Story By Druw Giamalva
GUNTERSVILLE — The No. 4 Guntersville Wildcats varsity boys faced their biggest test of the season on Thursday night as they battled against the Class 6A, No. 10 Buckhorn Bucks. Despite leading for a majority of the game, the Wildcats still needed a game-winning basket by senior Turner Hammond to put away the Bucks.
The matchup between the Wildcats and the Bucks saw Guntersville open up with a 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The quarter was opened up by a Turner Hammond layup followed by Grayson Moon layup. The quarter was capped off by a Westin Hammond layup to give the Wildcats a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bucks would slightly cut into the Wildcat lead as they would only be down 38-31 at halftime. The Wildcats were led by Westin Hammond who would score six points in the second quarter. Westin Hammond would score the final four points of the quarter for the Wildcats with a layup and two free throws.
Guntersville would increase their lead to 55-42 at the end of the third quarter behind six more points from Westin Hammond. Guntersville would cap off their quarter with two free throws from Moon to give them a 12-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Despite carrying a 62-44 lead with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bucks would turn defense into offense as they forced Guntersville into multiple turnover to go on a 19-0 scoring run to take a 63-62 lead with less than a minute remaining. With 45 seconds remaining, Westin Hammond would make two free throws to give Guntersville the lead back. The Bucks would reclaim the lead off of a layup with 10 seconds remaining, but Turner Hammond would go coast-to-coast and score a layup with two seconds remaining. The Bucks would heave a half court shot with no success, giving the Wildcats a 66-65 victory.
The Wildcats were led by Westin Hammond who would have a game-high 28 points.
Up next for the Wildcats is a matchup against Russellville that will be played at Wallace State. Tipoff is expected at 7 p.m.
