HANCEVILLE, Ala.- Capping off day two of the Cullman County Basketball Tournament on Monday was the first game of the varsity boys bracket, which featured the no. 4 Holly Pond Broncos and the no. 5 Good Hope Raiders. Smart, efficient ball movement and smothering defense by Holly Pond put them ahead early, and they led comfortably throughout the round one matchup, coming away with a 60-42 win.
The Broncos got on the scoreboard on the first possession of the game with a corner three from Ty Dunn, then followed it up with a lay from center Cade Allbright. The big man continued to roll, not in scoring yet, but dishing out passes from the interior and working the boards, grabbing four of them in the first quarter. Combo-guard Asher Thrift came out with the hot hand for Holly Pond, scoring nearly every time he got his hands on the ball, and scored six in the first, matching the total of Good Hope’s team points for the period. Good Hope guard Ayden Young hit a pair of free throws for the Raiders, then finished on an athletic jumper, scoring four of the team’s first quarter points. With another five Bronco points from Fox Westall, Holly Pond led 16-6 going into the second.
Opening the second, the Broncos came out hot from deep, hitting three straight from beyond the arc to stretch their lead. On the other end, playing defense in front of their bench, they played disciplined, orchestrated by their head coach Tim Willoughby. Despite fans roaring with each passing Bronco point, one voice stuck out in Tom Drake Coliseum on Monday night. With Good Hope passing the ball around and players moving, trying to create space, “GAP! GAP! GAP!” rang out from Willoughby, alerting his players to every new vulnerability in their defense. Like a maestro, he had the Broncos’ defense forming a steel curtain on the perimeter. Allbright, Thrift and Dunn held the tune on offense, and despite Good Hope finding a few buckets at the end of the half, Holly Pond went into the break 37-23.
Good Hope came out firing, desperate for offense to close the gap in the win or go home scenario, and got a couple shots to fall, with Owen Armstrong hitting a three to open the half. Holly Pond, unfortunately for the Raiders, came out on a tear, hitting any-and-everything they shot. Following the half-opening three from Armstrong, the Broncos run ended at 14-2, with seven of those scored by Allbright, whose big scoring night took off in the third. In response, the Raiders closes out the third with a pair of threes from Christian Sims and Ayden Young, but entered the final period down 51-34.
For a team that plays as hard, and a coach that’s as vocal as Willoughby was the first three quarters, some would expect them to slow down. The fourth quarter saw the Broncos’ energy turned to a new level, however, and with the minutes ticking down and a first round victory in sight, Allbright got the green and white in the crowd on their feet. With their war of attrition leaving the Raiders’ interior worn down, Allbright stuck his shoulder into a defender, spun around and put in a two-hand slam to stretch the lead past 20 again. Then, after a responding three from the Raiders, he cut from the baseline, received a bounce pass from Thrift and threw down another slam, this time with one hand. Holly Pond’s energy was through the roof, and they closed out the 60-42 victory that sends them to the second round to face no. 1 Cold Springs with an opportunity to flip the bracket on its’ head.
Allbright finished the night with 17 points, nine rebounds, a pair of assists and three blocks. Thrift’s three-level scoring was on full display, too, as he scored 18 and tacked on five rebounds.
Good Hope had two score eight to tie as team-leaders. Young, in addition to his eight, recorded three rebounds and an assist. Tucker Screws recorded two rebounds and a block in addition to his scoring.
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