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  • The Cullman boys basketball team poses with the Class 5A, Region 13 trophy after beating Brewer Monday night. Contributed

    Class 5A, Region 13 champs

  • Jordan Vass cuts down a piece of the net after Cullman won the Class 5A, Area 13 championship Monday by beating Brewer. Contributed

    Cutting down the nets

  • Cullman selections for the All-Area team, from left to right, were Kreg Keiffer, Houston Turner and Jordan Vass. Contributed

    All-Area members

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February 13, 2012

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Bearcats ‘believe,’ dominate Brewer for area title

By Russell Moore The Cullman Times

HARTSELLE — Cullman High’s basketball team is headed home and one step away from a Northwest Regional berth after a pair of dominating games in the Class 5A, Area 13 tournament.

The Bearcats put together another rapid first-half start Monday night and cruised to a 65-37 triumph over Brewer at Hartselle’s Pettey Center, claiming the school’s first area championship since the 2006-07 season.

Cullman (19-9) now hosts rival Walker Friday night at 7 p.m. in a sub-region contest, with the winner advancing to Wallace State next week.

“This is so sweet. It’s a dream come true for me, the seniors and the rest of the team,” said senior guard Jordan Vass, an All-Area selection for his regular-season work. “This championship started back at team camp during the summer. We’ve been working hard ever since and have always believed we had a good team. Others didn’t believe because of what we did last year, but we believed.”

Cullman’s trademark on the tournament was a couple of blowout victories. Two nights after a 22-point victory, Vass scored all 11 of his points in the first half against Brewer, freshman guard Lawson Schaffer provided another lift off the bench by pouring in 18 points and Brian Murphy and Greg Smith each added seven.

Cullman’s defense was also up to par early on, holding Brewer to only eight first-quarter points.

“We played very intense defense and had balance on offense, both inside and outside, and had good rebounding from our post players. That’s what you’ve got to do,” said second-year Cullman head coach Bobby Meyer. “It’s good solid basketball and that’s what you’ve got to do to win this time of the year.”

The Bearcats wasted no time putting the game out of reach, pulling away in the final 3:30 of the first quarter. Vass drilled a pair of consecutive 3-pointers and Schaffer added a 3-pointer and a three-point play to close the quarter, ending it on a 12-2 surge for a 22-8 advantage.

Schaffer hit one of his four 3’s with 4:50 remaining in the first half, extending the Bearcats’ lead to 31-14. Cullman led 37-22 at halftime.

Cullman maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Bearcats used a 10-0 run, sparked by seven consecutive points from Smith to close the third quarter with a commanding 55-33 lead.

Houston Turner and Kreg Keiffer joined Vass as All-Area selections for Cullman.

“This championship was built back in the offseason,” Meyer said. “That’s when you have to do it. Our guys played spring ball, travel ball and worked hard in the summer. Our kids at Cullman work hard in basketball, baseball and football and when you play multiple sports you’ve have no choice but to dedicate yourself.”

Coty Benitez led Brewer in the loss with 16 points.

West Point’s Tyler Vandergrift and Kris Keller were also named to the All-Area team.

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