Brewing victories
Published 6:34 pm Friday, December 9, 2005
By Matt Perdue
mperdue@cullmantimes.com
Cullman was all about quality Thursday night.
Quality defense, quality shooting and quality victories all took center stage as both Bearcat squads downed Brewer in prep basketball.
In boys’ action, Cullman (10-1) limited the visiting Patriots to a mere 11 points combined in the second and third quarters enroute to a 50-35 victory.
The Lady Bearcats (7-1) held Brewer scoreless for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter for a 60-46 comeback success.
Cullman 50, Brewer 35 (boys): Defense was the name of the game for the Bearcats against fellow Class 5A foe Brewer.
Cullman limited the visiting Patriots to 35 points on the night, including a nearly flawless second and third quarters.
“We played defense really well tonight,” said Cullman head coach Mike Dean. “I thought our bench defense with Zeb Smith, Kyle McSwain and Ross Weathersby did a real good job with our three-quarter press.”
Brewer appeared to be the much bigger team on the night with a front line of three boys over 6-feet-4, but Cullman’s post players did an excellent job of scoring and securing defensive rebounds.
“They were a big team, but we did an excellent job of keeping them off the glass,” Ponder said. “Carson Williams, Raymond Segura and Dylan Smith did an excellent job on the boards. They didn’t give them any second chances.”
Smith and Williams played strong offensively in the post with 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Shooting guard Jacob Dellinger added six points while Josh Knight’s five rounded out the top scorers.
Cullman led 20-13 after one quarter while building a 29-19 and 42-24 advantages in the second and third frames.
“This victory tonight over a good Brewer team that has played a tough early schedule definitely gives us some confidence,” Dean said. “We just need to make sure we don’t have a letdown heading into Saturday night’s game against Hartselle.
“Hartselle may not have a good record right now, but everytime we meet it’s like Alabama and Auburn. They always get up for this game and it’s especially tough in their gym.”
Cullman 60, Brewer 46 (girls): Down by one point (42-41) entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Bearcats clamped down on defense to turn a close game lopsided.
“Our defensive effort in the second half was great” said head coach Marc Ponder. “It was the difference in the game. It’s something that we have worked and worked on in practice.”
Cullman’s offensive gameplan of feeding standout center Elizabeth Rowe paid huge dividends as Rowe poured in a whopping 33 points.
“Getting the ball to Elizabeth is our gameplan every game,” Ponder said. “We want to go inside every night and score in the paint. Elizabeth plays good, smart basketball and knows to pass out when the double team comes to her.”
With Rowe scoring half of the Lady Bearcats’ points, guards Caroline Weatherly and Erin Meriwether took advantage of the open looks.
Weatherly knocked down five 3-pointers for 15 points, while Meriwether notched 10 as the trio scored 58 of the 60 total points.
“We don’t worry about who scores our points,” Ponder added. “Everyone understands that. Andrea Mason scored our other two points tonight, but had a ton of rebounds and some steals. Thirty-three points looks good in a book, but the rebounds and steals by Elizabeth are just as big.”
After running out to a 16-8 lead after one quarter, the Lady Bearcats fell behind in the next two frames, but never by more than four points.
Solid defense and big baskets from the aforementioned trio of scorers brought Cullman right back.
“I told the girls at halftime that basketball is a game of runs,” Ponder said. “We had ours early and then they had theirs and got up a few points. We were due one more run and got it in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight was a win against a quality program. This game was a measuring stick for our program and showed a lot about this team.”
Both Cullman teams play at Hartselle on Saturday night with varsity play beginning around 6 p.m.