Cold Springs' Camryn Crider goes hard to the basket as a Hanceville defender gets a hand on the ball during Thursday's county tilt. The sophomore sank a trio of treys and scored 23 points — all before the halftime buzzer. 

COLD SPRINGS — The Eagles simply had the stones in Thursday’s county matchup that they didn’t display in a Thanksgiving tournament loss to Hanceville.

Even if Blake Wood did try to give them away.

Wood passed a kidney stone Thursday morning and still started and shined Thursday night, collecting nine points in Cold Springs’ 51-35 home win over the Bulldogs.

The victory not only pulled the Eagles (8-8) to an even .500, but it helped them clinched the second seed for this month’s county tournament. Fairview could also finish 4-2 in first county meetings with a win Saturday against Vinemont, but a tight 55-50 triumph over the Aggies gives Cold Springs the tiebreaker either way.

Knowing how much was at stake, Wood wasn’t going to let a little kidney stone keep him from Thursday’s tilt.

No way. No how.

“That was really important to us, to get second seed, to give us a better chance of going out there and having a better shot of winning,” Wood said. “I knew it was an important game and I needed to come out here and do what I could.”

Wood said the doctor “let me come back and play” after determining he’d passed the stone Thursday morning. And to that, fellow senior Jesse Lee only had one response.

Thank goodness.

“I was kind of worried that Blake wasn’t going to get to play, because he’s our best rebounder,” said Lee, who scored 14 points and actually led the team with nine boards. “We needed him in this game because Hanceville’s a really good rebounding team. We needed all we could get tonight.”

Hunter McClendon cleaned up inside for 14 points, and Eli Hamby secured half of his 12 points from deep for the Eagles, who used a 13-2 run between the end of the second quarter and start of the third to create some distance after Hanceville had closed within 22-19. Fisher Willoughby did his part in the win with five rebounds.

After nine straight games on the road, a triumphant return to Jesse George Gymnasium made Lee one happy young man.

“It was nice, especially on our home floor,” he said. “I love our fans. I love my teammates. This is by far my favorite team. Just give God all the glory. It’s just a blessing to be part of this.”

R.J. Evans was a handful around the basket for Hanceville (5-9), snagging 12 points, 13 boards and three blocks. Fred Ellis scored the Dawgs’ first eight points and ended the evening with 10. Brendan Flanigan tossed in nine for the night.

With school cancelled Friday, Hanceville rescheduled its home and area bout with Carbon Hill to Saturday. The girls will get the varsity-only slate going at 5 p.m.

Cold Springs, meanwhile, will be off until next Tuesday’s home and area game against St. Bernard. The Eagles’ area affair with Winston County originally scheduled for Friday was moved to next Thursday.

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Varsity Girls

% Cold Springs 65, Hanceville 29: Camryn Crider had a whole lotta family in the stands Thursday night and didn’t leave a single one of them disappointed.

The red-hot sophomore continued a sensational stretch of play, sinking a trio of treys and piling on 23 points — all before the halftime buzzer. Crider was perfect on all six free-throw attempts and was 7 of 12 from the field, including a 3-of-6 clip from behind the arc.

Emme Willoughby and Elizabeth Hill were also forces to be reckoned with for the Class 2A No. 4 Lady Eagles (16-1). Willoughby let loose for 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Hill had 15 points and the same swat total. Neely Ellison grabbed five rebounds.

Cassidy Campbell led Hanceville (4-13) with nine points. Kierra Merriweather added seven. 

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JV Girls

% Cold Springs 45, Hanceville 17: Toni West outscored the visitors on her own, unleashing 23 points in a lopsided win for the Lady Eagles (14-3).

Hayden Goodwin and Hannah Stricklin helped the cause with 10 and six points, respectively.

Jayden Thompson had 10 points for Hanceville.