A hoopfest for GDW at the Wallace State playday:

Choas continues for Cullman BK, Hartselle & Florence in a thriller:

GDW Analysis:
HANCEVILLE: Twelve prep teams got analyzed by Gameday Weekly from the Wallace State Community College playday Wednesday.
GDW watched the Fairview Aggies battle hard in facing Hartselle, plus the Cullman Bearcats at their best creating chaos in a win over Winfield.
For the finale, Hartselle and Florence had a shootout that ended with Florence getting a three right before time expired.
Scoreboard:
Buckhorn 67, Brooks 41
West Morgan 53, Wilson 34
Hartselle 69, Fairview 49
Cleveland 34, Ardmore 32 (OT)
Cullman 62, Winfield 34
Madison Academy 53, East Limestone 37
Florence 62, Hartselle 59
Buckhorn began the agenda from Tom Drake Coliseum with a dominating effort over Brooks. The Bucks led 31 to 12 at the half. Buckhorn is now directed by Cody Martin who took over after Patrick Harding stepped down and became head coach at Whitesburg Christian in Huntsville.
Buckhorn was the 6A AHSAA champion in 2023 & 2024.
Fairview fought hard with Hartselle for the first half with scoring coming from shooting guard Zayden Cruce, forward Eli St. Denny and PG Konnor Duncan.
Hartselle had a 36 to 29 lead on the Aggies at the half. The Tigers exploded for a 22 to 9 run in the 2nd half, opening up the lead and coming up with the most points by one team in the playday, 69.

 Cullman is about to enjoy its 5th season with Stu Stuedeman at the helm. The Bearcats have gone 104 & 23, finishing 26 & 5 in the previous season.
The Bearcats used their chaotic style that got them a 30 to 18 lead by halftime with Winfield.
Outside scoring by Emory Bonds, Sam Dorough, Grayson Gay, Sawyer Perry, plus what sophomore to be center Brooks Loftin did inside with his frame of 6 feet, 6 inches.
Cullman had a 32 to 16 surge over Winfield to finish with a solid outing.
Former Cullman coach Bobby Meyer brought his West Morgan Rebels to the Coliseum. A slow start with Wilson was wiped out on the strength of a 33 to 6 run in the first half after the Rebels were down early 9 to 2.
 Madison Academy broke away from East Limestone with a 27 to 16 difference on the scoreboard in the final half. MA led 26 to 21 at the half and a quick start for the Mustangs gave them momentum to claim a win in a hookup of a 4A vs. a 5A.
 In the best game seen by GDW Wednesday, the Hartselle Tigers and Florence Falcons went back and forth throughout the encounter.
 A 6 to 0 run late in the half for Hartselle tied the score at 28 to 28. Florence tallied a FG as time ran out to move ahead 30 to 28.
 Hartselle caught fire with a scoring spree thanks to play from the perimeter and went up 44 to 37.
 Florence then shot back on top as a 9 to 0 run gave the Falcons a slight edge at 47 to 46.
 Both continued to swap the lead as the game entered crunch time.
 Hartselle got a three in the final seconds from Grayson Bennich that made it 59 to 59.
 Florence then went downcourt and stroked a three with less than a second showing for the game winner.
 Beside the effort Bennich, GDW was impressed with the play of several others with the Tigers very experienced and eager to have a solid 2025/26 season for coach Golden.
Golden will begin his 2nd year with Hartselle. He took over last season after Faron Key stepped down and became the head coach of the Wallace State Lions.
Two minute tournament:
From 2:30 to 3:45 p.m.., a special event was on tap at Wallace State, coordinated by Lions coach Faron Key.
A two minute tournament was played with the games being regular basketball and only 2:00 on the Coliseum clock.
Pairings were set up from quarterfinals to semis and the championship.
Cullman got to a semifinal but lost in sudden death to Hazel Green.
Hartselle made it through the Final Four by a win vs. Winfield in the semis.
Hazel Green had a close victory in the title bout with Hartselle.
Thursday for Gameday Weekly:
Up to Morgan County for a playday from Priceville High School.
Good Hope vs. Priceville 10:00
Lawrence Co vs. Decatur Heritage 10:50
Good Hope vs. Decatur 11:40

 Priceville vs. Lawrence Co 12:30
Cold Springs vs. Decatur Heritage 1:20
Cold Springs vs. Decatur 3:00
GDW will see Lawrence County, Decatur Heritage and Decatur for the first time.
GDW will see the final time for the Good Hope Raiders and Cold Springs with new coaches Griffin Morris (GH) and Drew Adams.

 Photo of the Cullman Bearcats bench in a playday Wednesday vs. Winfield at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.