Phil Campbell boys advance to finals; Red Bay, Vina boys eliminated
2A, Area 14 Boys
Semifinals: Phil Campbell 73, Lamar County 64
The Phil Campbell Bobcats rode two huge performances by senior Hayden Copeland and junior Peyton Thomas to advance to the finals of the 2A, Area 14 boys basketball tournament at Sulligent. The two combined for 52 of the Bobcats’ 73 points in a 73-64 win over the Lamar County Bulldogs. Phil Campbell advanced to play Sulligent in the finals.
Phil Campbell jumped out to a 19-12 first quarter lead. Lamar County was able to cut into the Bobcats’ lead in the second quarter, outscoring them 18-16 to make the score 35-30 Phil Campbell at halftime. The Bulldogs cut the Bobcats’ lead to two points in the third quarter, outscoring Phil Campbell 18-15 to make the score 50-48 Bobcats heading into the final period of play.
Copeland and Thomas led Phil Campbell with 27 points and 25 points respectively. Thomas went 14-of-17 from the free throw line. Thomas Baker and Gage Roberson added eight points each. Joe Hardy and Daniel Uptain had two points each. Nate Owens contributed one point.
Semifinals: Sulligent 67, Red Bay 35
The top-seeded Sulligent Blue Devils had too much firepower for the Red Bay Tigers to have a chance for a semifinal upset. The Blue Devils outscored the Tigers in all four quarters to eliminate Red Bay 67-34 and advance to the finals to face Phil Campbell.
Sulligent led Red Bay 14-4 at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 29-16 at halftime. The Blue Devils led Red Bay 46-23 at the end of the third quarter before cruising to the win.
Aeron Moor had eight points for Red Bay. Colton Corum finished with seven points, Peyton Green six points, Levi McNatt five points, Ethan Pierce four points, Dylan Pearson three points and Noah Brewer two points.
1A, Area 13 Boys
Quarterfinals: Philllips 70, Vina 64
The Phillips Bears had a steady performance, aided by a 35-point night by Brandon Green, to eliminate the Vina Red Devils from the 1A, Area 13 boys basketball tournament. Both teams hit nine three-point shots in the game.
The Vina Red Devils scored 52 of their 64 points in the first and fourth quarter – 26 in each – but couldn’t generate enough points in between to get the win. Vina exploded out of the gates to a 26-18 first quarter lead. Phillips shut the Red Devils down in the second quarter, outscoring them 18-4 to take a 36-30 halftime lead. The Bears extended their lead to 55-38 by the end of the third quarter before Vina racked up 26 more points in the final period of play and limited Phillips to 15 points.
Clay Allison led Vina with 31 points, including 17 points in the fourth quarter. Blake Hardin added nine points, Austin Harper had eight points, Tyler Renfrow seven points, Andrew Upton six points and James Barnes three points.
