Cold Springs Keelan Davis looks for an opening in the first half.

HANCEVILLE — West Point’s junior varsity boys pressed so well during Tuesday’s county tournament clash versus Cold Springs that they might be thinking about a new career in the dry cleaning business at the end of the week.

The second-seeded Warriors played exceptional defense against the No. 3 Eagles, turning numerous turnovers into transition baskets with their full-court press en route to a 61-36 semifinal win inside Tom Drake Coliseum.

“The energy coming out and wanting to do that helped a lot,” coach Scott Brown said of his team’s defensive effort. “We were strong on defense and, with us, our defense helps out our offense in a big way. It’s what we do.”

West Point quickly collected a 15-0 advantage in the first quarter on the back of its aforementioned D and opened the second frame on a 14-2 run to take a 33-11 lead into halftime.

Cameron Moore and Alex Hernandez scored a combined 21 points in the first 16 minutes — they both finished with 15 in the tilt — to provide the firepower on offense for the Maroon and White.

“We played really well together and shared the ball as a team,” Moore said. “That alone helps our offense. We know our shooting may not always be there, but our defense will. That’s what we hang our hat on. We did well tonight.”

Added Brown: “The guys trust each other. That’s the reason some of those points came from outside and some came from inside. Again, defense helped with that. We were all over the floor tonight.”

Brandon Farley was hot on the heels of his two teammates with 14 points, while Seth Parker added eight. Other contributors were Michael Keller and David Doss, three apiece; Matthew Daniel, two; and Drew Jenkins, one.

Blake Wood paced Cold Springs with 12 points. Teammates Eli Hamby and Noah Henderson were each good for six. Hunter McClendon (four points), Dylan Byrd and Keelan Davis (three apiece) and Carson Garmon (two) rounded out the points for the Blue and Gold.

The Warriors’ win sets up a championship matchup with No. 1 Holly Pond. In two previous meetings this season, West Point lost by one point the Broncos and triumphed in a big way in the other.

On 4 p.m. Saturday, the teams will lock horns for the third and final time — with a Cullman County tournament championship on the line.

“We’ll start looking at them right now,” Brown said. “They’re a great team. They’ll be ready for the challenge just like we will. Both teams will come out and play real hard in a great atmosphere. It’ll be a lot of fun.”