CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman was back home at Bearcat Arena Monday night to host a pair of big area games against Decatur and both the Bearcats and Lady Bearcats collected big wins on their home floor. In the girls’ game, Cullman trailed by as many as 11 in the second quarter and went into the locker room down 19 at halftime but the Lady Bearcats bounced back in the second half, outscoring the Red Raiders 31-13 in the final two periods to earn a 57-48 win. ‘Cats Head Coach Jessica McBrayer has been proud of the way her team has competed in tight games all season, but she was even prouder to see them complete the comeback Monday night.
“I’m so proud. We have been a team that’s been in a lot of close games all year. We haven’t really figured out how to pull it out. We know how to fight back, but we haven’t really figured out how to finish it and tonight was just that night where I feel like it finally clicked,” McBrayer said. “We had a lot of kids who usually come off the bench playing a lot of minutes show up and it’s always good when kids who have been grinding and biding their time get to come in and do something. I just couldn’t be more proud of them.”
In the boys’ game, the Bearcats faced Decatur with a chance to clinch hosting rights for the upcoming 6A, Area 14 Tournament and as their head coach Stu Stuedeman put it, they rose to the occasion.
“I thought our guys had a fantastic mentality. It was a pressure-packed moment and they rose to the occasion and took care of business. They’re a good basketball team, they’re a scrappy basketball team and they went on the road and beat Hartselle, so we knew we had to take them seriously. Our guys took them seriously, they were locked in ready to roll and they sealed the deal, but the jobs not done. Hosting is fantastic but the real deal will be next Wednesday.”
Cullman 57 – Decatur 48 (Varsity Girls)
Juliana Brannon hit three of her first four free throw attempts to hold Decatur’s lead at 4-3 early in the first. Mattie Smith knocked dokwn a jumper to make it a 6-4 game and later in the period, a jumper from Kadence Hanback and a pair of Ally Sharpe free throws tied the game at 8. Kentley White drained a jumper to give the ‘Cats a 10-8 lead and Sharpe buried a three-pointer just before the buzzer to put Cullman in front 13-8 going into the second quarter.
A Molly Wilson basket kept the Lady Bearcats in front 15-13 but a 9-0 scoring by Decatur gave the Red Raiders a 22-15 lead midway through the second quarter. Sharpe knocked down a three and sank a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 27-21 later in the second. Annalee Allen laid one in to make it a 32-23 game with less than two minutes to play in the half and after Taylor Au split a pair of free throws, Wilson netted two from the line to cut the deficit to 35-26 going into the locker room at the break.
A Rachel Hoffman basket made it 35-28 at the start of the third quarter and Sharpe scored the next five points for Cullman to bring the lead down to 38-33. Brannon scored inside to make it a 3-point game midway through the third and after another scoring run from the Raiders, Wilson scored back to back buckets in the final minute of the period to make it a 46-39 game with just eight minutes to play.
Baskets by Allen and Wilson cut the lead to 46-43 and White laid one in to make it a 1-point game early in the fourth. Wilson’s big night continued with six straight points on the next three possessions, putting Cullman back in front 51-46 midway through the fourth. Sharpe and Wilson finished things off at the free throw line in the final two minutes to complete the comeback and secure a 57-48 area win for the Lady Bearcats.
Sharpe led Cullman with 19 points in the win, followed by Wilson with 18.
Cullman 71 – Decatur 43 (Varsity Boys)
Brodie Banister split a pair of free throws and Colton Echols tipped one in at the rim to give Cullman a 3-0 start in the opening period. Decatur responded with a 6-0 run on the other end to take an early lead but baskets by Echols, Preston Gay and Kase Nixon allowed the ‘Cats to move back in front 9-8 later in the period. Evan Wilson knocked down a three and Banister converted an and-one play to stretch the lead to 15-10. Sam Dorough scored the next five points for Cullman to make it a 20-12 game with 20 seconds to play and Jake Dorough split a pair of free throws with two seconds on the clock to give the Bearcats a 21-14 lead going into the second quarter.
Baskets by Sam Duskin, Jake Dorough and Gay added to the lead early in the second. Peyton Bradley laid one in to put Cullman ahead 29-16 and later in the period, Jake Dorough and Duskin nailed back to back three-pointers to give the ‘Cats a 37-21 lead. Two more buckets from Dorough and another three by Duskin sent Cullman into the locker room with a 44-27 lead at halftime.
The Bearcats dominated the third quarter, extending their lead to 48-29 early in the period with a pair of Echols baskets. Jake Dorough added a free throw and knocked down another three to make it a 53-29 game and two more buckets from Echols and Duskin made it 57-29. Wilson scored inside on back to back possessions to stretch the lead to 61-29 with two minutes remaining in the third and Cullman finished the quarter with baskets by Bradley and Banister to take a 65-34 advantage into the final frame.
Wilson scored the first four points on the period to make it a 69-34 game early in the fourth and with the clock running the rest of the way, the Bearcats cruised to a 71-43 area win over the Red Raiders.
Four different Bearcats finished the game in double figures, led by Jake Dorough with 17 and Wilson with 11.
The Bearcats will be back at Bearcat Arena Tuesday night to play Pleasant Grove.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
