DANVILLE — The pairings are set for the Morgan County Tournament finals.
The Falkville girls advanced Friday with a 46-41 win over West Morgan.
The No. 2 seed Blue Devils face No. 1 seed Priceville on Saturday at 5:30. It’s a rematch of last season’s championship game won by Priceville, 66-37. This will be the first meeting for the teams this season.
The Priceville boys are back in the finals after a 72-29 blowout of host Danville on Friday. The Bulldogs led 45-14 at halftime.
The No. 2 seed Bulldogs face No. 1 seed West Morgan in the finals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Priceville and West Morgan are Class 4A, Area 13 rivals. This will be the third meeting this season. Priceville won at West Morgan, 63-45. West Morgan won at Priceville, 50-31.
“We know it’s going to take our best effort against West Morgan,” Priceville coach JR Dilbeck said. “Both teams know what to expect from each other, but I don’t know what’s going to happen this time.”
The West Morgan boys are looking for their first county tournament championship since 2015. The Rebels have been in the finals eight times in the last 12 years. They won championships in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015. They also advanced to the finals in 2016, 2019 and 2020.
The Rebels lost to Priceville in last year’s semifinals, 55-54, on a late basket from Chris Thomas. Danville then beat Priceville in the championship game, 49-46, behind tournament MVP Kohl Randolph.
Priceville’s last county tournament championship came in 2016 with a 60-57 win over West Morgan. Darrell Haynes was the Priceville head coach. His son Kyle Haynes was the tournament MVP.
Falkville girls 46, West Morgan 41: The Blue Devils grabbed the lead in the first quarter and held it all the way to the end. It was up to nine points early in the fourth quarter.
West Morgan answered with a 7-0 run to cut it to two points with 2:36 left, but that was as close as the Rebels would get.
“I was proud of our effort from tip to finish,” Falkville coach Jonathon Lacy said.
Ella Cate Hill led Falkville with 18 points, including three 3-point baskets. She also had eight rebounds. Ella Wallace had 10 points. Abby Grace Tomlin added seven.
“Obviously getting back to the finals is one of our goals,” Hill said. “We wanted to show everybody that even though we are the smallest school in Morgan that we deserve to be in the finals.”
Chasity Rikard’s 12 points led West Morgan. The Rebels got seven points each from Brooklyn Hunt, Brandy Hernandez and Shaylee Terry.
Priceville is playing in its fourth finals in the last five years. The Bulldogs lost to Brewer in 2019 and Hartselle in 2020. There was no tournament in 2021 due to COVID.
Priceville boys 72, Danville 29: The Bulldogs put on an amazing performance right from the start. They led 15-3 with 2:44 left in the first quarter. The lead was 62-23 after three quarters.
“It’s a lot easier to win when you are making shots,” Dilbeck said. “We came out on fire. We also played some really good defense. It was fun to watch.”
The Bulldogs looked like a team ready to pop the 100 point threshold, but Dilbeck went to his bench early in the second half. A running clock also limited scoring opportunities.
Sammy Holmes topped the Priceville scoring with 18 points. Right behind him was Cole Lindeman with 17. Tyler Case scored 14 and Jake Langolis had seven.
Gage Taylor had 12 for Danville.
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