HANCEVILLE, Ala.- Day two of the Cullman County Tournament saw its’ JV Girls no. 1 seed go down in the first game, but the no. 1 seed West Point Warriors suffered no such fate, defeating no. 5 seed Cold Springs 79-29 to earn a spot in the JV Boys championship.
The story of the game can be summed up into the first quarter, which saw the Warriors out-rebound the Eagles 12-3, and out-score them 20-0. Warriors’ forward Rush Lamar traveled to Hanceville to play after competing in the MLK Invitational track and field event in Birmingham this morning, where he set a school record on his 400m dash. He showed no signs of exhaustion, fighting through defenders to grab five boards in the first, and scored on a slick turnaround jumper. His frontcourt partner, Levi Steadman, was showing early signs of dominance in the paint as well. Strong rebounding and scoring from Colton Kimbril gave the Warriors their huge lead going into the second.
While they continued having no issues scoring, Eagles’ forward Jaxon Smith started finding the basket in response, scoring seven in the second quarter. Lamar and Steadman continued dominating the paint, however, grabbing boards and creating opportunities for their backcourt. Kimbril and Steadman lays were followed by a big three from Eagle Brooks Black, who made it a 38-12 game right before the half.
Opening the third, the Warriors went on another hot streak after a quick three from the Eagles’ Brooks Belcher. A whopping 23-point heater would follow from the Warriors, whose height in Steadman, physicality in Lamar and shooting touch from Kimbril were simply overwhelming.
In the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ Jackson Reid emerged as a pest, stealing the ball four times in the quarter alone, taking two of them coast-to-coast for easy layups. Smith’s scoring was the lone positive for the Eagles. He scored seven in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough as West Point finished off a 79-29 victory to advance.
West Point’s Levi Steadman finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Kimbril ended with 14 points, a rebound and an assist. Guard Tyce Thompson scored a smooth 12 points, as well.
For Cold Springs, Jaxon Smith led the team with 14 points, and added two rebounds and two steals.
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