Cullman's Tucker Gambrill looks for room to operate.

Cullman celebrated Friday night’s 64-48 win over Hartselle like it meant something — and it certainly did.

The No. 9 Bearcats buckled down on defense in the second half, pulling away from the Tigers to claim the Class 6A, Area 14 Tournament title on their home floor — the program’s first area tournament crown since 2016 — and improve to 24-3 this season.

“It’s a good feeling,” senior point guard Tucker Gambrill said. “We knew coming in it was going to be really hard. It’s definitely a refreshing feeling to finally win the area championship. We kind of wore them down with our pressure (in the second half). They’re a really hard group to wear down because of how skilled they are, but we just stuck to rebounding, boxing out and getting a closeout on everything.”

The teams kept a brisk pace during the first half, with the Black and Gold clinging to a 38-37 lead at intermission.

But Cullman locked down defensively in the final 16 minutes, holding Hartselle to just 11 points while gradually extending its advantage.

Max Gambrill and Jamar Kay paced the Bearcats with 12 points apiece, while Tucker Cagle (11) and Tucker Gambrill (10) also produced double-digit outings. Colton Echols (seven), Garrison Sharpe (six), Tucker Apel (four) and Nate Zills (two) rounded out the production for Stu Stuedeman’s squad.

“Our guys were tremendous in the second half,” the first-year coach said. “I’m just so tickled for our kids and our community. It’s very special. It’s been a long time. I’m happy for the kids, the coaches, the administration, the students — this is just fantastic.”

Tucker Gambrill was named the All-Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Apel, Kay and Sharpe.

The Bearcats will host Clay-Chalkville in the sub-regional round next Tuesday. A win secures them a berth in the Northwest Regional.

“I think we can definitely blow a lot of minds,” Tucker Gambrill said. “I think people coming in didn’t expect us to be good with a new system and a new coach. But we’re definitely going to try to shock the world.”