Photos courtesy of Paul Dotson
Jalen Montgomery drives to the basket. (Photo courtesy of Paul Dotson)
PEARCY — The Bryant Hornets freshman team advanced to the championship game of the annual Kameron Hale Invitational Tournament with a 46-45 win over the rival Benton Panthers on Friday night. The Hornets will play the Centerpoint Knights for the title on Saturday at 5:15 p.m., in the Lake Hamilton High School arena.
Jalen Montgomery was named the most valuable player of the game for the Hornets, who improved to 8-5 on the season.
The Hornets trailed 15-7 after a quarter and 24-20 at the half.
“We came out really flat and Benton was really aggressive and jumped to a 10-2 lead,” said Hornets coach Tyler Posey. “We started playing really well after that and really made it tough for them to score.
“It was a really good back and forth game throughout the second half,” he noted.
By the end of the third quarter, Bryant had pulled ahead 35-31.
“We had the lead by 6 with about a minute and a half left,” Posey recounted. “We would go 1 for 2 from the free throw line three straight trips with Benton hitting two 3’s and making it a one-point game. They had the ball with seven seconds left and couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.”
Montgomery finished with 14 points for the Hornets. Aiden Adams added 12 and Gavin Brunson had 6.
Aiden Adams fires a 3-pointer. (Photo courtesy of Paul Dotson)
Ryan Riggs (Photo courtesy of Paul Dotson)
Myles Aldridge goes to the hoop. (Photo courtesy of Paul Dotson)
