WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT ELKMONT'S WIN

Class 3A Boys Northwest Regional: Elkmont 72, Holly Pond 62 (OT)

Birmingham News, February 23, 2012 2:53 p.m.

HANCEVILLE, Ala. -- Elkmont fought back in the third quarter, coughed up a six-point lead in the last two minutes, then stormed to a 10-point advantage in overtime for a 72-62 win in a Class 3A Northwest Regional boys semifinal at Wallace State Community College on Thursday.  The Red Devils (22-7) took their seventh and final lead of the game on a bucket by Matt Barnes to start a 10-0 advantage in the extra period, after leading 58-52 with 2:20 left. 


Skyler Gant led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds, Dan Logan added 21 points and nine rebounds and Cole Glass 10 points and seven rebounds to go with three blocks and three steals.

Colby Adams led Holly Pond (24-8) with 17 points, Jacob Cahoon had 16 points with nine rebounds, Gunter Morris had 13 points and Thomas Hays had 12.

Broncos lose to Elkmont in OT

By Ashley GravesThe Cullman Times

HANCEVILLE — With the returning experience Mitch Morris had, the Holly Pond coach was anticipating things to be different from a year ago as they headed into Thursday afternoon's Class 3A boys semifinal game at the Northwest Regional.

And for much of the first half, it looked as though that would be the case for the Broncos. But opposite the bench from them was an Elkmont team that just wouldn't go down without a fight. 

In what was a physical game for both squads, the Red Devils did what was needed down the stretch to pull off a 72-62 overtime win over Holly Pond.

"The first half, we got off to a great start, one of our best here," Morris said. "We got control of the ball game early and played hard, but we let some things slip from us — a missed free throw, turnover, whatever. Give Elkmont credit, they didn't quit."

Despite playing without starter Bryant Sparks for several minutes of the first quarter as he was tended to by a trainer, Holly Pond managed to take a 23-13 lead at the end of one. Sparks later returned and played the rest of the game with a bandage stretched across his chin. 

The Broncos continued to pile on the points in the second, leading by 16 during one point. Slowly but surely, the Red Devils clawed their way back into it as the quarter wound down, going on a 5-0 run to close the period and only trail 37-28.

"Going into halftime, we gave up a few points at the end of the quarter and I told our guys that Elkmont wasn't going to quit, and they brought it to us," Morris said.

Elkmont's Dan Logan drained a 3 in the opening minutes of the third to spark the Red Devil offense and cut the lead to six. Elkmont took its second lead of the game on a layup by Skylar Gant with under a minute remaining in the quarter. Matthew Barnes sank a buzzer-beater to end the quarter and give the Red Devils a 50-48 advantage.

Much of the fourth was spent swapping leads until Colby Adams sparked a 6-0 run with 2:09 to go. 

Elkmont's Hayden Huseth hit a crucial 3 to give the Red Devils some hope before Thomas Hays responded for Holly Pond with a layup to push it to 62-58. 

Logan drove the lane and put Elkmont within two, and with seconds remaining, Cole Glass rebounded a missed shot and tipped it in to send the game into overtime.

The extra four minutes weren't kind to the Broncos, as their shooting went cold. Elkmont outscored them 10-0 in overtime to grab the win.

"This is the second time we've been in this position, just a different ballgame," Morris said. "I was anticipating things would be a little different, but we have some young guys coming back so our expectations are going to be higher."

Adams led Holly Pond with 17 points. Jacob Cahoon added 16, followed by Gunter Morris with 12.  Morris also showed signs of just how physical the game was as well, as he played the second half with a bandage above his right eye. Hays contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.

Gant scored a team-high 24 points to lead Elkmont. Logan tossed in 21.

Despite the signs of physical play, Morris had no complaints about the way the game was called.

"I like that the refs let the boys play," he said. "I believe they called what they need to. There may have been a few incidental contacts early in the game, but our guys are tough. We handled things and didn't back down from it.