Holly Pond's Caleb Jones drives to the hoop on Cullman's Gage Goodwin.

Fletcher Reeling didn’t even think about celebrating until the scoreboard reached 0:00.

Good thing, too.

Cullman built up a 14-point fourth-quarter cushion, fought off a relentless home squad and ultimately held on for a 75-73 win in the championship game of the 59th annual Holly Pond Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday.

The Bearcats (6-1) have now won six straight games, while the Broncos (6-1) dropped their first of the season.

“We knew it wasn’t over ’til it was over,” Reeling said. “We respect them. They just kept on pushing and pushing, but we kept on pushing, too. We were able to come out on top.”

Added Cullman coach Bobby Meyer: “They’re an excellent team. Probably top 3 in their 3A classification. We really set out to defend and make them earn their shots. It worked out for the most part. We got down and defended like we haven’t all year long.”

Meyer’s group raced out to a 24-11 first-quarter lead on the back of that improved defense before the Broncos settled down and closed the deficit to three at halftime.

The teams went back and forth throughout the second half until Cullman —still nursing its three-point advantage early in the fourth quarter — quickly surged ahead following a 13-2 flurry punctuated by a pair of treys from Kolby Robinson and Gage Goodwin.

Holly Pond didn’t go away quietly, though, as Drew Jones and Matt Cahoon combined for their squad’s final 18 points of the frame to twice cut the lead back to that familiar number.

Three.

However, a handful of free throws from Reeling, Seth Swalve and Jacob Heatherly all but rendered a last-second 3-point by Cahoon moot.

Although the Green and White had their moments, the Bearcat D was as good as it’s been all season, especially given the fact the same unit surrendered 19 3’s and 93 points to the exact same Holly Pond offense less than a month ago.

“Coach told us we needed to do whatever it took to win,” Reeling said. “Our defense was it. We just keep getting better and better every game. We’re going to keep improving until this team reaches the top.”

Meyer, who did little to hide his displeasure in the first meeting, was much more content with what he saw on the court Friday night.

“Defense is all about getting in a stance, keeping the guy in front of you and defending shots and rebounding,” the longtime coach said. “That’s it.”

Swalve led the Bearcats with 23 points, while Reeling (17), Robinson (11) and Goodwin (10) all tossed in double-digit contributions.

For Holly Pond, Cahoon was brilliant with 24 points and several rebounds. Jones (19 points), Bailey Smith (nine) and Caleb Jones (seven) spearheaded an offense that had nine different guys pour in buckets.

Unfortunately for Green and White coach Mitch Morris, it wasn’t enough in the end.

“We came out real flat and weren’t the aggressor like we have been,” he said. “They came out and knocked down shots. We fought back and had chances. You lose to a really strong team like Cullman, there could be worse times. We’ve got to take it and learn from it.”

Holly Pond hopes to rebound with a home tilt against Hanceville next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cullman will take a week off before welcoming in Brewer next Friday.

Until then, Reeling and Co. are going to enjoy this one.

Especially given the horrors of opening night earlier this month.

“Oh yeah, it feels good,” he said.

In other action, Arab defeated J.B. Pennington in the third-place game, while Hartselle took down West Point in the fifth-place contest.

% Jake Winfrey can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 136, or jwinfrey@cullmantimes.com.