BREMEN, Ala. – It was Senior Night inside Jesse George Gymnasium at Cold Springs High School Tuesday night and the Eagles and Lady Eagles both celebrated with wins over West Point in their final home games of the regular season. A big second half from the Lady Eagles allowed them to get past the Lady Warriors 58-44 and in the boys’ game, Cold Springs held the lead in the fourth quarter and had to fend off a West Point rally to win the game 56-51.
Cold Springs 58 – West Point 44 (Varsity Girls)
There was a very special moment when the game started as West Point’s Hallie Wheeler put in a uncontested layup, then on the other end, senior Mia Light put in an uncontested layup before being subbed out. Jaelyn Faulkner knocked down a layup, then threes by Wheeler and Laklin Shadix gave the Lady Warriors a quick 10-2 lead early in the first. Ciara Calvert put in a shot down low, and Ella Dickerson drilled a long-range shot to cut it to 10-7. Liberty Shadix put in a trey and another basket inside by Jaelyn Faulkner pushed the West Point lead to 15-7, but the Lady Eagles made a late push to cut into the deficit. Maci Brown and Kenady Graves each hit a shot down low and Brown drilled a three to make it a 15-14 game going into the second period.
Baskets by Malaya Taylor and Calvert gave Cold Springs an 18-15 lead, but a Wheeler trey gave West Point the lead right back at 19-18. Camryn Faulkner hit one of her own from long-range to make it a 22-20 game. A basket by Liberty Shadix made it 24-20, but Dickerson hit her second trey of the first half as that cut it to 24-23. A pair of Dickerson free throws and a floater by Graves gave the Lady Eagles a 27-26 lead. Laklin Shadix and Brown each traded baskets to end the first half as Cold Springs held a slim 29-28 lead at the half.
Brown hit a driving shot in the paint and Dickerson put in yet another trey to quickly push the Cold Springs’ lead to 34-28. Ella Bruer drilled one from long-range to make it 37-28, but a basket by Laklin Shadix in the paint cut it to 37-30. A pair of Bruer free throws and another Dickerson three stretched the Lady Eagle lead to 42-30. A pair of late baskets by Liberty Shadix and Wheeler made it a 42-34 game, but Dickerson continued her red-hot shooting as she hit another three to make it a 46-34 game. Cold Springs would take a 48-36 lead into the final period.
A Dickerson basket and a Brown trey pushed the Lady Eagle lead to 53-36 to start the fourth. A basket by Jaelyn Faulkner cut it to 53-38, but Dickerson put in two more baskets in the paint to make it 57-38 and Cold Springs would go on to defeat West Point 58-44.
Dickerson finished with 23 points for Cold Springs. Brown added 12 points and Calvert ended up with 10. For West Point, Wheeler finished with 10 points, while Jaelyn Faulkner and Liberty Shadix each added nine.
Cold Springs 56 – West Point 51 (Varsity Boys)
Kolten Perry got the scoring for West Point with a shot in the paint, but five straight points by John Mark Smith gave Cold Springs a 5-2 lead. Nic Fallin drilled a pair of treys to push the Eagle lead to 11-5, but baskets by Jacob Harbison, Perry, and Ashton Rodgers tied the game up at 11. Smith drilled a long-range shot and Fallin added a late basket to end the first quarter as Cold Springs held a slim 16-13 lead after one.
Cole Bales gave the Eagles a huge lift to start the second as he put in a pair of treys from the left corner to give them a 22-13 lead. West Point went on a big run to get back in the game as a pair of Rodgers free throws and a pair of baskets by Harbison and Perry cut it to 22-19 late in the first half. A Rodgers trey tied the game up at 22, then Smith and Perry each traded threes to keep the game tied up at 25. Bales put in a layup before the buzzer sounded as Cold Springs would take a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
The Eagles looked to stretch the lead to start the third quarter as Bales and Fallin each drilled a three to make it a 33-25 game. Perry knocked down a shot in the paint to cut it to 33-27, then later on, a three by Brier Taylor and a made shot by Perry made it a 35-32 game late in the quarter. Big baskets to end the quarter by Seth Ingram and Hank Harrison stretched Cold Springs’ lead to 39-32 going into the final period.
A Fallin trey made it a 42-34 game early in the fourth, but four free throws by Jay Lamar cut it to 44-38 with a little over five minutes to go in the game. Perry added a free throw to make it a five-point game, but Smith scored five straight points, including a three, to push the Eagle lead to 49-38. Fallin knocked down a jumper to make it a 51-38 game. A pair of Perry free throws, plus baskets by Kanaan Sutter and Perry, swiveled the deficit to seven at 53-46, but three free throws by Smith made it 56-48 and the Eagles would go to hold off the Warriors at the end, 56-51.
Smith led the way for Cold Springs with 22 points. Fallin added 16 points and Bales ended up with 11. For West Point, Perry finished with 22 points. Rodgers added 11 points and Lamar collected seven.
Cold Springs will travel to take on Hanceville Thursday night, while West Point will head home to take on Dora Thursday night.
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