The Wetumpka boys basketball team earned a spot in the Maplesville Christmas Tournament championship after Tyquan Rawls capped a 30-point performance with a free throw with 2.5 seconds left to give his team a 62-61 victory over Alabama Christian. The victory sent Wetumpka into the final to face off with Montevallo.
Rawls knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 18 of his points in the second half to help Wetumpka erase a double-digit deficit. He made 3 of 6 free-throw attempts and finished with five rebounds.
Stone Minnifield added 15 points in the semifinal victory to go along with eight rebounds and a 7-for-10 performance at the stripe. Zeylin Hooks led the efforts off the bench, scoring eight points.
On the first day of the tournament, Wetumpka defeated Chilton County 67-46 behind another big day from Rawls. He knocked down five 3-pointers in the second half and finished with a game-high 28 points.
Minnifield contributed 12 points and led the team with six rebounds. Hooks scored seven of his nine points in the second half to help Wetumpka pull away.
Note: Wetumpka fell 75-55 to Montevallo in the championship game.
Stewart, Varner lead Wildcats to pair of wins
The Edgewood basketball teams traveled to Glenwood for the annual Border Wars showdown as the Wildcats got to face off with a pair of teams from Georgia. The boys team got big individual performances from Robert Stewart and Kaleb Varner to sweep its two games while the girls team ran into stiff competition and fell in both matchups.
The boys team (8-4) got the weekend started with a 43-35 victory over Southland (Georgia) after the Wildcats held their opponents to just 11 points in the second half. Edgewood finished with six 3-pointers as a team, four by Stewart.
Stewart led all players with 23 points, outscoring Southland 14-11 on his own in the final two quarters. Varner and Kam Burleson each contributed seven points.
Varner was back in action the next day, this time leading the way. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Wildcats to a 57-47 win over Deerfield (Georgia).
Edgewood got things done inside the arc this time, making only one 3-pointer but scoring 42 of its points on two-point field goals. Austin Patrick reached double figures, scoring 10 points, while Caleb Justiss added eight points, all coming in the first half.
The girls team (5-7) ran into a brick wall in the opening game as the Wildcats were held scoreless in the first half before falling 40-10 to Southland. Edgewood was held to three field goals, all of them in the third quarter. Emma Weldon and Haylee Brown each hit a 3-pointer to lead the Wildcats.
In the second game of the weekend, Edgewood could not keep up with Deerfield’s offense. The Wildcats gave up 23 points in the first quarter and they never recovered, losing 68-32.
Edgewood mustered up some more offense in the second game as Madison White led the team with 10 points. Weldon knocked down two more 3-pointers to finish with eight points while Lindsey Brown finished with six.
