ELKMONT IS GOING TO WALLACE STATE THIS SATURDAY

The Hilltop boys rose to the occasion, in front of a roaring crowd at the Elkmont gymnasium, to punch the Red Devils' ticket to the Northwest Regional tournament. With a strong defense and a flurry of late free throws  Elkmont wouldn't be denied the 51-34 win over the Carbon Hill Bulldogs on February 13.

Elkmont coach Dennis Black and his players were ecstatic about the win.“We're going to enjoy the next 24 hours and let the kids enjoy this moment,” Black said. “We haven't looked that far ahead (to Hanceville) yet.”

Carbon Hill hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to knot the score 10-10. Elkmont's Preston Robinson and Layton Smith scored the first six points of the second quarter on back to back 3-pointers and never looked back. Robinson later converted a 3-point play to push the Red Devils' to a 24-17 lead into halftime.

Patrick Jobman nailed a 3-pointer to increase Elkmont's lead to 29-17 early in the third quarter. The fourth quarter started with an Elkmont 34-25  lead. The Bulldogs scored the first points of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to seven points, but Ben Hobbs hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead back out to 10 points, at 37-27. 

In the final three minutes, the Bulldogs tried to get back in the game by the fouling/missing freethrow strategy.  Many a game has been won by forcing the team in the lead to show if they can make freethrows.  However, it didn't work on this night as the Red Devils made a parade to the free throw line. Elkmont made 14 free throws in those final three minutes to extend the lead for the win, 51-34.

Free Throws:  
Elkmont             19/24 - 79%
Carbon Hill        09/13 - 69%
  
Total Fouls:
Elkmont             12
Carbon Hill        21
 
SCORING:
BEN HOBBS                         05 points    
*2's-0; 3's-1; FT 2/2               Fouls 1      

CARDENAS AUSTIN          05 points          
*2's-0; 3's-1; FT 2/2               Fouls 1 

PRESTON ROBINSON        09 points

*2's-2; 3's-1; FT 2/2               Fouls 2

PATRICK JOBMAN              07 points      
 *2's-1; 3's-1; FT 2/4               Fouls 3

 
LAYTON SMITH                   03 points
*2's-0; 3's-1; FT 0/0                Fouls 2
 
RYAN BOYD                         04 points    
*2's-2; 3's-0; FT 0/0                Fouls 1

BRETT PARKER                   02 points      
 *2's-1; 3's-0; FT 0/0               Fouls 1

HUNTER PITMAN                02 points

*2's-1; 3's-0; FT 0/0                 Fouls 3
 
DAVIS HOBBS                      14 points    
*2's-0; 3's-1; FT 11/14             Fouls 0
 

Elkmont (14-16) will take on Lauderdale County (21-9) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the Northwest Regional at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

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Listen to the Elkmont vs. Lauderdale County regional tournament basketball game tomorrow at around 4:20 online at www.pasnetwork.net or on your PlayAction Sports app!

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RED DEVILS WIN AREA 15 CHAMPIONSHIP

Elkmont ran the table the Area 15 basketball tournament last week.  They upset the West Morgan Rebels with a free throw.  Facing a much taller East Lawrence team, the Red Devils showed again that if there is a will, there is a way. 

East Lawrence varsity boys coach Marrieo Davis said Elkmont had the ability to shoot the ball from behind the 3-point line, and that would be a big factor in the game. His words turned out to be a bit prophetic, as the Red Devils had four players combine for 11 treys for the 58-51 victory.

The Eagles sprinted out of the gate with a 12-8 run in the first quarter.  Elkmont scorched East Lawrence in the second period as the Red Devils  heated up from behind the arc in a 13-5 run. The halftime scoreboard showed Elkmont led 21-17 at the break.

Both teams picked up on offense in the second half, with East Lawrence going on a 19-14 run in the third quarter to regain the lead at 36-35. Elkmont wouldn't be denied with four 3-pointers and 23 fourth quarter points. They fried up an Eagle dinner with a win and an area title for the Red Devils

Elkmont Scoring Leaders:
Davis Hobbs led with 19 points  
Patrick Jobman added 16 points
Ben Hobbs scored 10

Elkmont will host Carbon Hill on Tuesday in the Northwest sub-regional. It will be rocking on the Hilltop so don't be late, the game will be at 7 pm.

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RED DEVILS ENDS WEST MORGAN'S POSTSEASON HOPES

Elkmont upset the West Morgan Rebels in the Area 15 tournament, February 6.  The second seeded Rebels led by 11 at halftime.  The Red Devils had to put in a strong second-half performance to keep their hopes of a sub-regional appearance alive. 

Freshman Layton Smith poured in four 3-pointers heating up the score board and giving Elkmont the chance to pull of an upset. The comeback was capped by Ben Hobbs, who hit one free throw with 5.4 seconds remaining to break the tie and give the Red Devils the win, 44-43.  “That (free throw) was crazy,” Hobbs said. “I honestly didn't know if it was going to go in, but thank God it did.”

“We never gave up,” Smith said. “Even when we were down, everyone believed we still had a shot. We just stuck with our game plan, played hard and gave ourselves a shot in the fourth quarter. Now we get to play for an area championship. That’s what it’s all about.”

“Layton is a young guy, but he shot it like a veteran,” Elkmont coach Dennis Black said. “Those 3s in the second half were huge. You never would have thought he was a freshman.”

Davis Hobbs finished with 10 points for Elkmont, while Patrick Jobman tossed in nine.

The Red Devils will be playing East Lawrence for the Area 15 Championship at Clements this Friday at 7 pm.  Coach Black and his team will need to come up with an answer for Kendall Cotner, a 6-foot-8 senior center who dominates the paint.  The winner of that game will host a subregional game while the loser will travel for the sub-regional round.

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L-R): Davis Hobbs, Hunter Pitman, Ben Besherse, Braden Miller, Brett Parker, Patrick Jobman, Austin Cardenas, Christian Green, Ben Hobbs

LADY RED DEVILS END THE SEASON AT WEST MORGAN

Elkmont traveled to West Morgan last night for their Area 15 tournament game against the second seeded Clements Lady Colts. 

Clements led 20-19 at halftime and led 37-30 after three quarters, but then the game got crazy. Elkmont opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to go up 38-37. The Elkmont faithful were looking for an upset with our team 45-38 leading with 5:03 left to play. However, it wasn't to be and Clements came back for the win, 54-47. Haven Kirby led Elkmont with 21 points as our team wrapped up the 2017-18 season.  

The boys team will playing the West Morgan Rebels tonight at Clements in the first round of the Area 15 tournament.  The game starts at 6 pm as our Red Devils hope to pull an upset and extend their season.