Handley boys finish strong

After dropping two close games in the opening two days of the Woodland Christmas Tournament, the Handley Tigers boys’ team finished strong with a win over Faith Christian on the final day of competition.

Handley’s first contest of the tournament, against Cleburne County, saw the Tigers jump out to a 27-10 halftime lead. The high-flying Handley boys looked solid, grabbing rebounds left and right and dominating the inside. Cleburne County didn’t score its first bucket until 2:45 left in he first quarter.

But a second-half charge from Cleburne County left Handley with a heartbreaking 49-48 loss.

Cleburne County mounted a 10-point run in the final 1:40 of the game.

LaDae Battle led the Tigers with 14 points, followed by Jerome Bell with 9 points.

On the second day of competition, Handley dropped another close one. This time it was an overtime contest against Horseshoe Bend.

Handley once again led the contest at the half, this time by a score of 30-29. Horseshoe Bend picked up the pace in the second half, much like Cleburne County.

A late three pointer from Horseshoe Bend’s Timmy Slaughter tied the game at 55, sending it into overtime, where Horseshoe Bend would pull out a 62-59 win.

Brandon Smith led the Tigers with 14 points and Jerome Bell contributed 10 of his own.

Handley head coach Clifton Drummond said part of the problem in his team’s performances in the second half was the comfort afforded by early leads.

“We kind of relaxed a little.” Drummond said.

Drummond said the Tigers’ trouble at the free-throw line has cost them the last three of four games, but they were able to pull it together in the final tournament game against Faith.

“We came together right here at the end,” Drummond said. “It was good to go out of this with a win.”