Hanceville’s Taylor Hollingsworth grins on the sideline as she prepares to throw in the ball. Hollingsworth had 30 points in the Bulldogs’ 50-15 victory against the Eagles.

VINEMONT — The Tucker twins stole the show, all five Vinemont starters landed in double digits and the Eagles beat Hanceville 70-60 Friday at home.

But none of that mattered. Not in the grand scheme of the evening.

What did matter was Vinemont’s participation in Shooting 2 Change, a statewide movement geared toward autism awareness.

Coach Todd Johnson exchanged his usual tie and gameday attire for a much more casual T-shirt supporting the cause. He proudly tucked it into his dress pants and donned it for all to see while roaming the Eagle bench throughout the duration of the night, which began with a heartfelt presentation including both Vinemont varsity squads and a few special guests who’ve been diagnosed with autism.

Among them was Devyn Bartlett, a student at the Child Development Center and son of Felicia Bartlett, an aide at the high school. Devyn was all smiles and got so excited that he bounced up and down during his time in the spotlight.

Johnson said he immediately thought of his friends’ son who has autism when he received an email from Spanish Fort’s Dru Powell, who started this week’s Shooting 2 Change event. The coach asked for a shirt, coordinated Friday’s festivities and was pleased to see them received so well by the crowd onhand for the competitive county rivalry.

“Just try to bring some awareness, some recognition to those kids,” Johnson said. “I try to teach my guys how much of a blessing it is from God that they have the ability to run and jump and do the things that they do.”

The Tucker twins — Tyler and Trey — took full advantage of those abilities to put up a combined 33 points. The two were bound to finish the area battle with 16 points apiece until Tyler just had to pull ahead with a free throw in the final minute.

The Tuckers accounted for 18 points — and Trey Waldrep, seven — in the third quarter, where Vinemont took over by ballooning its lead from six to 14. That cushion proved to be more than enough to hold off a few last stabs by Dant’e Reese, Xavier Malcom and the Bulldogs.

“It was awesome,” Trey said standing alongside his same-aged sibling. “Team effort. Good passing. Good ball movement. Everything seemed to be clicking.”

Zack Drake joined the Eagles’ double-figure bonanza with 13 points. Lance Stanley, who was recognized with his 1,000-point ball before the game, and Waldrep capped off the group with 11 points apiece. Hunter Green added two points to the victory.

“That’s the type of game I’ve been begging for from my seniors,” Johnson said. “We’ve been so inconsistent. I’ll have one, maybe two play well. We didn’t play smart down the stretch, but they gave me the effort. They played hard and they played well. Just got to continue to play hard. That’s eluding us.”

Hanceville’s Reese split 18 points between both halves in his first game action since before Christmas. Malcom came on late for 15 points, and Jose Orozco, who drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, finished with 10.

Other Bulldog contributors were Christian Sellers, nine points; C.J. White, five; Luke Duffie, two; and Isaac Weissend, one.

The Eagles improved to 12-10 and 2-3 in area play. Both records matter, but Trey is more concerned with the latter as Vinemont enters the twilight of his senior season.

“We’ve got to just keep winning and looking forward to Holly Pond,” he said. “They keep having our number, so we’ve got to hopefully beat them in the area championship.”

Varsity Girls

% Hanceville 50, Vinemont 15: The Lady Bulldogs’ retro jerseys stuck out like sore thumbs — sort of like the less-than-stellar play that prompted coach Christina Warren to bring them out of retirement.

Until Hanceville can play as well as its sleek, new black threads look, the old-school duds are here to stay.

If Taylor Hollingsworth has anything to say about it, don’t expect the change to last too long. The senior sizzled with 30 points to help the Dawgs down their county and area rival.

“She said we’re going to wear these until we get better, and I think we played pretty good tonight as a team,” said Hollingsworth, who picked up 15 points in the first quarter and 22 by halftime.

Kaela Hall was next in line for Hanceville with nine points. Brooke Barnett buried a trey, and Lexi Cooper, Braylah Anderton, Niya Evans and Karmen Johnson all chipped in two points.

“Our goal is to get to sub-regional,” Hollingsworth said. “I feel like we can go all the way and beat county, but a win is a win and I feel good about my team.”

Casey Westmoreland paced Vinemont with seven points. Leigh Ann Smithson tossed in five points, Kelsey Rogers was good for two and Anna Hughes had one.