Eagles claim boys county title

SARDIS CITY — Hokes Bluff started out hot and didn’t cool off on its way to the 2019 Etowah County boys basketball tournament championship Friday night at Sardis High School.

The Eagles cruised past Southside 72-49 to win their second consecutive county crown.

Hokes Bluff led 23-8 after the opening period, 40-19 at halftime and 52-31 through three quarters.

Donovan Greaves totaled a game-high 26 points behind six 3-pointers for the Eagles. Hayden Lipscomb added 25 points as the Hokes Bluff big man was a tough stop in the paint all game long for the Panthers.

By the Numbers

2 — Hokes Bluff and Southside have played four times this season with each team getting two wins. … 8 — Made 3-pointers by Hokes Bluff. … 3 — The Eagles have been in the county finals for the past three seasons. Glencoe topped Hokes Bluff in 2017.

They Said It

“It always feels really good. Winning the county is really important to us at Hokes Bluff. It’s always been a game between us and Southside. It was a really fun win.” — Greaves

Coachspeak

“I just asked them to play hard. I told them there is no one that has to do anything special tonight. We just have to play hard and play as a team. Sometimes when there is a name in front of a ball game, we worry more about the name instead of just playing the game. It’s still the same game. That’s what we did. We came out and played hard. Southside has a good team and they are well-coached.” — Hokes Bluff coach Jeff Noah

“They were very well-prepared. They had a good game plan and executed it very well. I was proud of our guys in the second half. I thought they really battled and fought. Hokes Bluff has a great basketball team.” — Southside coach Chad Holderfield

Hokes Bluff Stat Sheet

Braydon Hill scored eight points while Dylan Teague added five points.

Southside Stat Sheet

Brock Habyan totaled 19 points. Blake Habyan added 14 points. Chris Lengyel tallied seven points.

All-Tournament Team

Hokes Bluff: Donovan Greaves and Hayden Lipscomb (co-MVP), Matthew Johnson, Ashton Gulledge, Brayden Hill, Dylan Teague. Southside: Chris Lengyel, Blake Habyan, Brock Habyan. West End: Eli Pearce. Glencoe: Brock Ondo, Bryan Benefield. Sardis: Jacob Hopper, Alex James.

Up Next

Hokes Bluff (11-9) hosts Sardis on Monday. Southside (8-13) welcomes Etowah in a Class 5A, Area 12 matchup Friday.