HOLLY POND — Vinemont and Holly Pond are on to sub-regionals.

As for whether they go as Class 3A, Area 10 Tournament champions or runners-up? Well, that remains to be seen.

The Eagles were first to punch their sub-regional ticket Tuesday at Holly Pond, ousting Hanceville 57-44 in a game that was close for most of the first-round contest.

Following a 24-24 tie at halftime and 10 total lead changes — nothing out of the ordinary for one of the county’s most competitive rivalries — Vinemont finally took control with an 8-0 run to end the third quarter. A Tyler Tucker trey to open the fourth frame extended the surge to 11 unanswered points and put the Eagles up 42-34, an advantage that held even after Hanceville made one last stab and pulled within two.

Trey Tucker and Trey Waldrep took over from there, accounting for 11 of Vinemont’s points on its 15-4 frenzy to close out the victory.

“It feels great going on,” said Waldrep, who tossed in a hard-earned 11 points. “We have such a great coach and good teammates that we play well together … when we play well together. Let’s just keep playing well, keep playing together.”

Vinemont coach Todd Johnson experienced a touch of dèja vu in the third quarter, halting a skid with a timely timeout and sparking a run after reminding his squad to be smarter on offense and go harder on the boards. It was the same exact formula that led to an Eagle win over Hanceville in their second meeting of the season.

“We finished strong. We played smart. We’ve got to hit foul shots better, but other than that, I’m real pleased with the second half,” Johnson said. “First half, I think both teams were a little tight, a little tense. Things got loosened up in the second half, and I’m real proud of the win.”

Tyler Tucker set the stage for a monster night with a trio of treys and 11 points in the first quarter. The senior — the class standing of all five Vinemont starters — wound up with a game-high 23 points and five makes from long range.

More than any offensive statistics, Johnson was proud Tucker took his fourth charge of the winter.

“He had several good steals in the open court,” the coach said. “He hit some timely 3’s. He penetrated and dished the ball real well tonight. He had a really good game.”

Tucker’s twin brother, Trey, also came up clutch by posting a double-double comprised of 11 points and 10 boards.

“He rebounded really well for us tonight, and that’s something we’ve got to have,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to have post production.”

Zack Drake and Lance Stanley rounded out the Eagles’ scoring with eight and four points, respectively.

“We’re just lucky to have great shooters on our team,” Waldrep said. “Every one of our starters — and even our bench — we can all hit 3’s. As long as we put each other first and we’re there for our teammates, we’re doing good.”

Added Johnson: “It makes our offense a lot harder to defend when you’ve got more than one person to score. When they’re in their spots, all five can score. And we’re going to have to Thursday night. We’re going to have to be ready because I know they will be.”

“They” turned out to be Holly Pond, which is No. 1 in the state’s Class 3A rankings and swept the season series 3-0. The first two matchups were 15-point affairs before a 37-point rout earlier this month.

Tip-off for the tournament championship will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The winner will host a sub-regional bout, while the runner-up will travel to a champ. Neither is expected to be easy with No. 3 Madison Academy and No. 7 West Morgan waiting in their cross-region.

Waldrep doesn’t mind entering the title tilt as the underdog.

“It’s a good matchup for us,” Waldrep said. “We have everything to win. We have to try hard and try to keep up to that tempo. With our coach, we know we’ve got a gameplan. We’ve got to just try our best to put it out.”

Xavier Malcom paced Hanceville with three treys and 16 points, while Jose Orozco roped in double digits with 10 points. Other contributors for the Bulldogs were Dant’e Reese, six points; Christian Sellers, four; C.J. White and Isaac Weissend, three apiece; and Luke Duffie, two.

% Holly Pond 92, Susan Moore 47: As Drew Jones drained 3 after 3 after 3 in the first half, the question of the night quickly turned from if the sophomore was going to break the Broncos’ single-game record to when.

The answer came with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter, when Jones buried his 10th and final trey to bypass Jacob Walker’s previous-high mark. The sharpshooter tied the record with 52 seconds to go in the first half, all with his zany release and follow-through that often draws second takes from first-time spectators.

Jones finished an eye-popping 10 of 15 from behind the arc.

“Yeah, I was feeling it pretty good, I must say,” the new single-game No. 1 said with a sheepish smile. “I wanted it pretty bad. I feel honored to have it. My teammates set me up in good position and they just went down for me.”

Jones’ record-breaking accomplishment came on the same evening his older sibling, Cody, took over Holly Pond’s all-time assists mark. The senior dished out 10 dimes to bump his total to 297, six more than Brian Robertson’s previous record.

Austin Smith showed out with 25 points, Dawson Foust caught fire late with nine points from downtown and John Phillips joined the party with eight points.

Other contributors for the Broncos, which improved to 25-3 with their 11th consecutive victory, were Bailey Smith, five points; Landen Walker and Cody Jones, four each; Matt Cahoon, three; and Jed Hardman and Dylan Basenburg, both two.

“It’s very nice to get the win and go to Round 2,” Drew Jones said. “We’ve just got to keep going, make it to state.”

Despite Holly Pond’s success against Vinemont this season, Jones still isn’t taking the Eagles lightly.

“Vinemont looked very tough tonight,” he said. “We’re going to have to bring our game and hopefully it goes our way.”

Varsity Girls

% Holly Pond 81, Vinemont 19: The ninth-ranked Lady Broncos opened the bout on a 24-0 run en route to a swift first-round win versus the Eagles  Tuesday night.

Meg Gambrill collected a game-high 22 points for top-seeded Holly Pond, which moved to 19-9 on the season.

Molly Gambrill (16 points), Melissa Clingman (11) and Adair Gillilan (10) also netted double digits for the home squad. Other contributors were Ruth Horton, nine points; Kaitlyn Stephens, seven; Haley Higginbotham, four; and Lauren Camp and Taylor Tankersley, two apiece.

The Broncos will take on Hanceville in the championship game Thursday at 6 p.m. A victory versus the Bulldogs would garner the Green and White a formidable sub-regional matchup against the loser of Lauderdale County and Madison County at home.

Zoe Thomas scored eight points for Vinemont in its final game of the 2014-15 campaign. Sarah Smith and Casey Westmoreland tossed in four apiece, while Kelsey Rodgers and Anna Hughes finished with two each.

% Hanceville 65, Susan Moore 29: For the first time in myriad seasons, the Lady Bulldogs are heading into the next round of the playoffs.

Junior Taylor Hollingsworth nabbed herself a double-double (16 points and 16 rebounds), while Niya Evans and Karmen Johnson scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the Purple and Gold’s blowout victory.

Other Dawg scorers were Lexi Cooper, eight points; Brooke Barnett and Braylah Anderton, both seven; and Desi Hackney, four.

“I’m absolutely proud,” coach Christina Warren said. “I’m proud of the wins we get because we don’t have a sense of, ‘Hey, I want to get a win.’ We’re glad to have something in the trophy case this season. That really was our goal. We stressed finishing because we didn’t want to go home. We’ve grown a lot this year.”