FALKVILLE – Hartselle found themselves in a battle with Brewer in the semi-finals of the Morgan County Tournament on Thursday night.
The fourth-seeded Patriots forced tempo early in the game as they built a 13-10 lead following the first quarter. Brewer got seven points from Mann McLemore to lead the charge. Brody Peebles scored eight to pace the Tigers.
The second quarter opened with Hartselle going on an 11-2 run with Kiah Key leading the way with five points. Brewer then answered with a 9-0 run to take a 24-21 lead. The teams traded three-pointers to end the half. The Patriots took a 30-26 lead to halftime thanks to a three-point make by Kris Bramlett from just inside the half-court line.
Brewer was able to stay out in from of Hartselle as they battled back and forth through most of the third quarter. The Tigers kept chipping away at the Patriots and finally took the lead back with about three minutes to go in the third quarter at 40-39. Hartselle would close the quarter on a 9-6 run that included four straight to end the quarter with a 49-45 lead. Tad Sivley scored 10 to lead the Tigers while Bramlett led the Patriots with five.
The fourth quarter was all Hartselle as they continued to pull away from Brewer. The Tigers scored 11 straight to open the fourth to take a 60-45 lead with 2:30 left. Brewer scored 10 points in the final two minutes but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers held on for a 67-55 win.
Hartselle (21-5) was led by the Peebles and Sivley, who combined for 51 points. Peebles finished with 31 points including 18 in the second half. Sivley added 20 points with 12 coming in the second half. Sivley also added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Trent Wright finished with only two points but he had five rebounds, four assists, and three steals for the Tigers. His defense in the fourth quarter helped lead the Hartselle surge.
Brewer (9-15) was led by McLemore, who finished with 15, while Bramlett added 13. Jake Lawrence led both teams with a game-high 12 rebounds. He also finished with seven points and five assists.
COACH KEY’S THOUGHTS
We struggled throughout the first half. Brewer did a good job making shots early. I thought we had a good finish to the third quarter and played well to start the fourth. The energy and contributions from our bench tonight was really good. We had some guys step up and knock down shots when we needed them.
UP NEXT
Hartselle will play the winner of #2 Danville and #3 West Morgan on Saturday at 7:30 pm in the County Tournament finals.
