morrell missed a pair of free throws moments later, but teammate Cory Timbs scored with 35 seconds left to cut the deficit to 45-42.
Phil Campbell's Austin Nix missed two free throws and Nathan Gray hit a 3-pointer for the Tigers with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime.
With 13 seconds remaining in overtime Dillan Hamby hit a pair of free throws to put Phil Campbell ahead 55-52. Red Bay scored with two seconds to play and called a timeout.
The Tigers were called for a technical foul because they were out of timeouts. Butts hit one free throw and the Bobcats were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock to secure the win.
"It was motivation losing to them twice," Butts said. "We knew we could play with them."
Butts led the Bobcats with 19 points while Waid added 17 points. Also scoring for Phil Campbell were Nix (9), Hamby (8) and Jordan Benford (3).
Morrell scored 19 points to lead the Tigers while Timbs added 11 points. Also scoring for Red Bay were Gray (6), Steven Nabers (6), Cody Reynolds (4), Blake Brummett (3) and Austin Malone (3).
Red Bay 70,
Tharptown 68 OT
Jacob Parker hit three free throws with one second remaining in regulation to send Tharptown to overtime Friday, but Red Bay was able to pull away to advance to the finals of the Franklin County Basketball Tournament.
Gray scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Tigers while Malone scored 15 and Morrell added 11 points. Also scoring for Red Bay were Chase Lindsey (6), Timbs (5), Reynolds (4), Andy Thorn (4) and Nabers (3).
Parker led the Wildcats with 15 points while Wesley Borden added 11. Also scoring for Tharptown were Wade Berryman (8), Matt Austin (8), Devin Lawson (7), Manny Ricardo (5), Trevor Hallmark (5), Brandon Cothrum (2) and Kelby Hallmark (2).