Boys Basketball Roundup: East Limestone pulls away from Ardmore
East Limestone pulled away in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a 61-45 victory over cross-county rival Ardmore Tuesday night.
The Indians led throughout the game, but could never pull away from the Tigers until the final eight minutes. Ardmore trailed just 45-38 after three quarters, but East Limestone outscored the Tigers 16-7 in the final period to take the 17-point victory.
R.J. Duncan led East Limestone with 16 points, while Austin Harvell scored 15 and Xavier Griffin added 10.
Ardmore was led by Colton Hardiman with 12 points. Matthew Perry and Chase Patterson each scored nine for the Tigers.
Athens 75, Decatur 67
One night after blowing a fourth-quarter lead in a loss to Grissom, Athens showed some resilience to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit against Decatur and take an eight-point victory Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles trailed the Red Raiders 56-50 heading into the final quarter, but dominated the final period, outscoring Decatur 25-11 to not only take the lead but also run away for the victory.
Keenan Hambrick came alive in the final quarter, scoring 10 of his 11 points in that period. Braden Gross led Athens with 16 points, while Jaden Jude had 13 and Tokie Porter had 11. Antonio Shoulders chipped in with 10 points for the Golden Eagles.
Decatur was led by Smith Coon with 24 points. However, Coon scored just two points in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Austin 63, West Limestone 55
Austin jumped out to an early lead and held off West Limestone in the second half to take the win Tuesday night.
The Class 7A Black Bears led 21-10 after one quarter and never let the Class 4A Wildcats get within striking distance.
West outscored Austin 45-42 the rest of the game, but the fourth-quarter deficit was too large a hole to climb out of.
River Helms led West Limestone with 23 points, while Camryn Williams and Dylan Simmons each scored eight for the Wildcats.
Westminster Christian 41, Elkmont 29
Elkmont never could get its offense going in a 12-point loss to Westminster Christian Tuesday night.
The Red Devils scored just 10 points in the first half, but they trailed just 15-10 at halftime. However, Westminster outscored Elkmont 13-2 in the third quarter to pull away and take the win.
Layton Smith scored 16 points to lead Elkmont, while Westminster was led by Menterra Gurley with 15 points.