GDW Analysis:
BIRMINGHAM: Cullman Bearcats' lovely journey in the AHSAA 6A basketball playoffs continues on Saturday after an incredible comeback over Calera in OT Wednesday from Legacy Arena.
A 12 point deficit to begin the 4th was taken care of in which Cullman would outscore Calera 31 to 14 in the game's final 12 minutes and turn a loss into a 61 to 56 thriller.
"This was an amazing game," Cullman coach Stu Stuedeman said afterwards. "This was great for 6A basketball. We never gave up believing."
After trailing 22 to 20 at the half, the 3rd was rough for Cullman. Bearcats were outscored 20 to 10 by Calera. The Bearcats went down 42 to 30 as the period ended on a 3 pointer by Emory Bonds.
Bonds would be sound from long range the rest of the way. He finished at 4 of 8 from behind the arc.
A three from the lefty tied the game at 46 to 46 with 2:50 left in the 4th. A three from teammate Gray Hopper pushed Cullman in front for the first time on the day at 49 to 47, 1:08 to play.
Calera scored twice from the line at 0:35 and the game would be decided for an extra period of 4 minutes at 49 to 49.
Hopper hit an 18 footer at 2:52 of OT to give Cullman the lead 51 to 49. They never trailed from this point.
With a minute showing, center Brooks Loftin tallied a pair from the line and it was 55 to 51.
A Dorough point from the line at 0:37 was followed by a miss, but an offensive rebound from Hopper.
He made both from the line with Cullman moving the lead to 59 to 51.
For the game, the Bearcats were 13 of 19 at the line, 10 of 14 during the OT. Sam Dorough went 8 of 13 with Hopper and Loftin 2 of 2, Colt Fletcher 1 of 2.
Something improved for Stuedeman's squad in the final 12 minutes. Cullman had 20 turnovers at the end of the third. They turned the ball over twice the rest of the way. Calera accounted for 25 points scored from Cullman's miscues.
Dorough was sharp with 23 as Cullman is now 27 & 5. Hopper tallied 14, Bonds had 12 on 4 treys, Loftin 6, Jon Luke Witcher 2 and Fletcher 1.
A great season for Calera ends in the semifinals with 25 wins & 6 losses.
Keelan Howard topped the Eagles attack by scoring 19, Keagan Johnson tossed in 12.
Cullman will play the winner of Oxford/Saraland for the 6A state title Saturday from Legacy Arena at 2:15 p.m.
The game will be on WKUL FM (92.1) and cullmanbearcats.com
Photo of the Cullman Bearcats from the bench in the AHSAA Northwest Regional championship February 24 vs. Lee Huntsville.
Photo courtesy of Martha Needham.
