Peyton Thomas fights through Belgreen Bulldogs.

By Bart Moss for the FCT

Belgreen 81, Vina 30

Belgreen more than doubled-up the Vina Red Devils in three straight quarters to notch a convincing Homecoming and area win.

Belgreen scored 25 points in each of the first two quarters to take a 50-19 halftime lead over the Red Devils.  The Bulldogs outscored Vina 23-8 in the third quarter to take a 73-27 lead into the final period of play.

Joseph Welch and Mason Bragwell scored 17 and 16 points respectively for Belgreen. Brant Bragwell added 11 points, and Drew Boshell added ten points for the Bulldogs. Others scoring for Belgreen were Adam Green (seven), Payton Scott (six), Jacob Mayberry (five), Seth Taylor (four), Grayson Moore (three) and Nathaniel Rhea (two).

Ryder Steel led Vina with 11 points. Others scoring for Vina were Alayden Murray (five), Blake Hester (three), Bradley Duncan (three), Corbin Triplett (two), CJ Savage (two) and Chance Griffith (one).

Belgreen looks for the shot.

Tharptown 71, Mars Hill 45

The Tharptown Wildcats defeated Mars Hill 82-63 to capture their first area win of the year. Tharptown led Mars Hill just 17-14 at the end of the first quarter. A 27-point second quarter and 27-point third quarter allowed the Wildcats to open up a big 71-45 lead going into the final period of play.

Nathan Chaney led the Wildcats with 25 points and hit seven three-pointers. Bailey Motes added 18 points, Max Nolen 16 points and Heath Hatton pitched in 11 points for Tharptown. Others scoring for the Wildcats were Blake Gray with six points; and Zack Wilson, Braden Key and Mikey Rosson had two points each.

Hamilton 59, Phil Campbell 56

The Hamilton Aggies jumped out to an 18-14 first quarter lead over the Phil Campbell Bobcats. Phil Campbell was able to come back with a 13-9 second quarter advantage to tie the game at 27-27 at the half. Hamilton again jumped out to a lead over Phil Campbell in the third quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 16-6 to take a 43-33 advantage into the final period of play. The Bobcats’ effort at a comeback failed in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Aggies 23-16 – it was not enough to get the win.

Noah Williams led the Bobcats with 22 points. Gage Roberson added 15 points. Others scoring for Phil Campbell were Grant Masterson with eight points, Hayden Copeland with six points, Jacob Anthony with three points and Rhett Benford with two points.

Belgreen 49, Red Bay 30

The Belgreen Bulldogs used a solid offensive effort in the second quarter and a solid defensive effort in the fourth quarter to get a big in-county win over the Red Bay Tigers.

Red Bay jumped out to a 13-10 first quarter lead. Belgreen soared past Red Bay in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 24-6 to take a 34-19 halftime lead. Red Bay trimmed Belgreen’s lead to ten in the second quarter, 40-30. The Bulldogs shut down the Tigers in the final period of play, 9-0 to take the win.

Belgreen’s Drew Boshell led all scorers with 17 points. Jacob Montgomery and Seth Taylor added 11 points each. Others scoring for Belgreen were Shane Devaney with five points, and Brent Bragwell and Joseph Welce, adding three points each.

Chandler Allen and Peyton Green scored seven points each for Red Bay. Gath Weatherford and Austin Milam added five points each. Tate Ozbirn scored four points, and Levi McNatt added two points.

Hackleburg 60, Phil Campbell 58

The Phil Campbell Bobcats lost a heartbreaker to the Hackleburg Panthers last week. The Bobcats led the Panthers for most of the game. Hackleburg hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 58-58 with less than 30 seconds to play. Phil Campbell called a timeout and set up a play. The Panthers stole the ball from the Bobcats, sprinted the length of the court and hit a layup as time expired to hand Phil Campbell a tough 60-58 loss.

Phil Campbell led Hackleburg 20-17 at the end of the first quarter. The Bobcats outscored the Panthers 14-13 in the second quarter and 13-12 in the third quarter to take a 47-42 lead into the final period of play.  Hackleburg made up for the first three quarters by outscoring Phil Campbell 18-11 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Noah Williams led the Bobcats with 19 points. Peyton Thomas added 15 points, and Gage Roberson had 11 points. Jacob Anthony and Grant Masterson added four points each for Phil Campbell. Rhett Benford had three points, and Andrew Pennington had two points.

Phil Campbell 54, Red Bay 44

The Phil Campbell Bobcats pulled away from a pesky Red Bay team in the second half to get a big area win over their county rival. Red Bay led Phil Campbell 12-6 at the end of the first quarter. Phil Campbell cut Red Bay’s lead in half 20-17 by halftime. The Bobcats came out of the locker room strong, outscoring the Tigers 15-7 in the third quarter to take the lead 32-27 heading into the final period of play. Phil Campbell outscored Red Bay 22-17 in the fourth to get the area win.

Peyton Thomas led Phil Campbell with 20 points. Noah Williams added 12 points for the Bobcats. Others scoring for Phil Campbell were Jacob Anthony with nine points, Gage Roberson with six points, Rhett Benford with three points and Grant Masterson and Thomas Baker with two points each.

Levi McNatt led Red Bay with 16 points. Tate Ozbirn added ten points for the Tigers. Others scoring for Red Bay were Peyton Green with seven points, Austin Milam with six points and Gath Weatherford with two points.

Tharptown 84, East Lawrence 81

The Tharptown Wildcats escaped a huge come-from-behind effort by the East Lawrence Eagles to move to 5-1 on the season. Tharptown led East Lawrence by as many as 27 points in the third quarter, but a 31-point effort in the fourth quarter by the Eagles gave them a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer at the end.

Tharptown led East Lawrence 22-15 at the end of the first quarter and led 46-30 at the half. East Lawrence outscored Tharptown 20-17 in the third quarter to cut the Wildcat lead to 63-50. The Eagles outscored Tharptown 31-21 in the fourth quarter to mount the comeback attempt.

Tharptown had five players in double figures, led by Bailey Motes’ 25-point effort. Heath Hatton score 15 points. Max Nolen and Blake Gray scored 14 points each. Mikey Rosson added 11 points in the winning effort.  Nathan Chaney and Braden Key added three points and two points, respectively.