Cullman boys drop contest to Class 3A champs

Published 11:49 pm Thursday, December 29, 2005

The Cullman Bearcats couldn’t overcome 24 turnovers and six traveling calls against the defending Class 3A state champion Litchfield Eagles Thursday, as they fell 57-48 in the third day of the WQSB Holiday Classic at Snead State Community College.

The Bearcats held a lead going into the fourth quarter, but were called for traveling three times in the final two minutes as Litchfield pulled away.

“Litchfield ran a full-court man-to-man press the entire game,” said Cullman coach Mike Dean. “There coach told me after the game that they usually force about 30-35 turnovers per game and he said we handled the pressure better than most. Dylan Smith, Jacob Dellinger and Josh Knight played well tonight, but our guards turned the ball over too much.”

Smith led the Bearcats with 17 points, while Dellinger added 13. Jesse Bouldin also chipped in 10 points.

Kyle McSwain came off the bench for Cullman in the fourth quarter with the Bearcats down four points. McSwain scored five straight points to give the Bearcats a two point advantage, but they could not hold on for the win.

“That’s why you play in these Christmas tournaments,” Dean said. “You want to find out what we need to work on and what we are good at. We know after this week that we need to work on our ball handling.”

Cullman (14-4) will take on Alcoa, Tenn., today at 3 p.m. in the final day of the Classic.

Holly Pond 52, Hickory Flats 43 (boys): The Broncos won their second game in three days over the Mississippi-based squad in the Oneonta Holiday Classic.

Brent Deese led the Broncos with 19 points. Daniel O’Brien added 12 points and Jordan King pitched in 11.

Holly Pond (4-13) will face Vinemont in the final day of the Classic today at 5:30 p.m.

Jackson-Olin 43, Good Hope 42 (boys): The Raiders lost on a 30-foot bank shot as time expired in the third day of the Oneonta Holiday Classic.

Alex Richter led Good Hope with nine points. Also scoring for the Raiders were Brody Whitlock with eight, Jarrod Ibrahim with six, Nathan Walker with six, Jaime Epperly with six, Justin Ray with five and Jerrod Fite with two.

Good Hope (9-8) will face Horseshoe Bend in the final day of the Classic at 11:30 a.m. today.

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