HANCEVILLE, Ala.- Closing out day three of the Cullman County Basketball Tournament, the two-seeded West Point Warriors took on the seven-seed Hanceville Bulldogs in the final game of round one. With a semifinal spot on the line, the Warriors got off to a hot start from deep to build a lead, then took off in the second half, knocking the Bulldogs off, 68-47.
6-5 Warriors’ forward Jaxon Shelton established himself as soon as the game tipped off, getting the ball down low for a hook to open the scoring. After a responding layup by Hanceville’s Nick Davis, the big man made it clear he’d be a matchup nightmare, showing off his ball handling skills, pump faking a three, driving to the rack then swinging the ball out to Graph Byram for a three. After rebounding a missed Bulldog shot, he drove the ball down the court to Byram, who drained another deep ball. Hanceville responded, with Drake Bentley draining his own three, which gave the Bulldog crowd some juice, which was quickly taken away by a three from Kade Vincent. It would be the story of the night, as Hanceville had to attempt to play catch up from the jump after the Warriors’ came out on a heater. They’d hit four from beyond the arc, three of them belonging to Byram, to help pad a 23-14 lead after the first quarter.
It didn’t slow down there, either. To open the second, Shelton showed off his scoring range, hitting a three from the wing. Then, Vincent hit a three, then Shelton hit another after a smooth jumper on the prior possession, then Byram drained his fourth to cap off a 14-point scoring streak that put the Warriors up 37-14 early in the second. Needing a response, and quick, the Bulldogs looked to Sam Abney, one of the best shooters in the county, and he delivered with a deep three from the top of the key, his second of the night. Though Hanceville closed the quarter on a 10-2 run, the hole had been dug, and they still trailed 39-24 going into the break.
The third quarter saw Warrior forward Nolan Franklin gaining traction, stealing a ball and going coast to coast for a layup, then taking it to the rack again on the next possession. After an additional pair of West Point baskets from Shelton and forward Maddox Chapman made it a 48-25 lead, Bulldog guard Kade Schulz attempted a takeover. Off the back of a Warrior miss, the ball ended up in Schulz’ hands, who nailed a three from the left wing. On the next possession, he did the same, and the one after that? You guessed it. The heater continued, but from the right side this time. A timeout was called by a frustrated Warriors’ head coach Mason Voce, after a 23-point lead had shrunk to 14 in a matter of seconds and three strokes of a wrist. Out of the timeout, Franklin took control back for West Point, hitting a pair of buckets and a free throw for the Warriors, who maintained a big 55-36 point lead heading into the final frame.
With desperation growing for the Bulldogs, who needed quick points, they went to Abney, who was cold from deep, a rare occasion. It was to the advantage of the Warriors, who, behind a streak including another deep ball from Shelton and a pair of layups from Franklin midway through the period, went on to finish off Hanceville, 68-47. The Warriors move on to the semifinals, taking on no. 6 seed Vinemont on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m for a spot in the championship.
Leading the Warriors, Shelton scored 19 points, five rebounds and a trio of assists. Franklin landed right behind him with 18 points, and threw in six rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. While he didn’t score outside of his four first quarter threes, Byram still ended the game with 12 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Hanceville was led by Abney with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, followed by Schulz’ nine points from his three-point heater in the third.
Copyright 2025 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
