1A, Area 13 Boys: Belgreen rides hot first quarter to area championship
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
The Belgreen Bulldogs fired up shot after shot in the first quarter of Saturday night’s area championship game – and, it seemed like, every shot kept hitting the mark.
Belgreen made 11 of 15 shots in the first quarter, including five three-pointers, en route to a 91-59 win. The Bulldogs claimed their second-straight area championship and will host the Marion County Red Raiders Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in subregion play.
“We came out with a lot of fire and intensity tonight,” said Belgreen coach Clint Isbell. “We had great ball pressure and attacked the basket and shot the ball really well in the first quarter. We started forcing some shots in the second quarter, but I was pleased with the way we closed out the game.”
Tharptown will travel to Meek Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in subregion play.
“It was a tough night for us right from the beginning,” said Tharptown coach Shannon Benford. “Belgreen played very well tonight. We just have to put this one behind us, regroup and get ready to play Meek Tuesday night. We still have a chance to make it to Wallace, and that’s our goal.”
Belgreen jumped out 37-10 lead late in the first quarter and led 37-16 at the end of the quarter. Tharptown, however, didn’t get quit. The Wildcats battled back, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 15 points, 52-37, by halftime. The Wildcats would cut Belgreen’s lead to 13 early in the third quarter, but that was as close as Tharptown would get. Belgreen began to pull away again midway through the third quarter and led 73-51 at the end of the quarter.
Brant Bragwell and Mason Bragwell led Belgreen with 18 points and 16 points respectively. Payton Scott and Eli Hiser followed with 12 points and 10 points. Seth Taylor finished the game with nine points, Jacob Mayberry eight points, Jack Taylor six points, Gaven Taylor four points, Isac Willingham three points, Caleb Pinkard two points and Ashlee Britton two points.
Cole Daniel led Tharptown with 17 points. He was followed by Aaron Creasy with 13 points. Edward Lopez added 10 points. Levi McCormack finished the game with seven points, Winston Nolen five points, Carson Petree five points and Misael Saldana two points.
Semifinals: Tharptown 55, Hackleburg 48
The Tharptown Wildcats used a great first half defensive effort to stymie the Hackleburg Panthers’ prolific three-point shooters and hung on for dear life to win 55-50 and advance to the finals of the 1A, Area 13 tournament to face Belgreen Saturday night.
Semifinals: Belgreen 75, Phillips 36
The Belgreen Bulldogs coasted to an easy semifinal win over the Phillips Bears 75-36 Thursday night to advance to the finals and face Tharptown.
Quarterfinals: Phillips 86, Vina 62
The Vina Red Devils’ season came to an end Monday night with an 86-62 loss to Phillips in the quarterfinals of the 1A, Area 13 tournament. Phillips advanced to take on the top-seeded Belgreen Bulldogs Thursday night.
