HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The 2026 Cullman County Basketball Tournament concluded with the varsity boys championship game between no. 1 Cold Springs and no. 2 West Point. It was a defensive battle to start out the contest, as it was tied after one. The Warriors’ defense dominated the second quarter, holding the Eagles to just one field goal, as they took an eight-point lead into the locker room. West Point quickly stretched their lead to double digits in the third and took off from there, as they ended up defeating Cold Springs, 51-38, to take home their first county championship since 2012.
It was the battle of the defenses to start out the game, as neither team scored a point for almost three minutes before a Cash Dickerson trey from the right corner gave Cold Springs the early lead. Breydon Hallmon followed that up with a rebound and a putback, then a steal by Ethan Day led to a layup by Ayden Black, as that put the Eagles ahead, 7-0. That would be the last basket that Cold Springs would hit for a while. Graph Byram and Jaxon Shelton each drained a three to cut it to 7-6 with 2:46 remaining in the opening period. Maddox Chapman hit a pair of free throws to tie the game up at eight going into the second.
Defense continued to dominate the game in the second quarter, except it would be West Point’s defense that would dominate that side of the floor. Shelton drove to the basket and laid it in to put the Warriors up, 10-9. On the next possession, Chapman collected a steal and took it coast-to-coast for the tough basket down low to give West Point a 12-9 lead early in the second period. The Warriors’ defense gave Cold Springs fits, as they didn’t allow them to hit a field goal in a little over nine minutes. Wyatt Barker broke that up with a layup to make it a 14-11 game with less than three minutes to go in the first half. Chapman collected a pair of baskets in the paint to widen the Warrior lead to 18-11. Byram added two free throws to give West Point a 20-12 lead at the half.
Barker and Lindan Hill each collected a basket down low to cut it to 23-16 early in the third, but a rebound and putback by Chapman gave the Warriors a 25-16 lead. After a Shelton jumper made it 27-16, Day drilled a three from the top of the key to trim it to eight at 27-19 almost midway through the third quarter. Chapman continued to dominate down low, as he hit yet another basket in the paint. Later in the third, Chapman found Nolan Franklin down low for a layup to make it a 31-21 game. Kade Vincent drove to the basket and laid it in to give West Point a 33-21 lead. A Day trey cut it to 33-24, but a pair of free throws by Shelton, coupled with another Chapman assist, this time to Shelton, made it 37-24. Ayden Ennis capped off the strong quarter for West Point with a trey from the left corner before the buzzer, as that put them ahead, 40-24, going into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors continued their dominating play on both sides of the floor. Shelton found Franklin down low for a basket not once, not twice, but three times in the fourth. That was sandwiched around a Byram jumper, as that gave West Point a 49-28 lead. Vincent collected a steal and a basket to make it 51-30. Despite a late run by Cold Springs to cut it to 13, that wouldn’t be nearly enough in the end, as the Warriors ended up collecting a 51-38 win over the Eagles to win the county title for the first time in 14 years.
Chapman led the way for West Point with 13 points. Shelton added 12 points, and Franklin ended up with 11 points. Day finished with 10 points for Cold Springs, and Black posted eight points.
