Priceville sweeps Danville
Priceville’s High School’s Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs both claimed wins as they hosted Danville’s Hawks and Lady Hawks on Friday night.
The Bulldogs grabbed a 14-2 advantage over the Hawks in the first period and stormed to a 59-24 finish, picking up their 8th win against a single loss. The Hawks didn’t get on the scoreboard until 22 seconds remained in the first period.
The Lady Bulldogs (2-7) came from behind in the second half and held off the Lady Hawks in the final minute of regulation to claim a 48-45 win.
The Lady Bulldogs were behind 8-18 after the first quarter and 22-26 at the half. The game was tied at 37-all after three periods. A jumper by Jada Beverly with a minute left gave Priceville a 46-45 lead and two free throws by Peyton Parker with 11 seconds left sealed the win.
Michael Varner paced the Bulldogs in their win by coring 15 points. Matt Teague followed with 14 points and Don Hawkins scored 11.
Danville’s Patrick Doherty scored 12 points to lead his team.
“Our defense played well and made it difficult for them to get open looks at the basket,” said Priceville Bulldogs coach Darrell Haynes, “and getting a big lead enabled all of our players to get some playing time.”
The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Beverly with 14 points. McKenzie Parker followed with 12 points and Peyton Parker and Katie Barker each had 10 points. Peyton Parker had six points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Alec Moore had seven rebounds.
Celese Sharbutt paced the Lady Hawks with 16 points and Hannah McClung followed with 13 points.
“This was a big win for us,” said Priceville Lady Bulldogs head coach Terrie Nelson. “We’ve been getting real close in games but were unable to finish strong. Everybody stepped up tonight and I think we got over the hump. With a young team that’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
Lady Hawks head coach credited Priceville for playing with a lot of energy and toughness.
“We got off to a fast start but couldn’t sustain it,” he said. “We didn’t play as tough as we needed to and look sluggish, especially in the second half. We still had opportunities to score and win the game late but couldn’t get the shots to go down.”
Danville will return to action Thursday at Falkville before returning home for West Morgan on Tuesday. Priceville hosts Brewer Friday night and will travel to East Lawrence for an area game on Tuesday.