By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
SAND ROCK – The Spring Garden basketball coaching staff makes it a point to talk to their kids a lot about the next man up mentality.
On Saturday against Collinsville, the next men up for the Panther boys basketball team were assistant coach Draevan Bowman and senior guard Cole Bailey.
Bowman was the Panthers’ interim head coach after Levi Hatcher couldn’t be on the bench due to sickness.
The Panthers didn’t let the shakeup at the top bother them. Despite falling behind by 12 points at halftime, they rallied down the stretch behind Bailey to take a 53-47 victory over Collinsville in the Alabama ONE Cherokee Basketball Classic at Sand Rock.
Bowman had a similar coaching situation happen to him when he was an assistant at Handley. Head coach Larry Strain was coaching in the North-South football game and turned the reins over to Bowman on the bench while he was away.
“When you scoot down a chair, there’s always some nerves, but in the end it’s basketball. It’s about limiting your turnovers, playing great half-court defense and making shots,” Bowman said.
“This is a credit to our kids really, being able to roll with the punches with a change like that. They didn’t let it affect them. They’re just gritty and tough.”
Bailey proved just how gritty and tough he was in the fourth quarter.
With Collinsville up five with less than 6 ½ minutes remaining in the game, Bailey sank a 3-pointer that brought the Panthers within a basket at 38-36. He was fouled on the Panthers’ ensuing possession, which sent him to the line where he tied the game at 38 by making both free throws.
Then, Bailey gave Spring Garden its first lead since early in the first quarter at 40-38 with a rebound and put back.
“I guess I just got in the zone,” Bailey said. “I was playing my butt off. I don’t like to lose.”
“He made some big ones down the stretch,” Bowman said of Bailey. “I think the thing he does really well too is he played great half-court defense. That kind of gets overlooked sometimes. He played phenomenal defense, took care of the ball and made some big-time free throws at the end. He deserves moments like that. He’s a great kid. You can coach him hard. We need him to continue being big for us the rest of the year.”
Bailey, who led Spring Garden with 21 points, said he wasn’t too worried when the Panthers were down 29-17 at halftime.
“We were getting open shots but they just weren’t falling down,” Bailey said. “Coach came in at halftime and told us they would start getting going. We just kept at it, kept shooting and they started falling.”
The jumpers weren’t the only shots to start falling.
Following Bailey’s mini scoring outburst, the Panthers proceeded to make 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch for the final. Bailey was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line for the game.
“We tell them all the time free throws are layups,” Bowman said. “They did a really good job of forcing them to foul, taking care of the ball, valuing each possession. That’s a credit to them again. That’s a big-time moment Saturday in the invitational. Our kids are tough and it was just another tough moment they overcome.”
John Welsh added nine points for the Panthers. Jake Welsh had eight points. Connor Bates came away with six points and Chapel Pope finished with five points.
Jake Middlebrooks and Dawson Cothran both collected 13 points for Collinsville. Gavin Lang sank four 3-pointers and had 12 points. Zach Clanton finished with seven points.
The following is a roundup of Saturday’s boys tournament action.
Gaylesville 67, Valley Head 58
SAND ROCK – Kyler Bradley connected on four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points to lead the Gaylesville Trojans to a 67-58 basketball victory over Valley Head in the Alabama ONE Cherokee Classic at Sand Rock on Saturday.
Bradley also added six rebounds, six steals and three assists for the Trojans. Collin Hendon tossed in 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Daylen Dobbins delivered 11 points, including three 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. Kuper Bradley contributed eight points, including a pair of treys, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Caden Angle finished with 17 rebounds.
Nate Bain rang for 25 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Tigers. Kolby Dupree delivered 14 points. Lennon Pike posted eight points. Daniel Gibson connected on a pair of 3-pointers and had six points. Dalton Reed finished with five points.
Gaylesville led at each of the quarter breaks. The Trojans held a 16-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter and a 32-22 edge at halftime. Gaylesville built a 48-33 lead after three quarters.
Cedar Bluff 56, Wellborn 47
SAND ROCK – Eli McFry and Kadin Fife both netted 15 points to lead the Cedar Bluff Tigers past Wellborn 56-47 on Saturday.
Isaac Bishop tossed in 12 points for the Tigers. Shon Gleen finished with six points.
Avery Odom also led Wellborn with 15 points. Jackson Long added 11 points. Ray Williams scored eight points. Ollie Boot and Liam Avery finished with seven points and five points respectively.
Cedar Bluff trailed 13-12 at the end of the first quarter but pulled ahead 24-23 at the halftime break. The Tigers pushed their lead to 38-30 after three quarters.
New Hope 63, Sand Rock 41
SAND ROCK – New Hope sank 11 3-pointers, including six from Jahden Johnson, in a 63-41 victory over Sand Rock.
Johnson led the Indians with 23 points. Riley McGehee managed 10 points. Andrew Dudley delivered nine points. Dawson Cambron came away with seven points. Terry Lucas and Vann Mefford finished with six and five points respectively.
Cam Gifford led the Wildcats with 14 points. Ty Traffanstedt tallied 11 points. Dominick Clausen came away with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
New Hope led 16-13 at the end of the first quarter and built a 30-19 advantage at halftime. The Indians extended their lead to 48-29 at the end of three quarters.