VINEMONT, Ala. — The Fairview Aggies made the brief trip over to Vinemont High School for a pair of county matchups Tuesday night and both Eagle squads defended their home court with wins. The Lady Eagles got things started with a 44-33 win over the Lady Aggies and in the boys’ game, Vinemont had to fend off a late push from Fairview to earn a 60-50 win.
Vinemont 44 – Fairview 33 (varsity girls)
Jayla Gorham and Reagan Robinson exchanged baskets to start the game and Maggie Burks laid one in to put the Eagles in front 4-2. Another Robinson score gave Vinemont a 6-2 lead midway through the opening period, but a pair of Kailyn Redding buckets trimmed the lead to 8-6 later in the first. Morgan Flanagan split a pair of free throws to put the Eagles on top 9-6 and after Lexi Collins drained a Fairview free throw on the other end, Whitney Quick scored in the final moments of the first quarter to give Vinemont an 11-7 lead going into the second.
Another basket by Redding and a jumper from Reagan Dunkin tied the game at 11 early in the second quarter but Robinson scored eight straight points for Vinemont on the other end to give the Lady Eagles a 19-14 lead midway through the period. Collins score inside to make it a three-point game later in the period but Burks responded with a three-pointer on the other end and Carley Stephens split a pair of free throws in the last 30 seconds of the half to give Vinemont a 23-16 advantage at the break.
Burks drilled a three to get a 9-0 run started for the Lady Eagles in the third quarter that extended the lead to 32-16 at one point. Gorham drained a three to stop the run with just under two minutes remaining in the third and after another Robinson basket, Gorham and Dunkin each hit a pair of free throws to make it a 34-23 game going into the final frame.
After Robinson split a pair of free throws to start the fourth quarter, Lexi Golden buried back to back three-pointers to cut the lead to 35-29. Quick responded when a basket and a free throw to build the Vinemont lead back up to 38-29 with four minutes to play and the Lady Aggies got another bucket from Davi Stidham and Gorham in the final three minutes, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Lady Eagles and Vinemont held on to win it 44-33.
Robinson led the Lady Eagles with 21 points in the win, followed by Burks with 12 and Quick with seven. Gorham led the way for Fairview with 10 points in the loss. Golden added nine and Redding finished with six.
Vinemont 60 – Fairview 50 (varsity boys)
The Eagles got off to a fast start in the opening period, building an early, 6-2 lead over the Aggies with baskets from Isaiah Jones, Jordan Eller and Jeremy Harbison. Jaxon Holcomb knocked down a three to make it a 9-2 game and Jones drained another three to stretch the lead to 12-4 later in the first. AJ Wood converted an and-one play and Blake Rickard scored inside to cut the lead to 12-9 but Kaden Graham netted a pair of free throws in the final second of the first quarter to give the Eagles a 14-9 lead going into the second.
Baskets by Carson Jones and Rickard trimmed the lead to 14-13 at the start of the second quarter but after hitting a free throw, Dawson Wilhite drilled a three to keep Vinemont ahead 18-13. Graham knocked down a three to make it a 21-15 game midway through the period and after Landun Smith laid one in for Fairview, a 6-0 run by the Eagles made it a 27-17 game with three minutes remaining in the first half. Kobe Payne and Josh Rhodes each drained a pair of free throws to make it 29-19 and Payne converted another three-point play at the line to trim the lead to 29-22. However, Jones hit a jumper for Vinemont on the other end and Holcomb added a pair of free throws in the final minute of the period to give the Eagles a 33-22 lead at the halftime break.
Jones knocked down a pair of free throws and Holcomb scored inside to keep Vinemont in front 37-24 early in the third quarter. Baskets by Wilhite and Holcomb extended the lead to 41-25 and midway through the period, Holcomb’s third basket of the quarter made it a 43-27 game. Payne and Jones exchanged baskets to make it 45-29 and another score by Holcomb put the Eagles on top 47-33 going into the fourth.
Payne hit a pair of free throws and laid one in to cut the lead to 49-37 early in the fourth and Harbison and Yeager exchanged baskets to make it a 51-39 game. Payne drilled a three and Rickard split a pair of free throws to bring the lead down to 53-43 but Holcomb scored inside for Vinemont to keep the Eagles in front 55-43 with just over two minutes on the clock. A pair of Payne free throws made it a 10-point game and Yeager drilled an open three-pointer to make it 55-48. Yeager turned a steal into an easy bucket on the next possession, making it a 55-50 game with just over a minute remaining but the Aggies couldn’t chip away any more of the lead than that. After Holcomb split a pair of free throws, Graham knocked down his next four from the free throw line to wrap up a 60-50 win for the Eagles.
Holcomb led Vinemont with 16 points in the win, followed by Jones with 13 and Graham with 12. Payne led the Aggies with 16 points in the loss. Yeager added nine and Rickard posted seven.
Vinemont will be back home to host Brindlee Mountain Friday night and Fairview will travel to play at Arab.
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