Story By John Mann
GUNTERSVILLE — The Albertville Aggies basketball team put on a big showing against the Guntersville Wildcats on Friday, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to take the win on a final score of 63-57.
“They’re a really well coached team and very skilled,” Albertville head coach Chris Graves said. “They push the ball well in transition and I thought it took us some time to adjust to how the game was going and guard them without fouling. We gave up a lot of points on the free throw line which we had to correct while slowing them down in those transitions. Down the stretch we were able to get more stops and rebounds and I knew in this game in particular it was going to come down to guards and rebounds while the offense took care of itself.”
The Wildcats were able to take an early 10-2 lead in the first quarter with six unanswered points by Grayson Moon which included a three pointer. Keandre Yancey was able to finally stop the rally with a basket and make it a six point game, hitting a three pointer of his own later in the quarter. The Aggies weren’t able to catch the Wildcats though and ended the first quarter trailing 17-11.
The Wildcats opened the second quarter with baskets by Westin Hammond and Turner Hammond to go up 21-11, but the Aggies managed to bring it within three after a shot from McKennon Thompson. Britt Carroll would keep the Aggies alive with a pair of three pointers in the back half of the quarter, but the Wildcats were still up 31-24 heading into halftime. Carroll would be the top scorer for the Aggies in the first half with eight points, followed closely by Thompson with seven.
A three pointer from Brandt Sweatt early in the third quarter would bring the Aggies within two points on a score of 38-36, but a three point shot from Westin Hammond would carry the lead just out of reach. Yancey would score the final basket of the quarter, leaving the score at 44-40 Guntersville at the end of the third.
It wasn’t until the final quarter of the game that the Aggies began to turn the tables on the Wildcats. A basket by Thompson would bring them within a single point, and with a follow up from Taliq Saint the Aggies were finally on top 45-44. A steal by Carroll would set up Saint for another basket, and with six minutes left in the game the Aggies had built up a 52-44 lead.
“Honestly we started the game pretty cold,” Saint said. “We went into the locker room and talked about some stuff, came out and played defense big and started rebounding the ball. We got the energy and started to take over from there. We knew coming in that we could end up down fifteen points because this is a hard gym to play in so we knew we had to do our best, play as a five man team and stick together.”
The Aggies weren’t out of the woods yet as the Wildcats cut their lead to just two, in no small part thanks to three baskets by Moon. A steal by Westin Hammond led to a score by Turner Hammond, and suddenly the game was tied up at 54-54. A basket and pair of free throws by Trey Bright helped get the Aggies back on top 60-54, and this time they would hold the lead for the rest of the game.
With less than a minute left the two teams would trade free throw attempts, but with two final free throw shots by Izzy Faulks the Aggies ran out the clock and took the win 63-57.
“Obviously there was a whole lot of interest in this game,” Graves said. “We watched a great girls game ahead of us and there’s a lot of history between us and Guntersville, I knew it was going to be a big game and I was proud of the way our guys, and their guys, handled it. It was a well-played game, very competitive in classy way. Everyone got after it and played a good basketball game.”
The Albertville Aggies will be on the road for their next matchup on December 12, facing Grissom. The Wildcats meanwhile will be back at home on December 12 taking on Scottsboro. Tip-off for both games is expected to begin at 7 p.m.
