HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Several local teams were back at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum Tuesday night to resume this year’s Cullman County Tournament and we tipped things off with a JV Boys semifinal matchup between West Point and Fairview. The Warriors took a comfortable lead early in the game but had to fend off a strong comeback effort from the Aggies in the second half to secure a 55-44 win and a spot in Saturday’s JV Boys Championship Game.
TB Pendley knocked down a three for West Point to put them on the scoreboard first, but Fairview’s Antonio Gaitor hit one from long-range to tie the game up at three. Pendley broke the tie with his second three of the quarter to give the Warriors a 6-3 lead. JD Cochran knocked down a pair of baskets to push West Point’s lead to 10-3, then Hunter Hensley drilled a three to make it 13-3. Another Cochran basket pushed the Warrior lead to 15-3, but a rebound and put back by Eli Frost cut the Fairview deficit to 11 at 17-6 going into the second period.
The Aggies trimmed into the West Point lead to start out the second period. Gavin Pace knocked down a trey, then a pair of baskets by Trace Richardson cut it to 17-13 with 3:37 remaining in the first half. Cochran continued his red-hot shooting in the first half as he added a pair of baskets down low to make it 21-15, then a Hensley layup pushed West Point’s lead to 23-15. Another Pace three trimmed the deficit to five at 23-18, but Cochran scored five straight points to make it 28-18. Hensley got fouled while shooting a three and knocked down a pair from the line as the Warriors took a 30-17 lead into the locker room.
A free throw each from Carson Jones and Landon Smith trimmed the Warrior lead to 30-19, then Smith knocked in a shot down low to make it a 30-21 game. But a Cade Welborn three and another Cochran basket down low pushed West Point’s lead to 35-21. A pair of Gaitor treys helped Fairview swivel their deficit to 11 at 38-27. Cochran continued to dominate down low as he hit yet another basket down low and later added a pair from the charity stripe as West Point went into the final period with a 43-29 lead.
Another Cochran layup made it 45-29, but a pair of Landon Smith free throws trimmed it to 45-31. Each team traded a free throw to keep it at a 14-point game at 46-32, but the Aggies made things very interesting after that. Nic Gregory scored through a foul and finished off the and-one opportunity to make it 46-35, then a three by Cooper Salazar and a basket down low by Frost cut it to 46-40 with 2:25 remaining in the game. But West Point would seal the game at the line as four free throws by Hensley and one by Pendley pushed the Warrior lead to 51-40. West Point ended up taking the game over Fairview, 55-44, as they move on to the championship game, where they will take on (1) Good Hope Saturday at 4 p.m.
Cochran finished the game with 24 points for West Point. Hensley added 17 points. Pendley ended up with seven points and Welborn added six. Fairview was led by Gaitor and Landon Smith, who each finished with nine points. Frost and Pace each added six points and Gregory ended up with five points.
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