VINEMONT — The Eagles handled the final two minutes of Tuesday’s season opener against Falkville with a calm coolness — and it paid off with a 52-46 victory.

Chayce Sandlin put Vinemont ahead 47-46 with a bucket, Connor Gibbs followed with a huge 3-pointer with just more than a minute remaining, and the Eagles made enough free throws and came up with enough stops down the stretch to pull out the triumph.

“The last couple of minutes I was just going to let play out,” Vinemont coach Preston Boyd said. “I wanted to see what we were made of and what we would do. We made some adjustments in the second half, but I felt like we had to play that straight up at the end. I told one of our guys after the game, ‘That was fun.’ When you can play a tight game like that against a well-coached team and win … I think it’s refreshing and something we can build on for sure.”

Toby Hill paced the Eagles with 14 points, while Ryan Stewart sank a trio of 3-pointers to finish with nine. Gibbs, Isaiah Jones and Jaxon Holcomb had seven apiece, Sandlin pitched in six, and Isaac Moody provided a pair of free throws.

Vinemont will host Holly Pond on Thursday night.

The Eagles will honor their 2002-03 varsity boys team — which finished Class 3A state runner-up that season — between varsity contests.

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Varsity Girls

Vinemont 42, Falkville 18

The Lady Eagles overcame a slow first half en route to a comfortable home win.

Vinemont (2-1) led just 12-5 at halftime, but found a bit more offensive rhythm over the final 16 minutes to match their strong defensive performance throughout.

“I was glad to see that on a night when our shots are not falling that we can find a way defensively to win games,” Lady Eagles coach James Brown said.

Reagan Robinson had a game-high 17 points, while Raylee Quick notched 11. Maggie Burks (seven), Caroline Miller (two), Carley Stephens (two), Morgan Flanagan (two) and Whitney Quick (one) also contributed.

See more local scores below.

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Tuesday, November 15

Varsity Boys

Cullman 70, Carver-Birmingham 35

Garrison Sharpe: 18 points

Tucker Cagle: 16 points

Colton Echols: 9 points

Kase Nixon: 8 points

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Holly Pond 77, Fyffe 71

Kollin Brown: 20 points

Blake Rickard: 14 points

Sawyer Olinger: 14 points

Gunnar McBee: 13 points

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Oakman 68, West Point 63

Jay Lamar: 31 points

JD Cochran: 11 points

Ashton Rodgers: 6 points

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Varsity Girls

Holly Pond 54, Fyffe 53

Maddi Ham: 16 points

Alana Phillips: 10 points

Maggie Nail: 8 points