HOLLY POND, Ala. – The third-ranked Holly Pond Broncos faced off against the Tanner Rattlers in the Sub-Regional game. Four quarters and an overtime weren’t enough to decide this one, so it ended up going into double overtime and a late run by Tanner helped the Rattlers claim the lead and knock off Holly Pond 65-59.
Tanner got off to a strong start to the game, jumping out to a quick 9-0 lead more than halfway through the opening period. After being held scoreless for almost five minutes, Holly Pond finally got on the scoreboard on a made shot by Blake Rickard. That made shot helped jump-start the Bronco offense as Kollin Brown drained a pair of free throws and Gunnar McBee put in a floater to cut it to 9-6 later in the quarter. Sawyer Olinger drilled a trey from the left wing to tie the game up at nine and Brown would knock two more from the line to give Holly Pond an 11-9 lead going into the second.
Brown drove to the basket and put up a tough shot that went in as that gave the Broncos a 13-10 lead. A made basket by the Rattlers cut it to 15-14, but Olinger drained his second trey of the first half to push the Bronco lead to 18-14 with a little over five minutes to go until halftime. Brown put in two more from the line, as did Carson Ryan, and that stretched the Holly Pond lead to 22-17 with 2:31 left to go in the first half. A pair of Tanner baskets cut it to 22-21, but a huge and-one by Christian Couch made it a 25-21 game. The Rattlers put in a late basket to end the first half, but Holly Pond held a slim 25-23 lead at the half.
The Broncos quickly got off to a good start to the third as Rickard hit a pair of free throws and Diego Garcia put up a wild shot that went in to make it 29-23. A rebound and put-back by Levi Farr pushed the Holly Pond lead to 31-23, but Tanner would respond with an enormous run of their own as they scored the next 15 points to grab a 38-31 lead late in the quarter. Brown stopped the bleeding with a deep trey to end the third quarter, but the Broncos found themselves down, 38-34, going into the fourth quarter.
Baskets by Brown and McBee to start off the fourth tied the game up at 38, but after that, points were very hard to come by for both teams. Tanner broke the tie with a trey, then later put in a pair of free throws as that gave them a 43-38 lead with a little over two minutes to go in the game. Rickard drilled a huge trey with 1:29 left to make it a two-point game, then later on, with Holly Pond trailing 44-42, he put in a pair of free throws to tie the game up once again, this time, at 44. Neither team could break the tie, so this game would be decided in overtime.
Three Tanner free throws gave them a 47-44 lead, but a basket by Couch made it a one-point game. A pair of Rattler free throws gave them a 51-48 lead with a minute left to go in overtime, but a Brown made shot in the paint cut it to 51-50 lead. After the Rattlers split their free throws, Brown knocked down a floater to tie it up at 52. Holly Pond had a chance to win it after forcing a turnover, but Brown’s three was just short and the game went into double overtime tied at 52.
The Rattlers jumped out to a quick 57-52 lead, but a pair of Rickard free throws trimmed it to three at 57-54 with 1:27 left to go in the second overtime. Garcia added two more from the line to make it a 58-56 game, then Tanner split their free throws to make it a three-point game. Carson Ryan hit a huge trey from the left corner to tie the game up at 59 with 24 seconds left to go in double overtime. But with three seconds left to go, a big basket by Tanner gave them a two-point game. After a missed free throw, they grabbed the rebound and got fouled. The Rattlers would seal the deal at the free-throw line, knocking down four straight, and Holly Pond’s season came to an end as they ended up dropping a heartbreaker in double overtime to Tanner, 65-59.
Brown led the way for Holly Pond with 19 points. Rickard added 14 points. Olinger put in six points, while Couch and Ryan each chipped in with five.
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