Area tournaments begin

By Bart Moss / For the FCT

The basketball regular season winds down this week, and teams start prepping for the area tournaments, which start Monday.

The top two teams in each area will play in the subregion, with a chance to advance to regionals at Wallace State Community College. Area winners will host a subregion game, while area runner-up will travel in subregion play.

After Christmas, basketball season can be a grind – especially this year. With schools out more than a week in January, several games had to be rescheduled, including the county tournament. That means many teams have been playing four and, in some cases, five games a week in the past two weeks. Coaches have likely had to balance practice time with getting players legs fresh for tournament play.

The host team of the 2A, Area 14 boys tournament came down to a Tuesday afternoon coin flip between Red Bay and Sulligent – each at 4-2 in area play. The two teams spit with each other, with Red Bay winning the first matchup and Sulligent running away in their second meeting. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Sulligent won the coin toss and will host the area tournament.

Sulligent appears to be the favorite in this area. Red Bay started off the season as the team to beat, but Sulligent seems to have taken the advantage. While Red Bay defeated Sulligent before Christmas, the Blue Devils rolled past the Tigers by 30 points in their second meeting in early January.

The coin toss also affected Phil Campbell. The Bobcats, a four-seed, will have to play Sulligent to have a shot at a subregion game. Phil Campbell will have to play the game of their year to knock off an athletic Blue Devil squad.

Red Bay will face Lamar County. While not a “gimmie” by any stretch, the Tigers have a good shot, if they play well, to make the finals and prevent and all-Lamar County matchup.

There is no doubt who has the upper hand in the 2A, Area 14 girls tournament. The fourth-ranked Phil Campbell Bobcats (19-5) have been dominant in their area this year. Not one team in the area has given the Bobcat a serious challenge. So the question for the Lady Bobcats is not whether they can advance to the subregion. The questions is, can they make a run for the final four in Birmingham?

Red Bay appears to have the best shot of advancing to subregion of the other teams in the area. Phil Campbell’s dominance has overshadowed the job done by Sonya Marks in rebuilding a Lady Tiger team that lost two dominant players to the college ranks and two other senior starters. Look for Red Bay to make a run for the regionals again this year.

The Belgreen Bulldogs will host the 1A, Area 13 boys tournament. The Bulldogs (20-5) will have the home court advantage and the better team. They have had some minor bumps in the road since Christmas, dealing with loss of point guard Brant Bragwell, but still won the Franklin County Tournament without him.  With Bragwell back, Belgreen will be an easy favorite to win the area.

The Tharptown Wildcats have a solid shot at making it to the subregion. The Wildcats will be the second seed in the area and will have to get past Hackleburg to earn a spot in the finals and a spot in the subregion.  Tharptown split with the Panthers this year, losing big a home game but beating Hackleburg on their home court shortly after. Tharptown notched a big win against Belgreen in January, so look for the Wildcats to get a shot at a rematch with the Bulldogs.

1A, Area 13 girls seem about as settled as 2A, Area 14 girls. Phillips (20-2) is ranked second in the state and hasn’t had any serious challengers in area play. The Bears will likely compete for a state title.

Belgreen and Vina will compete for the runner-up spot in this area. The two teams have already met three times this year, with Belgreen winning two of the meetings. Belgreen has the more consistent team and has played some good basketball against some very good teams in the past two weeks. However, if the Bulldogs let the Red Devils get hot from behind the three-point arch, Vina will have a chance to play in the subregion for the first time.

For complete area tournament results, check www.fct.wpengine.com or the Franklin County Times Facebook page.

2017 Area Tournament Schedules

Admission is $6 per the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

2A Area 14 Boys

Host: Sulligent High School

Feb. 6

5:30 p.m. – No. 3 Lamar County vs. No. 2 Red Bay

7 p.m. – No. 4 Phil Campbell vs. No. 1 Sulligent

Feb. 9

7 p.m. – Finals

2A Area 14 Girls

Host: Phil Campbell High School

Feb. 5

5:30 p.m. – No. 4 Sulligent vs. No. 1 Phil Campbell

7 p.m. – No. 3 Lamar County vs. No. 2 Red Bay

Feb. 8

6 p.m. – Finals

1A Area 13 Boys

Host: Belgreen High School

Feb. 5

6 p.m. – No. 4 Phillips vs No. 5 Vina

Feb. 8

6 p.m. – No. 2 Tharptown vs No. 3 Hackleburg

7:30 p.m. – Phillips/Vina vs No. 1 Belgreen

Feb. 10

7 p.m. – Finals

1A Area 13 Girls

Host: Phillips High School

Feb. 3

3 p.m. – No. 4 Tharptown vs No. 5 Hackleburg

Feb. 6

6 p.m. – Winner of Tharptown/Hackleburg vs No. 1 Phillips

7:30 p.m. – No. 2 Vina vs No. 3 Belgreen

Feb. 9

7 p.m. – Finals