FALKVILLE – The Hartselle Tigers won their fourth consecutive Morgan County Tournament Championship by defeating West Morgan 80-52.
The four-year run is the longest since Austin won five-in-a-row from 1980-94.
The game went back and forth in the first quarter with Hartselle taking a 21-18 lead. Brody Peebles scored 11 points to lead the Tigers. Ashton Owens had 14 to lead West Morgan.
Hartselle opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 28-18. The Rebels got back in the game with a 9-0 run cutting the Tiger lead to one, 28-27. Hartselle extended their lead to 43-32 at halftime with a 14-5 run to end the quarter.
The Tigers started the third quarter with an 8-0 run to push their lead out to 51-32. The Rebels made one final run to cut the lead to 51-40 with eight straight points. Hartselle ended the quarter by outscoring West Morgan 13-4 to lead 64-44 heading into the final quarter.
Hartselle doubled up the Rebels in the fourth by outscoring them 16-8 to secure the 80-52 win and their 4th consecutive Morgan Co. Championship.
The Tigers were led by Peebles and Tad Sivley, who combined for 64 points.
Following his 40 point performance, Peebles was named the J.C. Petty and Wayne Bowling MVP. He is a repeat winner MVP award. Sivley added 24 points with16 coming in the first half.
Trent Wright led Hartselle with eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals and Jackson Raley finished with four points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. Peebles added four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, with Sivley, having six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block.
Luke Ward had three points and five rebounds and CJ Gholston added three points for the Tigers. Kiah Key, Ryan Dunn, and Coleman Mizell rounded out the scoring for Hartselle with two points each.
West Morgan (13-10) was led by Owens, who finished with 25 points and five rebounds. Carson Muse added 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.
COACH KEY’S THOUGHTS
We have talked defense all week long and how the best defense would win the championship. Tonight, we put together two really good defensive efforts to win this tournament. We have a group of unselfish guys that make our team successful. I am proud of my kids to get a tournament title this year. We are going to work hard in the off-season to try and win again next year.
MORGAN COUNTY ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Hartselle: Brody Peebles – MVP, Tad Sivley, Trent Wright
West Morgan: Ashton Owens, Carson Muse
Falkville: Camden Reed, Avery Miller
Brewer: Mann McLemore, Kris Bramlett, Jake Lawrence
Danville: Wren Cole, KJ Melson, Kohl Randolph
Priceville: Seth Hood, Chris Thomas
UP NEXT
Hartselle (22-5) travels to Cullman on Tuesday night for a 6A Area 14 match-up.
