Handley takes care of business against Woodland, Wedowee

The Handley Tigers had what head coach Cliff Drummond called a disappointing week last week with losses to Valley and Cleburne County, despite impressive wins over Woodland and Randolph County.

Last Tuesday Handley dropped a road game to Valley, 48-41.

Valley’s defense proved to be quite an obstacle for Handley in the first quarter, which ended with Valley on top, 6-0.

“We had a slow start,” Drummond said. “We played into their game. They stayed in zone and we didn’t attack it like we should have.”

Handley seemed to be gaining momentum in the second quarter by narrowing the gap to a 12-10 lead in favor of Valley.

The Tigers continued to claw away at Valley and took the lead at the end of the third quarter and held onto the lead until late in the fourth quarter.

Handley held a 10-point lead with about three minutes remaining in the game when a few turnovers turned the tide.

“The biggest difference in the game was us taking too many outside shots,” Drummond said. “We didn’t try to get it inside.”

Handley shot a dismal 28.8 percent from the field while Valley nailed 41 percent of its shots.

Malcolm Thomas led Handley with 24 points while Randall Thompson followed with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Thursday, Handley bounced back with a 55-40 win over Woodland.

Handley jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter and led by a score of 29-16 at halftime.

Handley found success on the outside with Thompson nailing several big shots for the Tigers early on.

“We got a lead and then we relaxed,” Drummond said. “I didn’t think we played well against them. They came ready to play. Hats off to them. They’re playing well right now.”

Thomas led Handley with 12 points and 6 rebounds while Thompson scored 11 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.

Handley earned another win Friday with a 63-34 decision over Randolph County.

Handley came out of the locker room in the first quarter on fire and outscored Randolph County 14-2 in the opening quarter.

But Drummond said the story was much the same as the Woodland game. Handley relaxed and let Randolph County back into the game in the next two quarters.

Randolph County cut the deficit to a 42-30 lead for Handley by the end of the third quarter.

Drummond said it was the play of team leaders, Thomas and Thompson, that kept the Tigers on top, though.

“They’ve been the leaders out there on the floor for us offensively,” Drummond said.

Thompson accounted for 15 points against Randolph County, while Shaquille Trammell followed with 12 points and Thomas scored 7 points with 7 assists.

Then Monday, Handley fell to Cleburne County, 49-44.

Handley held a 33-29 lead going into the fourth quarter, but a 13-0 run by Cleburne County in the fourth quarter sealed the deal.

“We’re having a hard time finishing games right now,” Drummond said. “Any time you do that against a good team, they’ll come back on you. They made some big shots and made their free throws down the stretch.”

Woodland will head to Ranburne this week to face Lineville in the first round of their area tournament.

Handley will head to Central Coosa to face Dadeville in the opening round of the area tournament.

Drummond said the Tigers will need to show some signs of improvement in order to advance past the area tournament.

“It’s going to have to be a total team effort,” Drummond said. “We’re just not finishing ball games. We’re not doing the things we need to do to keep those leads.”