HOLLY POND, Ala.- The Addison Bulldogs (18-5) of Winston County, newly minted as the fifth-ranked 1A team in the state per ASWA, traveled to take on 3A Holly Pond (9-11) on Thursday night.
On paper, it looked to be an exciting matchup of a scrappy, athletic Bulldog team vs. a technically sound veteran Bronco team that’s better than their record indicates. After a strong second quarter, Holly Pond seemed primed to blow the game open and led by 11 at the half, but the Bulldogs’ defense prevailed late. Addison would force overtime, then the Broncos forced another, and after a back-and-forth double OT period, Holly Pond’s Ty Dunn put an end to the madness with a deep ball at the buzzer, winning the game 72-69.
Despite the 1A to 3A jump in competition between the schools, it was clear Addison came to play from the tip. A Scout Flynn layup would open scoring, but the Broncos would break off a 10-2 run behind a pair of threes from Asher Thrift and Ty Dunn capped off by a breakaway dunk from Cade Allbright. To this point, Addison was out-rebounding the Broncos and moving the ball well on offense, but shots weren’t falling, and Holly Pond’s transition offense had them up. An Elijah Roberts and-one finish got him rolling and gave the Bulldogs time to settle down, only down 12-7. With their feet under them and their hands active, Roberts, Flynn and Conner Lane all notched steals to take it back the other way and get three buckets to take the lead. A pair of Fox Westall free throws would give Holly Pond the lead back, and they headed into the second leading 14-13.
The second period saw Holly Pond breaking through Addison’s strong defense, with Thrift and Dunn threes fueling an 8-0 run to start the quarter. While their defense remained solid, the Bulldogs couldn’t find the basket. Forced shots on bad looks and taking on unnecessary contact gave the Bulldog crowd a four and a half minute wait for the first bucket of the quarter, which would be a Kiah Lake hook shot to make it 22-15. The teams would go back and forth, with Thrift hitting a mid-range jumper, a floater and a layup before the half, which ended with the Broncos leading 28-17.
With some time to breathe, Addison got back to their first quarter form, playing strong defense and getting a Lake layup and two Lane threes to fall to cut the deficit to just three within the first two minutes of the second half. A run with responses by Allbright, Westall and another Dunn three stretched their lead back to ten. After a Judah Wilkins three, a pair of trips to the free throw line sent Holly Pond into the fourth leading 43-33.
The Bulldogs, already a press defensive team, moved into hard press, double teaming ball handlers and meeting them at the half-court nearly every possession. After Roberts and Westall exchanged threes to open the quarter, Addison’s defense took charge. The Broncos struggled to find an open look, let alone a made shot, giving the Bulldogs’ transition offense a chance to shine. Roberts fought through contact for another tough and-one bucket, kicking off a 10-0 Addison run to bring them within one point, trailing just 47-46 with three minutes to go in regulation. A pair of free throws from Roberts would give Addison the lead for the first time since it was 4-2, but a Dunn three and an Allbright layup to go along with some free throws would give Holly Pond a 53-50 lead with just six seconds to go. The Bulldogs, who have no shortage of speed, raced down the court and kicked it out to Conner Lane in the left corner, who drilled a three to send the game to overtime, tied at 53.
With both teams on the ropes, scoring opened in overtime with a Westall three, followed by a free throw make by Thrift to give Holly Pond a quick four point lead in overtime. Flynn would respond on the other end, hitting a three, then going back and forth on layups with Thrift. At 59-58, Roberts stepped to the line, hitting both in spite of the Broncos’ home crowd noise to give Addison a 60-59 lead. Thrift went back for another layup, attempting to win the game. He missed, but drew a trip to the line, where he’d hit one to send the game into a second overtime period.
Roberts and Joey Wilson went layup for layup with Allbright to open the period, with a Lake floater giving the Bulldogs a 66-64 lead. Ty Dunn’s fifth three of the night sent the crowd into a frenzy, putting the Broncos up 67-66, but Flynn raced down to the other end to quiet them, nailing another three to put Addison back in front, 69-67. In true nail-biter fashion, Thrift answered with an athletic layup and tied the game up at 69 with under 30 seconds to go. Addison missed their attempt at a game-winner, giving Ty Dunn the spotlight on the other end, as time expired, the senior hurled up a three from the top of the key. He nailed it, sending the Holly Pond bench and crowd into mania after witnessing one of the most exciting games of the season, a 72-69 Bronco win.
Holly Pond was led in scoring by Thrift, who led the game with 24 points and tacked on three rebounds and a pair of assists. Dunn’s six threes and a free throw put him at 19 points on the night, but added two rebounds and five assists. Leading the game in rebounds, Allbright put up a double-double with 12 boards to go with 14 points and an assist.
The Bulldogs’ strong performance was led by Roberts, who scored 19 and added three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Behind him, Flynn put up 18 points, four boards and three assists. Lane, who sent the game into its’ first overtime, ended the night with 13 points and a pair of rebounds and steals.
