CULLMAN, Ala. – St. Bernard returned home Thursday night to host Brilliant for a pair of varsity matchups and both the Saints and Lady Saints collected impressive wins. The Lady Saints overcame a slow start to topple the Lady Tigers 47-36 and the Saints used a big second quarter to pull away from Brilliant 41-25. St. Bernard will be back home Friday night to host Decatur Heritage.
St. Bernard 47 – Brilliant 36 (varsity girls)
The Lady Saints scored just three points in the opening period and trailed at 8-3 at the start of the second but an early basket from Claudia Fallin cut the lead to three. Brilliant led 10-5 midway through the second quarter until a three-pointer from Emma Tafazoli made it 10-8. St. Bernard tied the game at 10 with just over a minute to play in the half and another bucket from Tafazoli gave the Lady Saints an 12-11 lead at the break.
A jumper from Fallin and quick steal and basket by Claire Sanders gave St. Bernard a 16-12 lead early in the third quarter. Fallin knocked down another jumper midway through the third to stretch the lead to 19-13 and she added a pair of free throws to make it a 21-15 game with just over three minutes to play in the quarter. The Lady Saints then finished the period with a three-pointer from McKenzie Cruce that gave them a 31-17 advantage going into the final frame.
St. Bernard led 33-23 early in the fourth until a three from Sanders made it 36-23. Another bucket from Fallin made it 38-26 with just over four minutes to play and Tafazoli knocked down a pair of free throws and added another basket to extend the lead to 44-28 late in the fourth quarter. A triple from Fallin made it 47-30 with just over a minute to play and the Lady Saints held on to win it 47-36.
Fallin led St. Bernard with 14 points in the win, followed by Tafazoli with 12, Sanders with 10 and Cruce with five.
St. Bernard 41 – Brilliant 25 (varsity boys)
A basket from William Tang gave the Saints an early 6-0 lead over the Tigers in the first quarter but a 7-0 run from Brilliant put them behind with three minutes to play in the opening period. A John Christian Rose layup cut the lead to 11-8 late in the first and reverse layup from Rose in the final seconds of the quarter made it a 1-point game going into the second.
St. Bernard found some momentum on the offensive end in the second quarter, starting with another Rose bucket at the start of the period to give the Saints an 12-11 lead. A pair of free throws from Kole Gentry stretched the home lead to 19-15 midway though the second and a three-pointer from Alex Shoaff made it 22-17 at the three-minute mark. Caleb Guthery knocked down a jumper to add to the lead on the next possession and another bucket by Tang gave St. Bernard a 26-17 advantage with under two minutes to play in the half. Shoaff drilled another triple with 30 seconds to play in the quarter to make it 29-19 and the Saints went into the locker room with a 30-19 lead over Brilliant.
The Saints led 32-23 early in the second half but an 8-0 scoring run, capped off by a steal and basket by Rose, extended the lead to 40-23 with a minute to play in the third. St. Bernard led 41-25 at the start of the fourth quarter but a three from Eli Loyd made it a 19-point game early in the period. Another bucket for Shoaff stretched the lead to 48-30 midway through the fourth and the Saints pulled away to defeat the Tigers 50-32.
Shoaff led the way for St. Bernard with 13 points in the win. Rose finished just behind him with 12, Tang posted six, Guthery added five and Jose Zatarain, Gentry and Loyd each finished with four.
Other Thursday scores:
Fairview 50 – Holly Pond 32 (varsity girls)
Fairview 86 – Holly Pond 72 (varsity boys)
Muscle Shoals 73 – Addison 26 (varsity boys)
West End 33 – Vinemont 28 (varsity girls)
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