Wildcats earn A-boys title, run by Red Bay 44-32
By Staff
Kim West
RED BAY – The top-seeded Tharptown A-boys captured their first Franklin County championship Monday night by beating No. 3 Red Bay 44-32.
The Wildcats' Jacob Parker scored a tournament-high 24 points as Tharptown rebounded from a slow start against the Tigers.
Red Bay turned a 2-3 deficit into a 10-5 first quarter lead after Matt Mongomery scored two driving layups and Kevin Hastings hit a pair of jumpers during an 8-2 run by the Tigers. Tharptown's Drew Ergle blocked a shot and then scored on a putback on the other end to cut the margin to five points at the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer when Parker found Wesley Bordon wide-open on the left wing to cut Red Bay's lead to 10-8. The Wildcats scored 15 points, including seven by Parker, who scored on an up-and-under shot to put them ahead 13-10.
Tharptown, which led 20-11 at halftime, responded in the second by not allowing any field goals as Red Bay's lone point came on a free throw by Montgomery with less than a minute remaining.
After Parker opened the third quarter with a trey, Red Bay's Marco Bostick used a nifty head fake to drain a jumper and also scored off a layup and putback for six of the Tigers' eight points. But Tharptown outscored Red Bay 10-8 to build a 30-19 lead heading into the final quarter as Parker and Ergle combined for nine points.
Marco Bostick cut Tharptown's lead to 35-25 with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats responded with a 9-2 run to put the game away. Parker scored nine points in the fourth, while Montgomery had seven.
Ergle finished with seven points for Tharptown, while Bordon and Wade Berryman each had four. Brandon Cothrum (3) and Justin Britnell (2) also scored for the Wildcats.
Montgomery paced Red Bay with 14 points, while Bostick had 10. Hastings finished withsix points, and Zach Hubbard and Ben Hubbard each had two.
Phil Campbell beat Belgreen last year for the championship. This year, Tharptown advanced to the finals by beating Belgreen, and Red Bay beat Phil Campbell Saturday.
