Good Hope’s varsity boys absorbed myriad body blows early in Friday’s county bout at Holly Pond.

In the end, though, the Raiders answered the bell in a big way en route to a blowout road triumph. 

Tucker Malin sank six 3’s and garnered a game-high 26 points, Tyler Cone pitched in 20 points of his own and Good Hope improved to 5-3 on the season following a 79-44 win at Felton Easterwood Gymnasium. 

The Broncos galloped to a 12-2 lead early in the first quarter, and for a brief moment, it looked as though the home team would seize control from that momentum. 

Good Hope, however, slowly began to cut into its deficit and eventually notched a 30-27 halftime lead. 

Coach Drew Adams’ group then outscored Holly Pond 49-17 in the second half. 

So, what allowed for the flip of the script? 

According to Adams, a small tweak to the defensive paradigm — a switch to the 1-3-1 — made all the difference. 

“Our plan was to match up and play full-court man the whole night and face guard Kollin (Brown),” Adams said. “We didn’t even talk 1-3-1 at shootaround, but they absolutely blitzed us early. I told Kollin afterward that I have as much respect for him as anyone I’ve coached against. He put us in a complete frenzy at the start because we flat out couldn’t guard him early. But I felt like that change defensively got them a little uncomfortable and I was proud of our guys for battling one possession at a time. Even though our second half was very successful, it was the second quarter and inching back into the game that got us where we needed to be.” 

Jacob Haynes joined Malin and Cone in double digits with 14. Weston Hancock and Dakota Overton added six apiece. 

Brown, meanwhile, spearheaded Holly Pond with 18 points. Sawyer Olinger added 12. 

See other scores below.

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Fairview 77, Cold Springs 46

Blake Rickard (FV): 21 points

Kobe Payne (FV): 17 points

Bryson Fletcher (FV): 13 points

Cole Bales (CS): 14 points

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Plainview 59, Cullman 50

Jake Dorough: 23 points

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Corner 62, Hanceville 43

Konnor Helms: 10 points

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Vinemont 59, J.B. Pennington 49

Isaiah Jones: 24 points

Kaden Graham: 11 points

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West Point 72, Danville 67 (OT)

Kolten Perry: 21 points

Jay Lamar: 10 points

Jaxon Shelton: 10 points

Cade Welborn: 9 points

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Varsity Girls

Good Hope 65, Holly Pond 30: The Raiders overcame a slow start to improve to 7-1 on the season. 

Good Hope, which led 10-4 after eight minutes, slowly but surely pulled away from the Broncos with a suffocating defensive effort. 

Heather Tetro led the charge with 18 points while Bailey Tetro (15) and Ivey Maddox (12) also netted double-digit performances. 

Madison Butts, meanwhile, totaled a team-high seven points for Holly Pond (4-3). Ava Thomas (six), Maggie Nail (five) and Ellie Burks (five) were next in line offensively. 

See other scores below.

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Cold Springs 35, Fairview 26

Ella Dickerson (CS): 10 points

Malaya Taylor (CS): 8 points

Lexi Collins (FV): 7 points

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Plainview 66, Cullman 44

Ally Sharpe: 24 points

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Hanceville 44, Corner 19

Alex Twitty: 17 points

Aaliyah Twitty: 14 points

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Vinemont 66, J.B. Pennington 46

Whitney Quick: 14 points

Morgan Flanagan: 14 points

Maggie Burks: 11 points

Carley Stephens: 10 points

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West Point 67, Danville 16

Kealie Harbison: 14 points

Liberty Shadix: 13 points

Kylee Quinn: 9 points

Laklin Shadix: 8 points

Hallie Wheeler: 8 points