Belgreen varsity basketball teams sweep competition at Rogers-hosted tournament

The Belgreen High School varsity girls’ and boys’ basketball teams went a combined 6-0 at a tournament hosted by Rogers High School November 22-25.

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Athens Bible School, the hosts Rogers, and Falkville to improve to 4-2 overall; the BHS boys defeated the same three opponents to move to 3-3 on the season.

On Saturday, the BHS girls routed Athens Bible 59-27. Belgreen had doubled up on the Lady Trojans 30-15 by halftime, and at the buzzer had extended its final lead to 32 points. 

The Lady Bulldogs were led by a game-high 12 points from Makenna Fisher, who would finish the tournament with 36 total points.

“Makenna Fisher, she’s been our leader so far,” Belgreen girls’ head coach Chad Green said. “She’s been handling the ball for us, and she’s scoring double figures just about every game. She’s done a great job for us so far.”

The Belgreen boys had a similar scoreline against Athens Bible, beating the Trojans 53-35. Jake Dill led the Bulldogs with a 23-point effort in that one.

On Monday, there was a bit more excitement for both Belgreen teams as they took on Rogers.

The Lady Bulldogs, who were down by one point at the halftime break, took a big lead in the third period but ultimately needed a buzzer-beater to come out on top.

“We took a 16-point lead sometime in the third quarter, and then (Rogers) came back, tied it, and took the lead,” Green said. “Alayna Tate hit two big late free throws to tie up the game, and then Carson Hovater hit a buzzer-beater in regulation to win the ballgame.”

Tate and Hovater scored nine and four points, respectively in the exciting win. It was Fisher that once again led the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points. Not far behind her was Randi Terry, who finished with 14 points.

“(Terry) has given us good games and can score points, too. She runs the floor well, shoots the three well,” Green said.

While Hovater’s buzzer-beater helped the BHS girls beat the Lady Pirates, the Belgreen boys’ team needed an extra period to topple the hosts.

Down 26-19 at the half, the Bulldogs outscored the Pirates 19-7 in the fourth period to come back and tie the game up 52-52.

Dill, who finished with 31 points, scored nearly half of those—15 points—in the fourth, hitting four three-pointers in the final eight minutes of regulation. He ended the contest with 24 of his 31 points coming from beyond the arch.

“(Dill) plays with confidence. He knows we have confidence in him, and he has confidence and believes in himself,” second-year Belgreen boys’ head coach Will Bonner said.

In the overtime period, Belgreen outscored Rogers 7-5 to win 59-57. Jonathan Mendoza hit two jumpers in OT and Gabe Estrada had a field goal and a free throw to push the Bulldogs over the top.

Bonner said a lot of his players are stepping up during what could be a tough period of the season. The Bulldogs lost their best player, Braycen Johnson, an All-State Honorable Mention last season, due to an arm injury that will keep him out a significant time. The rest of the team is collectively working to fill the absence left by Johnson.

“Right now we’re playing without our best player, Braycen Johnson, who broke his arm, but I think this will help us out in the long run. (Johnson) is a great player. He’s our ball-handler and he controls our offense, but we’ve got to learn not to rely on one player and do things ourselves,” Bonner said.

“A lot of guys are stepping up right now and making plays. When (Johnson) is able to come back, I think these games without him are going to help us as a team later on,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Belgreen squads each faced Falkville, both coming away with a win in dissimilar fashion.

The BHS girls ran away with a victory, doubling up on the Lady Blue Devils 52-26. Lilliana Willingham led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points in the game.

Green said Willingham is another player who can be counted on to put up a big scoring night from time to time, as well.

“Lilliana Willingham down in the post is probably averaging about 10 points per game,” he said. “(Against Falkville) she had 14 and there was another game where she had 20, so she’s definitely stepped up.”

Green added that he’s happy with the depth on this year’s team. Last season, BHS graduate Dacota Green was by far the most prolific scorer on a game-to-game basis; this year, while the likes of Fisher and Willingham may end the night with the highest point tally, the Lady Bulldogs are getting buckets from just about everyone. Against Falkville, 10 different players ended up on the scoresheet.

“We’ve got good depth coming off the bench. I’ve got a lot of girls putting pressure on the basketball,” Green said. “It’s been a group, collaborative effort.

“You look at another player like Alayna Tate. She’s given me 10 (points) one game, nine another game, one game she’s the leading rebounder,” he added. “So it’s definitely been a team effort, that’s for sure.”

While the Lady Bulldogs secured a runaway victory, the BHS boys needed another overtime effort to earn the win against the Blue Devils.

Similar to their game against Rogers, the Bulldogs trailed at the intermission but chipped away at Falkville’s lead in the second half. In a fairly low-scoring affair, Belgreen, which had three players—Aaron Rubido, Mendoza, and Chris Bentley—hit double-digits, outscored its opponent 20-17 in the final 16 minutes to tie the game up 41-41. 

In overtime, the Bulldogs doubled up on the Blue Devils 8-4 to win 49-45. It was Bentley who took charge in OT, scoring seven of his 10 points in that period.

“He’s a junior getting his first real taste of varsity basketball, and he stepped up and made the plays we needed in overtime,” Bonner said of Bentley.

Two overtime wins in as many days is a good way to start any week. Bonner said those two come-from-behind overtime victories show the character of the team he’s coaching.

“I think it shows how competitive we are—the grittiness that we have,” he said. “We had to fight back, battle back to get those two wins. These guys never give up. They never give up and always believe they can win.”