Cullman's varsity boys pose with their third straight area tournament championship trophy after upsetting Austin Saturday night. 

DECATUR — The third time was certainly the charm for Cullman’s varsity boys.

After dropping a pair of regular season games to Austin, the Bearcats got the best of the No. 5 Black Bears when it mattered most.

In the championship game of the Class 6A, Area 15 Tournament.

Seth Swalve netted 23 points, a trio of others pitched in solid performances and the Black and Gold outlasted the home team 54-49 Saturday night for their third straight area tournament title.

“Coach told us before the game that the hardest thing to do is beat a team three times,” Swalve said. “We prepared for them and what gave us trouble in our losses. We made them pick us up man. We got them out of their bread and butter and slowed it down. When it comes to the playoffs, you play to win. We did that tonight.”

Dylan Finch (12 points), Gage Goodwin (nine) and Nic Handley (eight) also contributed huge minutes for coach Bobby Meyer’s team throughout the game.

The longtime Cullman head man didn’t fail to notice.

“Nic and Dylan really put us over the top tonight with their play,” Meyer said. “My assistant coaches did a great job of coming up with a defensive plan and the players executed it perfectly. And Seth, he’s carried the load for us. He’s been unguardable. In my opinion, the best point guard in the state.”

The Black and Gold will host Jackson-Olin Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a sub-regional matchup. A win would send them to their third consecutive Northwest Regional Tournament at Wallace State.

Sounds good to Swalve.

“Getting that home game is great,” the senior said. “We’ve put a lot of extra hours inside that gym, so it’s really nice to get to play there one more time. I think it’s a huge advantage for us. We didn’t come up here to mess around. We feel like we can go places.”

Added Meyer: “We’re 21-7. It’s been a fantastic year for us. I couldn’t be more proud of this senior class heading forward.”

---

Sub-Regional Preview

And then there were 416.

That’s right, 416 prep basketball teams — 208 each for boys and girls — from all across Alabama still have a chance to win a state title.

Cullman County, however, only has 10 squads in contention for a trip to Birmingham.

Those potential journeys start on Monday with four girls games followed by six boys contests on Tuesday. Tip-off each day is 7 p.m.

Both Holly Pond programs will welcome in sub-regional opponents after claiming Class 3A, Area 10 Tournament crowns. Everyone else locally will warm up the bus.

See below for complete sub-regional matchups:

Girls

Class 2A: Cold Springs at Mars Hill Bible

Class 3A: Madison Academy at Holly Pond

Class 4A: Good Hope at Westminster Christian

Class 5A: Fairview at Columbia

---

Boys

Class 1A: St. Bernard at Decatur Heritage

Class 2A: Cold Springs at Mars Hill Bible

Class 3A: West Morgan at Holly Pond

Class 3A: Hanceville at Madison Academy

Class 5A: West Point at Columbia

Class 6A: Jackson-Olin at Cullman