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December 30, 2011

PREP ROUNDUP: Bearcats take third at Oneonta Holiday Classic

Senior center Thomas Hays reaches 1,000-point career mark in Holly Pond win over Clements

Staff Reports The Cullman Times

ONEONTA — Cullman finished in third place of the Oneonta Holiday Classic after beating Alexandria 46-38 Thursday.

Freshman Lawson Schaffer, who was called up to the varsity squad earlier this season, made his mark by scoring 10 points against the Valley Cubs.

“He’s a unique player,” coach Bobby Meyer said. “One of those kids who’s a gym rat. He’s constantly playing whether it’s at the gym or a pick-up game. He has a knack for getting himself open and finding other people. He’s giving us a boost.”

Jacob Knight scored seven points off the bench in the win.

The Bearcats wound up in the third-place game after narrowly falling to the host Redskins 66-64 Wednesday.

Meyer said it was a hard-fought contest that involved some controversy concerning the officials during Oneonta’s final possession.

“We missed some free throws that we should have hit,” the coach said. “In the end, it came down to a couple possessions and they were able to capitalize.”

Jordan Vass went off for three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give him six in the game. The senior concluded the night with a game-high 25 points.

Greg Smith netted 11, including a key trey in the final eight minutes.

Oneonta went on to win its holiday tournament after taking down Hueytown 84-77 Thursday.

Cullman’s first game of the event came on Tuesday, when they beat Sand Rock by a 60-48 decision.

Kreg Keiffer’s 10 points were tops for the Bearcats. Three players added eight points — Houston Turner, Vass and Schaffer.

Considering the talented teams Cullman played in the classic — Sand Rock is No. 10 in 2A and Oneonta is No. 6 in 4A — Meyer is looking forward to the direction his players are taking heading into the new year.

“All three of those teams were solid,” he said. “We competed hard, played hard and that’s about all you can ask for in a Christmas tournament. It kind of excites us for the month of January with some big games coming up.”



West Point Christmas Tournament

Holly Pond 61, Clements 52: The Broncos finished 3-0 at the in-county holiday tournament by defeating the Colts in their final game.

Thomas Hays reached 1,000 points for his prep career in the first quarter.

“It’s special,” Mitch Morris said. “He’s the type of guy who it doesn’t really matter to as long as long as we win.”

The Holly Pond coach said Hays’ feat was announced between the first and second quarters but didn’t draw much more than a smile from the senior center.

“He didn’t want to be excited over it,” Morris said. “He just plays the game because he loves it. He just wants to do what he can to help the team win.”

Colby Adams scored a team-high 13 points, Hays added 12, Jacob Cahoon netted 11 and Gunter Morris contributed 10.

Cahoon recently went on a baseball trip before Christmas break and missed a few of the Broncos’ games, but Morris said the junior didn’t miss a beat when he returned for the West Point event.

“He came off the bench and played real well for us this tournament,” the coach said.

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