HOMEWOOD – Grant Uldrich knocked down two free throws with 42.4 seconds remaining to give Vestavia Hills a 68-66 win over Hartselle in the semi-finals of the Metro Tournament at Homewood High School.
Brody Peebles led the Tigers with 31 points and three steals. Tad Sivley added 14 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Vestavia Hills, fueled by a combined 55 points from Win Miller (22), Jude Cleary (19), and Uldrich (14), made 12 3-pointers, including eight in the first half.
Coming out of halftime with a 39-34 lead, Vestavia Hills (12-6) opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 14, the Rebels’ largest lead of the game.
The Tigers closed the quarter on a 17-6 run to cut the lead to three heading into the fourth.
Hartselle (14-4) managed to tie the game two different times in the fourth, 60-60 with 4:13 left and 66-66 with 1:04 left but was unable to take the lead.
Hartselle’s last lead of the game was 33-30 with just under two minutes to go in the second quarter.
Peebles had 18 first-half points, while Kiah Key had six and Sivley added four in the first half for the Tigers.
COACH KEY’S THOUGHTS: I loved the fight of our team to get us back in the game after falling behind by 14 midway through the third quarter. This game is another experience builder for us as we move forward in the season.
UP NEXT: Hartselle will close out the Metro Tournament in the 3rd Place game against Homewood at 1:00 pm.
