Junior High County Tournament heads into finals
UPDATE: Severe weather brings changes to tourney schedule
The finals of the junior high division of the Franklin County Tournament are set after a full slate of games Saturday.
The finals will be held Jan. 11. Admission is $5. The schedule is as follows:
• 3 p.m. – B-Junior Girls: Phil Campbell vs. Belgreen
• 4:15 p.m. – B-Junior Boys: Tharptown vs. Red Bay
• 5:30 p.m. – A-Junior Girls: Red Bay vs. Phil Campbell
• 6:45 p.m. – A-Junior Boys: Phil Campbell vs. East Franklin
B-JUNIOR GIRLS DIVISION
Phil Campbell 22, Tharptown 16
Phil Campbell opened the tournament with a hard-fought 22-16 win over the Tharptown Lady Wildcats. Tharptown led 6-5 at the end of the first quarter, but Phil Campbell outscored the Wildcats 13-6 over the next two quarters to build a lead.
Hannah Welborn led Phil Campbell with 11 points. Braisley Barboza led Tharptown with six points.
Belgreen 43, Red Bay 35
Belgreen raced out to a 16-2 first quarter lead and held off the Red Bay Tigers to win 43-35. Belgreen led Red Bay 23-15 at the end of the first half and 33-29 at the end of the third quarter.
Lily Blackburn led Belgreen with 15 points. Dakota Green added 10 points.
Zoe Henley led Red Bay with 16 points. Abby Hicks added 13 points for the Tigers.
B-JUNIOR BOYS DIVISION
Belgreen 43, Phil Campbell 37
Belgreen jumped out to a 10-5 first quarter lead on the Phil Campbell Bobcats and held on for the win.
Malachi Minor led Belgreen with 11 points, all of which came in the second half.
Red Bay 46, East Franklin 5
Red Bay held East Franklin to two points in the first half, racing out to a 27-2 lead.
Gage Edgmon led the Tigers with 11 points, eight in the first half. Kennedy Wilemon added 10 points, eight points coming in the third quarter.
Tharptown 29, Belgreen 25
The Tharptown Wildcats used a strong third quarter to get a 29-25 win over Belgreen and advance to the finals.
Belgreen led Tharptown 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats held Belgreen to no points in the second quarter but could only score two points themselves, allowing the Bulldogs to retain a 10-8 halftime lead. Tharptown pulled away in the third quarter outscoring Belgreen 16-4 to take a 24-14 lead into the final quarter.
Dylan Valdez led Tharptown with 20 points, including eight in the third quarter.
Malichi Minor led Belgreen with 12 points.
A-JUNIOR GIRLS
Red Bay 39, East Franklin 29
Red Bay raced out to a 25-8 first half lead en route to an easy 39-29 win over the East Franklin Rebels.
Jaycee Vinson and Kaylie Lindley scored 10 points each for Red Bay, while Mason Mills led East Franklin with 10 points.
Phil Campbell 36, Vina 15
Phil Campbell held Vina to one point in the first half en route to an easy 36-15 win.
Allie Herring led Phil Campbell with 13 points, and A.J. Jeane added 12 points for the Bobcats.
Red Bay 29, Tharptown 28
In the best game of the day, the Red Bay Tigers capitalized on a late Tharptown foul to advance to the finals. With the game tied 28-28, with less than 15 second to go, Tharptown put the Tigers on the line, where they made a game-winning free throw.
Tharptown led Red Bay 6-4 at the end of the first quarter. Red Bay took a 14-13 lead at halftime. The game was tied 21-21 at the end of the third quarter.
Jaycee Vinson led Red Bay with 12 points, followed by Kaylie Lindley with 10 points.
Sarah Mansell led Tharptown with eight points.
A-JUNIOR BOYS
East Franklin 72, Vina 45
The high-scoring game of the first round of the Franklin County Tournament was three-point shooting clinic. The East Franklin Rebels and Vina Red Devils combined for 14 three-pointers as the Rebels ran away with the game 72-45.
East Franklin hit eight three’s – five from Josh Molina alone. Vina made six from behind the arch.
Molina and Gage Baker scored 24 points each for the Rebels. Kevin Jimenez added 11 points.
