HANCEVILLE, Ala. – It was Senior Night at Lane Horton Gymnasium and Hanceville’s Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs faced off against Cold Springs in their final regular season games. In the girls’ game, the Lady Bulldogs erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead, but the Lady Eagles ended up pulling away late to barely get past Hanceville 54-51. In the boys’ game, Hanceville took control in the second half and knocked off Cold Springs 52-33.
Cold Springs 54 – Hanceville 51 (Varsity Girls)
Ciara Calvert scored Cold Springs’ first five points of the game to give them a quick 5-0 lead, but Alex Twitty hit a shot in the paint and Aaliyah Twitty got a steal, then hit the layup on the other end to make it a 5-4 game. The Lady Eagles quickly went on a big run as threes by Ella Bruer, Maci Brown, and Kenady Graves, plus a basket down low by Calvert, pushed their lead to 16-4 with less than three minutes to go in the opening period. Mattie Keith put in a floater to cut it to 16-6 and a basket down low by Savana McAnnally made it an 18-8 game, but Calvert converted on her and-one opportunity to end the quarter as Cold Springs took a 21-8 lead into the second period.
Bruer and Graves each knocked down a long-range shot to give the Lady Eagles a 27-10 lead. A trey by Calvert made it 30-12 with a little over five minutes to go in the first half, but the Lady Bulldogs went on a little run to get back in the game. Baskets by Aaliyah Twitty and Katelyn Boyd cut it to 30-16, then Boyd and Kate Sterling each put in a free throw to make it a 30-18 game. Brown and Ella Dickerson each knocked down a three late in the first half to push their lead to 36-18 and the Lady Eagles held a 36-20 lead at the half.
Both defenses took over to start the second half as Sterling and Calvert each traded baskets to keep it at a 16-point game at 38-22. That’s when Hanceville would go on their run to get back in the game as Alex Twitty converted on her and one-opportunity and Sterling put in a pair of baskets in the paint to make it a 38-29 game. A pair of Dickerson free throws and another Brown trey made it a 43-29 game. A pair of McAnnally shots from the line cut it to 43-31 going into what would be an exciting final period of play.
The Lady Bulldogs came out red-hot to start out the fourth as Aaliyah Twitty and Boyd each hit a basket down low, then Boyd drilled a long-range shot to cut it to 43-38. Sterling knocked down a shot and another and-one by Alex Twitty tied the game up at 43 with a little over five minutes to go in the contest. Aaliyah Twitty laid one up and in to give Hanceville a 45-43 lead, but Dickerson put in a basket and Calvert knocked down a pair from the line to give Cold Springs a 47-45 lead with 2:50 left to go in the game. Another made shot by Sterling tied the game up at 47, but a pair of Brown free throws and a late layup by Graves gave the Lady Eagles a 52-47 lead. McAnnally hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 52-49 with 30 seconds left, but Brown would seal the deal at the line as she knocked down two more free throws to make it a five-point game. Cold Springs would go on to hold off a feisty Hanceville squad, 54-51.
Calvert led the way for Cold Springs with 17 points. Brown added 13 points and Dickerson put in 10 points. For Hanceville, Sterling finished with 13 points. Boyd and Alex Twitty each added 10 points, while McAnnally and Aaliyah Twitty each collected eight points.
Hanceville 52 – Cold Springs 33 (Varsity Boys)
Cold Springs got on the scoreboard first as a pair of shots in the paint by Cole Bales and Cameron Nunn gave them an early 4-0 lead, but Brayden Harris scored the first five points of the game for Hanceville as that gave them a 5-4 lead. Nic Fallin drilled a long-range shot to give the Eagles a 7-5 lead, but a rebound and put-back by Carson Garrett tied the game up at seven. A steal and a layup by Zach Campbell, plus a floater by Noah Jones gave Hanceville an 11-7 lead, but John Mark Smith trimmed the deficit to one at 11-10 on a trey. Hanceville held a slim 11-10 lead after one.
J.T. Davis drilled a three to give Hanceville a 14-10 lead, but a Fallin trey cut it to 14-13. Jones put in one of his own from long-range, then a steal and a layup by Harris stretched the Bulldog lead to 19-14. A Smith three made it a two-point game late in the first half, but Harris knocked down a trey and got another steal and a layup to make it a 24-16 game. Bales put in a pair from the line to end the first half as the Bulldogs would take a 24-18 lead into the locker room.
Another Bales shot from long-range cut it to 26-21 early in the third, but the Bulldogs would quickly start pulling away from the Eagles after that. Harris and Logan Quick each put in a trey and Calvert would later add one from there as well to stretch their lead to 35-23. Another Fallin trey trimmed it to 37-26, but Jones knocked down a trey as Hanceville held a 40-26 lead after three.
The Bulldogs continued to add to their lead in the fourth as Davis, Braxton Broad, and Quick each put one in from deep to make it a 49-26 game. Fallin knocked down a trey and Smith hit a short jumper to cut it to 49-31, but A.J. Wood put in a shot on the other end to make it a 51-31 game. Hanceville would go on to defeat Cold Springs, 52-33.
Harris finished the game with 15 points for Hanceville. Quick added nine points and Jones ended up with eight points. For Cold Springs, Fallin led the way with 12 points. Smith added 10 points and Bales collected seven points.
Both teams will now start preparing for their respective area tournaments next week.
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