ADDISON, Ala. – Addison hosted area and county foe Meek at comfortable Allen Stephenson Gymnasium Friday night and the hometown Bulldogs were only able to come away with a split. The Addison Ladies dominated the visitors from Meek 61-23, while the Meek men hammered the Bulldogs 72-44.
Addison 61 – Meek 23 (Varsity Girls)
The ladies from Addison opened up the first period and really played outstanding basketball. They shot the ball well from deep and dominated the paint. “Magic” Molly Gilbreath led the Addison ladies with 10 points in the period while Gracie “Bug” Manley chipped in 6. Meek was led by Laney Phillips and Addisyn Williams with two points apiece. Meek’s Peyton Johnson led all rebounders with four in the frame. Addison won the period 18-6 and really never looked back.
The second period was more of the same as the Ladies from Addison were just too much for the Lady Tigers on this evening. Manley turned it up in the second with eight points while Lauryn “Beemer” Cunningham nailed a corner three at the buzzer. Addison’s lady to lady press defense forced numerous turnovers on the overmatched Lady Tigers all night. Meek’s Veronica Ortega had three points for the Tigers. Addison carried a comfortable 36-11 lead at the half.
If you were expecting any changes to occur in the second half, you would have been disappointed. The Addison ladies continued their dominance taking the period 14-5. They were led by Manley’s six points while Katie Barrett tossed in four of her own. Lydia “Barbie” Ergle dominated the glass grabbing five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Meek’s Williams nailed a three-pointer while Phillips put in two more points for the Lady Tigers. At the end of three periods of play, Addison led 50-16.
Addison took the final period 11-7 as the bench was emptied and the young’ins got the majority of the minutes. Hadley “Shooter” Butler had five points in the period before she was pulled and Cunningham showed Coach Boland that the future is bright as she had two more points, two rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in limited minutes. Meek’s Williams led the Tigers with four points and five boards in the period. Addison was able to come away with a solid 61-23 victory.
Addison’s Manley stated,
“I think we played a solid game. We played better team defense than we have in a while. I feel that our all-around effort was good tonight, and we definitely brought the intensity after a slow start.”
Unofficial stats
Addison was led in scoring by Manley with 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Butler had 16 points, six boards, three assists and four steals. Gilbreath had 16 points, one rebound and three assists. Cunningham had five points, three boards, an assist, three steals and a block. Barrett had four points, two boards, two assists and a steal. Ergle led the team in rebounds with nine, with two assists, two steals and a block. Brilyn Dover had a rebound, a steal and an assist. Gracie Roberts had two rebounds. Reese Osborne had a board and an assist.
Meek was led by Williams with 11 points and eight rebounds. Johnson had four points and seven boards. Phillips had four points and five rebounds. Ortega had four points and a rebound.
The Addison ladies host the Sumiton Christian Lady Eagles Tuesday night.
Meek 72 – Addison 44 (Varsity Boys)
The men from Addison were looking for a little revenge as they had lost to Meek earlier in the season. A victory tonight would have brought a tie in the area standings as the two teams would have split the two matchups. But it was not to be. Meek rolled Addison and came away with a convincing 28-point win. This all but locked up the regular season area title for the Tigers.
The first period had both teams starting slowly as no one scored until almost three minutes had elapsed in the game. The lack of scoring was due two factors. Solid defense on both sides and the referees allowing both teams to commit misdemeanor assault on each other. The refs let them play and when that happens other things occur on court, but that happens later in the story. Meek took the period 13-6 as the Tiger front court dominated the Bulldogs inside. Meek was led by Jarrett Benson with 6 points on two three-pointers. Ethan Barton had a three-pointer for the Tigers as well. Addison’s Brady Gilbreath and Jed Wilkins each had three points to try and keep the Dawgs close.
The second period started off with bodies flying left and right and someone hitting the floor on every possession. At the 6:45 mark of the second period, a Bulldog and a Tiger were each thrown out of the game for having an altercation in a pile on the floor. Addison was outscored 16-14 in the period but seemed to have the momentum going into the half as they had cut a 15-point Tiger lead down to 9. Addison trailed 29-20. Addison was led by Gilbreath who had 7 points while Bradley Willette had four points of his own. Meek’s Benson again led the Tigers in scoring as he nailed two three-pointers, while Braxton Dickerson had five points in the period.
The Tigers started off the second half of the game handling the Addison pressure defense and coming away with several easy layups. It seemed that nothing came easy for the Bulldogs on this night as several easy shots were missed, and they were unable to take advantage of the few second chance shots that they had. Meek stretched their lead to 16, 49-33 as the third ended. A second Tiger player was ejected at the 3:28 mark of the period to put the Tigers two men down. Meek was led by Braylen “Beast” Roberts with 10 points while Benson had eight more. The Dawgs had Gilbreath toss in seven points while Tubb hit a three-pointer.
The Tigers came together as a team and didn’t let their missing teammates affect them negatively. Meek ran away with the fourth period outscoring the Bulldogs 23-11 to come away with a dominant 72-44 win. Tiger Cam Deaver led the Tigers with nine points while snagging three rebounds. Dickerson had a three-pointer. Addison’s Gilbreath had five points, while Jacob McLamb had three points.
Meek Head Coach Bryan Woods was very happy after the game,
“I thought that this was our best performance for us passing the basketball and finding the open man. Addison is a very athletic team, and you have to be able to beat their press if you want to win. We did that tonight. Addison is a good team and Coach (Scott) Flynn does a great job with them. We are probably going to play them two more times this year, once in the county tournament and probably in the area tournament. I thought we controlled the glass tonight and even though it got a little chippy we were able to come away with the win. Very proud of our young men and the effort and desire that they showed on this evening.”
Unofficial stats
Addison was led in scoring by Gilbreath with 17 points, four boards and three steals. Jed Wilkins had seven points, three boards and two assists. Tubb had seven points, one rebound and one steal. Josh Netherton had six points, an assist, one block and a steal. Willette had four points, one rebound and an assist. McLamb had three points, one board, one assist and a steal. Briley Hayes had two boards, one assist and a steal. Hayden Holland had a rebound.
Meek was led by Benson with a game high 21 points and nine rebounds. Roberts had 16 points and seven rebounds. Deaver had nine points and six boards. Dickerson had eight points and one board. Ory Frith had five points and four boards. Dylan Dunagan had five points and one board. Jacob Smith had three points and three boards. Barton had three points. Bentley Williams had two points.
Addison will host Sumiton Christian on Tuesday for an area game.
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