YULE TIDE CLASSIC: Bearcats weather slow start, blow by Broncos; Lady Aggies hold on vs. Priceville

Published 7:56 pm Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Cullman's Anna Evans reaches over an Athens player for the ball during Wednesday's third-place game. 

HANCEVILLE — Fifth place went to Cullman at this year’s Mitch Smith Chevrolet Yule Tide Classic.

But is that really all the ‘Cats played for Wednesday at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum?

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Of course not.

Against rival Holly Pond, there’s always a little more at stake.

“That was the championship game right there,” Seth Swalve said with a smile. “People just didn’t know.”

Swalve ripped off 15 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter as Cullman overcame a one-sided start for a convincing 73-58 victory. Gage Goodwin netted 16 points, and Jacob Heatherly chimed in with 10, all while helping the Bearcats claw out of a 23-11 hole near the end of the opening frame.

The score not even three minutes in read Matt Cahoon 11, Everybody Else 0. Cullman caught up and even took control by halftime, however, turning a 23-6 second quarter into a 37-29 advantage at the break.

The Black and Gold had good reason for dragging early. They’d skipped morning shootaround in favor of a little extra rest.

A few Cullman catalysts ensured it didn’t wind up making a difference.

“Jacob started taking over. He said, ‘Alright, I’m going to jumpstart this team,'” Swalve said. “Then I got a couple layups to go. You see a couple guys playing hard, then everybody wants to play hard. It kind of fires everybody up. You want to play hard for the next guy.”

Nic Handley had eight points for the ‘Cats and held his own down low with a smattering of rebounds and blocks. The big man was pretty pumped to come out on top against a familiar foe he highly respects.

“They’re a great team,” Handley said. “They’ve got great players. It’s unreal the athleticism they have. But we stuck it out, and we won. I’m proud of us, and I’m proud of my team.”

Cahoon finished with 19 points, and Bailey Smith scored 12. Caleb Jones joined in with nine. Landen Walker and Drew Jones each contributed seven for the Broncos, who briefly tied the game in the third quarter before reverting back to “individual mode.”

“In the first quarter, we had several assists,” coach Mitch Morris said. “We were sharing the ball. We found open people and knocked down shots. We got in a rhythm. Second quarter, we got more in an individual mode. No assists. And then we quit scoring. That put pressure on our defense — and we’re a good offensive team.”

Class 3A No. 2 Holly Pond dropped to 13-4 with a 1-2 showing at Cullman’s fourth annual Christmas event.

“You’re going to have these kinds of games,” Morris said. “It’s good to have them now, in a tournament. I’m hoping the little break we’re going to have before we start back next week will help us kind of regroup.”

The Bearcats improved to 12-4 with their second win of the season against the Broncos since losing the season opener for both programs. They were also triumphant in overtime when the teams met in last year’s Yule Tide Classic title tilt.

Cullman will head to Decatur Jan. 5 before continuing area play the following week with home bouts versus Austin and Hartselle.

“We’ve got some big games coming up,” Swalve said. “Some packed gyms hopefully. I think people are starting to realize we’re not the same as last year, but we can definitely play.”


Varsity Girls

Fairview 60, Priceville 51

The Lady Aggies jumped out on the 4A No. 7 Bulldogs and held on to snag fifth place in the girls bracket.

Fairview’s early 16-point lead dwindled to as little as three in the third quarter before Mary Hartline’s squad pumped the brakes on Priceville’s comeback.

Abbi Taylor stayed busy in the post with a double-double (16 points and 12 rebounds) and five blocks. Jada Golden did a little bit of everything with 15 points on a handful of 3’s, four steals and a pair of swats. Taylor Ann Yeager tacked on 12 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

“It was a hold-on game, but it’s better to hold on than to not to,” said Hartline, whose team will enter 2016 14-4. “I felt like at the end of the game we did a lot better. We took care of the ball. We at least hit some of our free throws. We wasted a lot of time off the clock, and that’s something we need to learn how to do.”

Skyler Benson and Kathleen Wheeler paced Priceville with 17 and 11 points, respectively.


Athens 61, Cullman 43

The third quarter was unkind to the Lady Bearcats for the second time in as many days.

Trailing just 30-21 at halftime, Cullman wasn’t quite able to recover from the Golden Eagles’ 17-4 start to the decisive stanza.

Christina Skinner and Taiya Ponder topped the ‘Cats with 12 points apiece. Elli Dixon and Anna Katherine Eastman both added six.

Jakayla Bridgeforth (23 points), Tionna Moore (15) and Korey Vance (12) cracked double figures for Athens.

Cullman, which collected its third win of the season Monday against Brooks, concluded the tournament fourth.