BREMEN – For six Cold Springs players, tonight was their last regular season game, and they looked to finish on a high note against West Point.
Cold Springs 49, West Point 40 (Boys)
Coach Tim Willoughby put all of his seniors in the starting lineup (Noah Henderson, Jesse Lee, Fisher Willoughby, Blake Wood and Eli Hamby) to start the game. Both teams got off to really slow starts offensively, and West Point took a 3-0 lead after an Austin Dubberly layup and an Alex Hernandez free throw. Lee got the Eagles on the board with an and one to tie the game at 3-3 with 5:37 remaining in the opening quarter. Hernandez scored the next five Warrior points to give his team an 8-5 lead, but Lee added another and one with 2:51 remaining to tie the game at 8-8. Lee added a layup to give his team a 10-8 lead, but Dubberly countered with a three to give West Point an 11-10 lead, which was the score after one.
The second quarter saw both teams pick it up a little on offense. Hunter McClendon scored four quick points down low to give Cold Springs a 14-11 lead. Dubberly and Hernandez sparked a 7-2 run for West Point to take a 18-16 lead. McClendon tied the game on a layup, but Kolton Sapp nailed a three to give the Warriors a 21-18 lead. Wood tied the game on an and one with 1:40 remaining in the first half. Hernandez and Noah Allison hit layups to send West Point into the locker room with a 25-21 advantage.
Both teams got off to slow starts to start the third quarter. Neither team seemed to get it going offensively. With West Point clinging to a 31-28 lead, McClendon hit a layup and then Lee converted yet another 5-point play to give Cold Springs a 33-31 advantage going into the final quarter.
West Point started strong, getting a layup from Toby Cunningham and a 3-point play by Dubberly, to give West Point a 36-33 lead. After McClendon nailed a layup to cut the lead to 38-37, Willoughby hit a huge three with 4:12 remaining in the game to give the Eagles a 40-38 advantage. After Dubberly tied the game on a layup, it was all Cold Springs after that, as Wood hit both free throws and Lee added a layup to give Cold Springs a 44-40 lead, then a Willoughby steal and a layup with 1:39 remaining in the game, gave them some breathing room, and Wood and Lee went 3-of-4 from the line to seal the deal at home in a huge win before the area tournament starts next week.
Lee finished with 18 points and a steal for Cold Springs. McClendon ended up with 10 points. Willoughby had nine points and two steals. Wood had seven points and four rebounds. They improve to 16-8 on the season and will travel to Curry on Friday in their final regular season game.
"Tonight was our fourth game in five nights, so we were very tired," Cold Springs coach Tim Willoughby said. "I thought, in the first half, we did not have the same speed and quickness we usually have, but in the second half, it came back, and we played much better. Fisher had a big steal in the game, which was big. We all contributed in this game. We found a way to win. We had won nine straight before losing in the county tournament last week, so we needed to get some momentum before the area tournament next week."
Dubberly finished with 21 points, three rebounds and a steal for West Point. Hernandez added 12 points and a steal of his own. They fall to 9-17 on the season and will head to Holly Pond on Friday for their final regular season game.
Cold Springs 69, West Point 50 (Girls)
The only senior on the team, Emme Willoughby, gave Cold Springs an early 3-0 lead on a free throw and a layup, but West Point's Olivia Ball scored the next five to help her team tie the game at five. After Elizabeth Hill went 1-of-2 from the line to give the Lady Eagles a 6-5 lead, the Oldacre twins, Miriam and Micah, scored the team's final 13 points of the quarter, with Miriam scoring 11 and Micah putting up two, to give West Point a 18-10 lead, but Hill added a three and a free throw to cut the deficit to 18-14 after one.
Willoughby and Hill quickly hit back-to-back layups to tie the game at 18 with only 33 seconds coming off the clock, forcing Warrior coach John Welborn to burn an early timeout. Willoughby converted a pair of and ones sandwiched between threes by Miriam and Micah to tie the game at 24. Then after Mackenzie Carter hit a layup to give the Lady Warriors a two-point lead, Cold Springs went on a 9-0 run to take a 33-26 lead. Micah Oldacre got fouled while shooting a three, but only hit 1-of-3 from the line, but West Point got the offensive rebound, and Micah got the ball, dribbled for a little bit, before nailing a three from the right wing to cut the deficit to 33-30. After each team split from the line, Camryn Crider hit a huge three to give the Lady Eagles a 37-31 advantage, which was the lead going into the half.
The third quarter was the defining one of the game for Cold Springs as back-to-back threes by Crider and Sadie Terry gave the Lady Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game at 45-33 with 3:58 remaining. The onslaught continued after the timeout as they could do no wrong on both sides of the court, outscoring the Lady Warriors, 20-6, in the quarter to take a commanding 57-37 lead with one quarter left to play. West Point did outscore Cold Springs, 13-12, in the final quarter, but the deficit proved to be too much for the Lady Warriors to overcome as Cold Springs went on to win, 69-50.
Miriam Oldacre ended up with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals for West Point. Ball had 10 points and two steals. Micah Oldacre finished with nine points. Lexi Shadix ended up with seven points and 12 rebounds. Carter had three points and 10 rebounds. They outrebounded Cold Springs, 30-22, but the third quarter proved to be the quarter that will haunt them for a while. They fall to 19-8 on the season.
Willoughby finished with a game-high 27 points for Cold Springs as she also added five rebounds and three blocks. Crider ended up with 16 points and four steals. Hill added 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks. No. 5 Cold Springs improves to 24-3 on the season.
"I told the girls in the locker room, we need to start playing defense." Cold Springs coach Tammy West said. "I thought we played much better in the second half; we started getting after it more."
She also had high praise for her lone senior.
"Emme, she's irreplaceable. You cannot replace her."
When asked how much Willoughby has helped them out, Crider kept it short, but sweet.
"She has helped us out a lot." Crider said.
With all of the players that she has played with in her four years at Cold Springs, Willoughby has learned an awful lot from them, plus West.
"I played with a lot of great players in my time here at Cold Springs." Willoughby said. "I will miss it here, and playing under coach West."
The Lady Eagles will travel to Madison Academy on Thursday before starting the area tournament next week.
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