SPORTS
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Vestavia Finishes Third In Rebel Basketball Classic BY LEE DAVIS
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER
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estavia Hills defeated Spain Park 47-44 to take third place in the Rebel Classic basketball tournament held on the Vestavia campus last weekend. B.J. Houston led the Rebels with 17 points, and Anton Cook added nine. Blake Dudchock paced the Jaguars with 14 in the Saturday night game. Later that evening, Jeff Davis defeated Auburn 64-59 to win the tournament title. Calera routed Homewood 7751 to take fifth place. Nyck Young scored 18 points for the Patriots, while Ernest Bell added 11. On Friday, Auburn earned its way to the championship game with a 55-45 win over Vestavia. Houston was the Rebels’ leading scorer with 17, and Cook contributed 14. Jeff Davis reached the final with a 72-69 overtime win over Spain Park. Deric Washington scored 18 points in the losing cause for the Jags. Dudchock added 16. Homewood overcame Pleasant Grove 51-42 in the consolation bracket. Bell scored 13 for the Patriots. In girls’ play, Hoover defeated East Central of Oklahoma 68-49 in the Tennessee Turkey Jam in Memphis. Marques Webb had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Bucs. Breighta Cochran added 12 for the winners. Spain Park lost to Brewer 5643 in the finals of the Brewer Thanksgiving Tournament. Ashley Gaston had 19 points for the Lady Jaguars. Jasmine Hollis scored 11 points and 13 rebounds. The Lady Jags reached the finals with a 70-36 rout of Pope John Paul II. Whitney Gulledge and Gaston each scored 15 points for the winning cause. Hollis had eight points and 16 rebounds.
Briarwood battled back in the third quarter. Quarterback Ben Craft’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Canon Smith and Benson Mulvaney’s extra point cut Hartselle’s lead to 10-7 with 8:28 remaining in the period. The Tigers retaliated by moving to the Lions’ 22-yard line. Marsh’s 39-yard field goal raised the lead to 13-7 before the quarter ended. Briarwood seized the initiative, driving 34 yards to Hartselle’s 36 before losing a fumble early in the
final period. Later in the quarter, Craft’s would-be touchdown pass to Daniel Robert was nullified by a holding penalty. Meanwhile, the Tigers added more points when Marsh hit a 41yard field goal with eight minutes to go in the game, pushing their cushion to 16-7. The Lions gamely attempted a comeback. Craft connected with Smith for a seven-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the game, but Briarwood couldn’t score again.
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Craft completed 26 of 41 passes for 248 yards. He did, however, also throw four interceptions, an uncharacteristic number for one of metro Birmingham’s best passers. Hartselle had no turnovers. Matthew Furuto rushed for 67 yards on 14 carries. Colman Pearson had eight catches for 59 yards. Robert caught six passes for 53 yards. “Hartselle put a lot of pressure on us,” said Yancey. “Their kicking game was terrific tonight.”
Craft was philosophical when the game – and his senior season – ended. “Things didn’t go our way tonight, but we fought,” he said. “This was a team of guys who loved to compete. I’ve never been more proud of a Briarwood team.” The Lions came up short in their bid for the Class 5A title. But not before providing their coaches and fans plenty of reasons to be proud.
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Lions,
from back cover interceptions really hurt us.” The win was particularly sweet for the Tigers, who were eliminated in the playoffs last season by the Lions. Hartselle was determined from the beginning not to suffer through a repeat performance. In the first period, the Tigers moved to the Briarwood 15-yard line. Gavin Marsh’s 32-yard field goal gave Hartselle a 3-0 lead with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter. The hosts added to the lead in the second stanza when quarterback Deacon Aldridge scored on a five-yard run to give the Tigers a 10-0 halftime advantage.
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