HANCEVILLE — Owen Yarbrough didn’t dare let out a breath until the clock read 0:00.

Not that he or his teammates had much of choice in the matter.

Fairview’s ninth-grade boys needed all 24 minutes — quite literally — on Saturday afternoon to take down Vinemont 43-38 and come away with the Cullman County Basketball Tournament title following a back-and-forth championship meeting that delivered excitement from start to finish in Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum.

Yarbrough, who finished with a game-high 18 points, couldn’t quite put his feelings into words — even with a huge smile on his face.

“I was really nervous, but I was also really excited, because I’ve never played in a championship before,” he said. “When I knew we sealed the win, I was ready to celebrate with my team. I don’t really know what was going through my mind. I was just there and hoping we could win.”

It took a while for the top-seeded Aggies to eventually put away the No. 3 Eagles.

The teams traded basket after basket to head into the fourth quarter deadlocked at 30 apiece.

And though Yarbrough and Jack Brown, who netted 15 points, did most of the offensive work for Fairview, it was Clayton Strane and Peyton Bailey who jumpstarted the final frame for the Purple and Gold.

The former garnered two buckets, and the latter secured another to extend their team’s lead out to five points early in the stanza — Vinemont hit a free throw in that stretch — before Yarbrough drilled a deep 3-pointer to make it 39-31.

And though the Eagles — behind key makes from Austin Riddle and Will Rhodes — slashed the deficit down to three points, Brown (three free throws) and Yarbrough (two free throws and an outstanding defensive sequence in which he saved the ball and threw it off a Vinemont player to keep the possession) achieved just enough on both sides of the ball to salt away the win.

Eli Speegle and Strane finished with four points apiece, while Bailey had two.

Coach Cliff Bailey couldn’t have been happier following the tremendous outcome.

“First half, man, it was even,” he said. “Both teams went out there and battled. Vinemont is very good. They definitely gave us our two toughest outings this year. We were able to make crucial adjustments at halftime, though, and we got out on their shooters a lot more. Then we started to make some shots. I’m proud of how we played. Proud of my guys. They worked hard all year.”

Vinemont, meanwhile, was led by Riddle and Collin Teichmiller, both of whom claimed 10 points.

Rounding out the top offensive production was Curtis Kennedy (seven), Bosten McDuffee (five), Rhodes (four) and Caleb Sharpe (two).

In the end, however, it was Yarbrough and the Aggies left celebrating.

“I’m more excited for my teammates than I am myself to be honest,” he said. “I think those guys were more ready for this than I was.”

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See below for All-Tournament Team selections:

% Owen Yarbrough, Fairview

% Jack Brown, Fairview

% Collin Teichmiller, Vinemont

% Curtis Kennedy, Vinemont

% Carter Thornton, West Point

% Brannon Bright, West Point

% Michael Owens, Good Hope