HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The JV boys county champions would be decided on Championship Friday, as the top-seeded West Point Warriors faced off against the third-seeded Good Hope Raiders. Both defenses came to play to start out the game, and there were only five made baskets made the entire opening quarter. West Point, though, quickly flipped the switch in the second period, outscoring Good Hope, 17-2, to take a double-digit lead into the locker room. The Warriors added to their lead in the second half and continued to keep the Raiders at bay on defense, as they would go on to defeat Good Hope, 46-21, to win this year’s county championship.
The first quarter saw both defenses stand out in a big way. An early steal by Julian Phillips led to a layup by Web Buchanan to give Good Hope the early lead, but later in the quarter, Colton Kimbril dropped in a floater to tie the game up at two. Phillips knocked down a floater, and Caleb Boles later added a driving layup to put the Raiders ahead, 6-2. A rebound and putback by Tripp Dingler cut it to 6-4 going into the second period.
Dingler split his free throws, and Tyce Thompson dropped in a floater from the left side to give West Point a 7-6 lead early in the second. Buchanan banked in a floater to give Good Hope the lead right back at 8-7. The trio of Dingler, Thompson, and Rush Lamar quickly got West Point going on both sides of the ball. Thompson and Lamar each knocked down a three, and Dingler got fouled after hitting a tough jumper and ended up completing the three-point play at the free throw line to put the Warriors ahead, 17-8. Thompson nailed a short jumper, and Dingler added two more from the charity stripe to stretch West Point’s lead to 21-8 at the break. After the Buchanan basket, the Warriors outscored the Raiders, 14-0, the rest of the half to take the double-digit lead into the locker room.
Buchanan and Eli Drake each knocked in a floater to cut it to 21-12 early in the third. Thompson, though, answered right back with a three from the right wing to give West Point a 24-12 lead. Later in the quarter, a pair of free throws by Lamar and a basket down low by Levi Steadman widened the Warrior lead to 28-13 almost midway through the third. Dingler added two more baskets in the paint, and Lamar knocked down a short jumper from the left side to put West Point ahead, 34-17, going into the final quarter.
Buchanan drove to the basket and banked in a floater to make it a 34-19 game early in the fourth, but Thompson drained his third trey of the game, Jackson Reid scored five straight points, and Lamar and Dingler each added a basket in the paint to give the Warriors a commanding 46-19 lead. West Point kept a sizeable lead for the rest of the game, as they ended up knocking off Good Hope, 46-21, to take home this year’s JV Boys county championship.
Dingler finished with 14 points for the Warriors. Thompson ended up with 13 points, and Lamar posted 10 points. For Good Hope, Buchanan finished with 13 points.
