Andrews leads monster comeback as Corner edges Wildcats; Corner girls cruise past Fultondale

FULTONDALE—The game was, by all accounts, over until Fultondale guard Tyme Andrews went up for shot, after shot, after shot, like no one could stop him.

The Class 3A Wildcats trailed Class 5A Corner by 17 points through three quarters of play, but there were still eight minutes remaining and Andrews was going to play for every one of them. The lanky guard caught fire from behind the arc, dropping in 16 fourth-quarter points and nearly bringing the hosts back from the dead in a 52-50 loss to the Yellow Jackets (9-1) on Tuesday night.

Andrews connected on four 3-pointers in the fourth frame alone. His final make was a deep pull-up in transition with a hand stretched tightly in front of his face, pulling Fultondale to within one point with 18 seconds remaining.

Corner’s Skylar Lara then added a free throw for the final point of the evening. Andrews would have time for one last attempt from the right wing, but his go-ahead try fell off the rim as time expired. Andrews finished the night with 24 points in the loss. Most of that total came from 3-point range, as Corner’s Sam Knowlton, a 6-foot-7 forward, made points hard to come by in the paint.

He blocked multiple shots and prevented second-chance opportunities for Fultondale all night. Offensively, Knowlton provided 10 points from the low block.

“He’s our go-to guy inside,” said Corner head coach Billy Conner of Knowlton. “He’s a great player that does a great job of using his body and the kids rally around him.”

He had plenty of help from his backcourt, as Lara went for 12 points and Caleb Brasfield finished with nine points for the Yellow Jackets.

The pair took turns from distance in the third quarter as Corner stretched its lead to as much as 19 points. Brasfield started the second half with consecutive 3-pointers that left the Wildcats in a 33-19 hole. Lara then stepped back for two makes before Knowlton ended the quarter with an offensive putback.

Girls: Corner 49, Fultondale 14

It was a fast start that pushed Class 5A Corner to a, 49-14, road win at Class 3A Fultondale on Tuesday night. The Yellow Jackets led 11-3 after one quarter, 32-3 at the half and 47-10 through three.

Senior Ashley Cox started the scoring with a runner off the glass and later buried an open look from behind the arc for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. She led all scorers with 11 points for the visitors.

Corner often turned defense into offense in the second half, something head coach Jeff Smith stressed after the game.

“I thought we had really good energy with our press early on. That’s kind of how we get going. We have to score off our defense because we struggle to score sometimes in our half court,” said Smith.

Sophomore Brantly Bonds pitched in with seven points for the Yellow Jackets.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.