By Russell Frye, For the Enquirer

The Tigers and Lady Tigers clinched home-court advantage in next week’s area tournament with dominating victories over the visiting Bearcats of Cullman High School on Monday night.

Both teams went undefeated during area play to win the area regular-season titles and will host next week’s area tournament.

Since there are only three teams in the area, Hartselle receives a bye into the finals and will await the winner of Cullman and Decatur. The Tigers and Lady Tigers are also assured of advancing to sub-regional play following the area tournament.

Lady Tigers 66 Cullman 41

The Lady Tigers came into the game looking to bounce back from Thursday night’s Morgan County Tournament semifinal loss. They made sure that there would not be a sequel to that game as they dominated the Lady Bearcats from the tip.

The Lady Tigers started the game on a 13-0 run, taking advantage of multiple Cullman turnovers. By the end of the first, Hartselle had built a commanding 26-9 lead.

Hartselle (22-4) continued to build their lead by outscoring Cullman 37-14 over the second and third quarters on their way to a 66-41 victory.

Moriah Taylor scored 13 to lead three Hartselle players in double-figures. Masyn Marchbanks and MacKenzie Jackson each added 10 points.

Cullman was led by Anna Katherine Eastman’s 22 points.

The Lady Tigers will host Brewer on Thursday on Senior night to close out the regular season.

Boys

Tigers 83 Cullman 44

The Tigers played host to the Bearcats looking to clinch the Area 14 regular season championship on Monday night.

But it was the visitors who jumped out to an early lead, 8-4 before the Tigers could get any momentum going.

The Tigers defense stepped up to stop Cullman’s early momentum and the Tiger offense took over the game. By the end of the first quarter, they pushed their lead to 17-12.

The Tigers outscored Cullman 28-2 in the second quarter to take full control of the game and led 45-10 at halftime.

Brody Peebles led three players in double-digits for Hartselle (20-6) with 25 points, which included reaching the 1,000-point mark. Tad Sivley added 20 while Will Stephenson had 17.

The Tigers will host Brewer on Thursday night to close out the regular season.

It will be Senior Night and the Tigers will celebrate nine players won were a part of Morgan County Tournament Championship teams all four years of high school. They won titles as 9th Graders, JV Boys, and back-to-back Varsity Boys.