AHSAA Northwest Regional 6A semifinal:
Clay Chalkville 8 10 8 15 - 41 (20 & 10)
Cullman 8 10 17 18 - 53 (25 & 5)
Cullman: Sam Dorough 21, Gray Hopper 12, Brooks Loftin 9, Jon Luke Witcher 3, Colt Fletcher 6.
Clay: Demar Hinton 14
GDW Analysis:
Cullman erased the pain of a 2025 sub regional playoff loss to Clay Chalkville in 2026 from the Northwest Regional semifinal Thursday evening at Wallace State.
Getting a quicker tempo in the 2nd half changed the course of the game after the Bearcats struggled scoring in the 1st half and were tied 18 to 18 at the break.
Three consecutive scores from Dorough then a 3 by Fletcher sent Cullman to a 29 to 20 lead at 4:22 of the 3rd.
By the end of the period, the 'Cats had scored 17 points hitting 6 of 13 FGs in the stanza and 4 of 7 from the FT line.
Dorough tossed in a FG with 3:00 left to make it 42 to 32.
A pair of FTs by Dorough at 0:26 sealed by the Bearcats' 25th victory of the season out of 30 decisions.
Dorough had a good stroke from the line with 11 of 13 makes. Cullman was 19 of 30 in the game, accounting for 11 of 17 in the final half.
Up next for Cullman:
Vs. winner of Lee/Muscle Shoals in the NW Regional championship Tuesday 2:15 p.m.
(game will be on cullmanbearcats.com)
Photo of Cullman's Brooks Loftin in a battle with Hanceville center Shawn Pilman in a game at Bearcat Arena February 3.
Loftin had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in Cullman's 53 to 41 victory over Clay Chalkville Thursday in the NW Regional at Wallace State.
Photo courtesy of Martha Needham.
