By Staff
Hartselle sweeps Brewer in Friday night battle of area foes and county rivals
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
A Morgan County rivalry that has always been fierce took a new significance this season as Brewer and Hartselle moved into the same area. Hartselle swept the first regular season matchup Friday evening at Pettey Center, with the girls defeating Brewer 51-45 and the boys winning in a close one, 46-45.
Hartselle girls 51, Brewer girls 45
Down by three points entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers earned their stripes at the free-throw line to pull off the victory. Hartselle shot 16-of-21 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 points in the period.
The Lady Tigers needed a productive fourth quarter after scoring just two points in the third. Hartselle led 25-17 at halftime but Brewer opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run and the Tigers failed to hit a shot from the field in the third period as the Lady Patriots moved in front 30-27 after three quarters of play.
Hartselle senior Mary Virginia Reeves was especially strong in the final frame, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter and 13 points overall.
Fellow senior Lauren Drake led the Lady Tigers with 16 points and 11 rebounds and contributed on the defensive side with six steals. Jessi Smith added 10 points for Hartselle (8-2, 2-0 in Area 13).
Brewer was paced by Courtney Scott, who scored 11 points. Andrea Crawford added 10 for the Lady Patriots.
Hartselle boys 46, Brewer boys 45
The Tigers improved to a winning record overall with a hard-fought victory over the Patriots Friday night.
Hartselle led by seven points midway through the fourth quarter but Brewer battled back to cut the lead to one. The Tigers responded with a late run to go up four points with 10 seconds remaining. Brewer hit a three-pointer at the buzzer but it wasn’t enough.
Hartselle (6-5, 1-1) got 16 points from senior Jackson Holmes and 15 points from sophomore Luke Bole, who was called into action after normal starting center Clay Whatley suffered an ankle sprain earlier in the week. Berry said Whatley will probably miss two to three weeks.
Bole also pulled down three rebounds and had two assists and two steals. Hartselle’s Alex Brown led the team with four rebounds.
Brewer (4-5, 1-1) was led by Rusty Boyd’s 19 points and Chris Humphries added 13 for the Patriots. Boyd had eight rebounds for Brewer and Alex Brown added seven boards for the Patriots.
Several other teams were in action on Friday evening as well:
Danville girls 40, Addison girls 35
The Lady Hawks won their third straight game with the road victory Friday.
Danville (6-3) was led by Alaina Fitzgerald’s 11 points and eight rebounds. Kristen Sparkman added 10 points and Lauren Simmons had eight points and eight boards.
Addison’s Jessy Willingham scored 13 in a losing effort.
Danville boys 53, Addison boys 40
The Hawks picked up their first win of the season with the road victory over Addison Friday evening.
Danville (1-6) was led by Zach Orr’s double-double performance. He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. David Long added 13 points and six rebounds and Roger Smith pulled down eight boards.
Dennis Stewart had 10 points to lead Addison.
Lawrence County girls 58, Priceville girls 55
Sophomore Callie Cox had a dominating effort with 12 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Bulldogs fell at home to their area opponent.
Melissa Johnson had 12 points and Keila Hamlin added 11 for Priceville (6-4, 0-2 in Area 15).
Jasma McDonald led the Lady Red Devils with 14 points.
Lawrence County boys 58, Priceville boys 48
After starting the season 7-1, the Bulldogs lost their second straight in a home loss to area opponent Lawrence County Friday evening.
Senior point guard Josh Bedwell led Priceville (7-3, 1-1) with 31 points and eight rebounds.
Lawrence County was led by a dominating performance by Myles King — 16 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals.