3-point barrage leads to Red Bay’s third straight county title
The Red Bay Tigers cemented their dominance in Franklin County boys basketball, capturing their third consecutive tournament championship with a 63-50 victory over the Phil Campbell Bobcats.
A barrage of threepointers, 14 in total, fueled the Tigers’ win, overcoming a strong effort from the Bobcats.
The game started as a tight contest with Red Bay holding a slim 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the Tigers began to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring Phil Campbell and taking a commanding 30-17 lead into halftime.
Red Bay’s sharp shooting from beyond the arc was a key factor in their surge, connecting on four three-pointers in both the second and third quarters.
The Tigers continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, pushing the score to 48-29. While Phil Campbell fought hard, they were unable to overcome Red Bay’s hot shooting. Both teams traded three-pointers in the fourth quarter, each sinking five, but the Tigers’ lead proved insurmountable.
Khalil Luster led the Tigers’ balanced scoring attack with 14 points. Bryant Harris provided a spark from long range, hitting four three-pointers for 12 points. Brayden Tabbs reached double figures with 10 points, while Jeremiah Thorne added 9 points on three three-pointers. Jaxson Vinson scored 7 points, Landyn Lewey contributed 6, Jeremiah Robinson added 3, and Conner Humphries chipped in with 2.
Austin Elliott led all scorers with a valiant 22-point effort for Phil Campbell. Madden Welch also reached double figures with 11 points. Brady Williams added 5 points, Hayden Wingo scored 4, Jeremiah Smith and Isaac Duboise each contributed 3, and Logan Wright rounded out the scoring with 2.
Semifinals: Phil Campbell 55, Belgreen 50
The best game of the tournament was the semifinal matchup between Phil Campbell and Belgreen. A close game throughout, the Bobcats prevailed over the Bulldogs 55-50.
Belgreen led Phil Campbell 17-11 at the end of the first quarter. The Bobcats battled back in the second quarter outscoring the Bulldogs 17-12 to cut the Belgreen lead to one, 29-28. Phil Campbell outpaced Belgreen 15-9 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead, 43-38, into the final period.
Hayden Wingo led Phil Campbell with 15 points followed by Austin Elliott with 13 points. Elliot scored 9 points in the fourth quarter to help the Bobcats secure the win. Logan Wright added 9 points. Madden Welch scored 8 points, hitting two third-quarter threes. Bailey Nix scored 4 points. Isaac Duboise only had 1 point, but it was a critical free throw late in the game.
Belgreen’s Brayden Johnson led all scorers with 18 points followed by Jake Dill with 12 points. Gabe Estraded added 9points, Jonathan Mendoza 5 points, and Hunter Woodruff 4 points. Semifinals: Red Bay 74, Vina 30 The Red Bay Tigers had no problems beating the Vina Red Devils to advance to the finals of the tournament, winning 74-30. Red Bay led 43-20 at halftime.
Landyn Lewey led Red Bay with 14 points followed by Jeremiah Robinson with 10 points.
Christian McCarley led Vina with 13 points.
Quarterfinals: Vina 52, Tharptown 34 The Vina Red Devils easily defeated the Tharptown Wildcats in the opening round of the tournament 52-34. Vina led Tharptown 32-9 at halftime.
Christian McCarley led the Red Devils with 19 points, 14 coming in the first quarter alone. Matthew Patterson followed with 10 points. Vina made 8 three-pointers in the game.
Jackson Knighten led Tharptown with 11 points.
