PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Holly Pond’s boys beat New Hope 69-48 for Class 3A, Area 13 Tournament crown; Lady Broncos claim area title following 42-30 win

HOLLY POND — The Broncos came out and delivered a statement on Thursday night.

And now, Holly Pond’s varsity boys are area champions once again.

The Broncos stormed past New Hope 69-48 inside Felton Easterwood Gymnasium to take home the Class 3A, Area 13 Tournament title and improve to 13-15 this season.

Holly Pond has now won 10 straight area tournament championships under coach Mitch Morris.

According to Morris, it was a showcase he’d been hoping to see from his team all season long.

“Absolutely our best performance of the year,” he said. “I’ve been waiting on it. We had a good film session and a good practice after Vinemont. We came out and played our best game. It’s pretty amazing (winning 10 consecutive area titles). It’s a testament to the players we’ve had in our program. They’ve made my job a lot easier. I knew the guys could play like this, and I’m glad they’re playing like this now.”

The Broncos jumped out to a 40-24 halftime lead thanks in large part to a balanced scoring effort.

Cooper Jones, Isaac Ludwig, Devyn Tankersley, Brody Rowell and Jordan Allbright each knocked down 3-pointers — most coming off open looks due to superb ball movement — during the opening 16 minutes.

Kyler Chaney and Tankersley did the bulk of the offensive work in the second half to help their squad stay in front.

“Best team win we’ve had all year,” said Tankersley, who finished with 16 points. “It took us one overtime to beat them at their place and three for them to beat us here a few weeks ago. So it felt good to come out and take control and show everyone how we are capable of playing. This one feels good. We will celebrate tonight and get back to work tomorrow. We aren’t done yet.”

Cooper Jones matched Tankersley with 16 points, while Chaney added 12.

Allbright (eight), Ludwig (seven), Rowell (six) and Parker Sellers (four) rounded out the scoring.

The Broncos will host Lamar County on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a sub-regional clash.

% Holly Pond 42, New Hope 30: The Lady Broncos ended Thursday’s championship game with a flourish.

Holly Pond (14-13) scored the final 18 points of the contest, erasing a six-point deficit late in the third quarter to claim the 3A, Area 13 Tournament title following a win against the Lady Indians.

Tess Duke and Kara Hollis each sank a 3-pointer to help tie things at 30-all entering the fourth quarter.

Tate Duke’s trey early in the final stanza then put the Lady Broncos up for good.

Maddie Heatherly, Tess Duke, Maddi Ham, Kirsten Campbell and Elizabeth Miller also pitched in down the stretch.

“We didn’t want this to be it for us,” Heatherly said. “We knew we had it in us. We wanted to show everybody that we had it in us to win an area championship.”

Heatherly and Miller finished with eight points apiece, while Campbell totaled six.

Sarah Finley (five), Tess Duke (five), Ham (four), Tate Duke (three) and Hollis (three) contributed buckets as well.

Coach Andrew Kelley couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.

“We were pressing a lot early and not getting in our rotations correctly,” he said. “We got out of that and got back in a half-court defense, which helped. Then we just slowed down and took our time on offense. We showed good poise in this game. I can’t say enough about the group of kids I have.”

Holly Pond will welcome in Carbon Hill for a sub-regional game on Monday at 7 p.m.


Class 3A, Area 12 Tournament

% Hanceville 73, Susan Moore 48: The 3A No. 6 Bulldogs advanced to the championship game following a strong performance on Thursday night.

Hanceville (22-6) possessed a 29-9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

Zeke McDonald (20), Romain Pochon (14) and Fred Ellis (12) all eclipsed double digits for the Bulldogs.

Hanceville will play J.B. Pennington for the area tournament title on Saturday at 6 p.m.


Class 4A, Area 12 Tournament

% Oneonta 40, Fairview 37: The Lady Aggies lost a heartbreaker to the 4A No. 10 Lady Redskins on Thursday.

Fairview (17-10) led Oneonta at halftime 24-16, but the road team fought back to tie the matchup at 27 entering the fourth quarter.

The Lady Redskins then registered a 36-34 advantage on a 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds remaning and kept Fairview at bay down the stretch with a handful of clutch free throws.

Payton Golden led the Lady Aggies with eight points, while Maddie Yeager and Katie Ball had seven apiece.

Fairview will travel to North Jackson for its sub-regional game on Monday at 7 p.m.


Class 5A, Area 14 Tournament

% West Point 88, Hamilton 40: The 5A No. 10 Lady Warriors strolled to a home triumph on Thursday, clinching the program’s first area tournament title since 2009.

West Point (26-5) was paced offensively by Lexi Shadix, who provided 27 points in a monster effort.

Miriam Oldacre (15), Kyler Hembree (10), Mackenzie Carter (eight) and Emily Wells (eight) also pitched in buckets.

The Lady Warriors will host East Limestone in a sub-regional matchup on Monday at 7 p.m.