The West Point Warriors entered the Christmas break with a two-game winning streak, defeating the Holly Pond Broncos 96-87 on Thursday night.

The Lady Warriors avoided a letdown from Tuesday’s night big win over Cold Springs, pulling away for a 56-40 victory over the Lady Broncos.

– West Point 96, Holly Pond 87 (boys): The Broncos cut West Point’s second half lead to three points with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter when Jeremy Silvey hit a trey while being fouled from behind the 3-point stripe.

Silvey hit the free throw to make the score 70-67. But Holly Pond (2-13) never got closer.

Less than a week after losing a close game to Vinemont because of poor free throw shooting, the Warriors hit 75 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe, including 21 of 25 in the second half, to seal the 12-point victory.

“After we lost that Vinemont game we worked on free throws the next day for 45 minutes,” said West Point coach Heith Yearwood. “The guys did a good job of hitting their free throws tonight.”

Chase Mosley led West Point with 35 points, including four treys and a perfect 12 for 12 from the line. Justin Monk added 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Holly Pond led 36-35 midway through the second quarter, before West Point went on a 13-2 run to close the half with a 48-38 lead.

Despite suffering from numerous injuries, the Broncos kept hanging around, closing to within five points numerous times. But when the Warriors needed to pull away, they went to an up-tempo offense. The Broncos couldn’t keep up for the whole game.

“We knew we wouldn’t be able to run the whole game,” said Holly Pond coach Mitch Morris. “We could run in spurts, but there were moments where we ran too much. That forced us into turnovers and missed shots.”

Patrick Kliegl led the Broncos with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Brent Deese added 20 points and seven assists.

Morris was particularly proud of the toughness of his team, with many nursing nagging injuries.

“Our guys get banged up every day,” Morris said, “but it takes a lot to keep them out of the lineup. That’s just the kind of kids they are. West Point is big, strong and physical, but our guys stepped up their play tonight instead of rolling over. We still have a lot of work to do, but I am seeing improvement.”

Also scoring for the Broncos were Daniel O’Brien with 18 points and 17 rebounds, Bailey Easterwood with 12 points, Jordan King with 12 and Jeremy Silvey with four.

Scoring for the Warriors were Stefan Hulsey with 14, Blake Overton with nine, Blake Gammon with seven, Blake Mechaw with four, Jake Hendon with three, Aaron Quick with two and Justin Brummett with one.

West Point (9-4) will play in the Cold Springs Christmas tournament beginning on Tuesday, while Holly Pond will compete in the Oneonta Christmas tournament next week.

– West Point 56, Holly Pond 40 (girls): Amanda Scott had a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, as the Lady Warriors extended a 10-point halftime lead for the big win.

The win was West Point’s eighth straight.

“Holly Pond got after it tonight,” said West Point coach Regina Jones. “They are a scrappy team. We didn’t shoot good in the first half either.”

Celina Blackwood, Sabrina Blackwood and Kristi Kimbril each scored eight for the Lady Warriors. Also scoring for West Point were Tiffany Hinkle with four, Nikki Cleghorn with two and Rachel West with two.

Brittany Bagwell led Holly Pond with 14 points. Also scoring for the Lady Broncos were Jessica Laursen with 11, April Holcombe with five, Julie Taylor with four, Sydney Morris with two, Jessica Basenburg with two and Chasity Chambers with two.

West Point (10-2) will compete in the Lauderdale County Christmas tournament starting on Tuesday.

“This will be a good tournament for us,” Jones said. “We are playing in the upper division, so it will be good to see how we do against other top teams.”

Holly Pond (8-4) faces a tough test at the Curry Christmas tournament beginning Monday.