Phil Campbell varsity basketball squads split with Belgreen on Bobcats’ Senior Night

The Phil Campbell High School varsity girls’ and boys’ hosted county rival Belgreen High School for the Bobcats’ Senior Night at the PCHS gymnasium on Thursday night. Both schools walked away with a win after was all said and done, the Lady Bulldogs pulling off a late comeback over the hosts while the PCHS boys held on to beat Belgreen by 10 points.

The PCHS-BHS girls game started the evening off and it was an eventful one.

Looking like they might avenge their Franklin County Tournament championship loss to BHS, the Lady Bobcats held a double-digit advantage going into the fourth quarter, 42-31, but Belgreen rallied to overcome PCHS and spoil the Senior Night mood. Belgreen, aided by five second half three-pointers from Randi Terry, put together a massive performance in the final period of play to outscore the Lady Bobcats 25-12 and win by two points, 56-54.

Belgreen’s Randi Terry, right, scored a game-high 21 points and hit five three-pointers in the second half to help propel the Lady Bulldogs to a comeback road win over Phil Campbell on January 29.

Terry, who finished with a game-high 21 points, was the driving force behind the Belgreen comeback, scoring all 21 of her points in the second half and 16 of the Lady Bulldogs’ 25 fourth quarter points.

The first of three consecutive made three pointers from Terry in the fourth gave Belgreen its first lead, 43-42 with four minutes remaining. Later, two more Terry three balls extended the visitors’ lead first to 49-45 and then to 52-47 before Phil Campbell called a timeout with 1:51 to play.

“Randi Terry got hot and she really carried us there at the end,” Belgreen girls’ basketball head coach Chad Green said.

But Terry wasn’t the only one able to sink shots from long range. Two big three-pointers from Phil Campbell’s Layla Baker made it all the more interesting late. Down by five points, Baker hit a three to pull the Lady Bobcats back within a basket, 52-50. And then with just 15 seconds left, Baker hit another three to tie the ball game up 54-54.

Unfortunately for hosts, an inadvertent foul by PCHS with 11 seconds to go sent Belgreen senior Isabella Tate to the free throw line where she sank both attempts to put the Lady Bulldogs back up by two points, 56-54. Phil Campbell’s effort to tie or win the game in the final seconds fell short.

“I just don’t think we played with much energy in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played with a lot of energy; we quit turning the ball over and we were able to pressure well and get turnovers,” Green said.

“All year long. the close games we’ve played have been nail-biters. We’ve hit two game-winners at the buzzer this year, we beat Haleyville the other day with a shot with seven or eight seconds left, and we’ve had two close games here lately with Phil Campbell. Going down the stretch, I think playing these close games helps your kids in those situations,” Green added.

In addition to Terry’s 21 points, Isabella Tate, who was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, finished in double figures with 10 points for Belgreen. Senior Leela Baker was Phil Campbell’s top scorer, finishing with 19 points. Layla Baker scored 10 points for the Lady Bobcats.

With the win, Belgreen, which is receiving votes in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll of Class 2A, improved to 19-7 overall. Phil Campbell fell to 13-14 overall after the defeat.

Five Phil Campbell High School seniors were honored between basketball games the night of January 29. From left to right: Kayden Headlee, Lola Mays, Leela Baker, Hagen Raper, Madden Welch.

After the girls’ game was over, Phil Campbell held its Senior Night ceremony and recognized five seniors: cheerleaders Kayden Headlee and Lola Mays, girls basketball player Leela Baker, and boys basketball players Hagen Raper and Madden Welch.

The boys’ game tipped off next, and it proved to be a competitive contest from start to finish.

In the first half the Bulldogs and Bobcats traded buckets and there were a few lead changes in the opening 16 minutes, but Phil Campbell led at the end of both the first and second periods. The hosts, led by junior Austin Elliott who scored 14 points in the first half, held a two-point, 31-29 advantage over BHS going into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, the Bobcats, thanks to a suffocating defense, were able to force low-percentage shots and more turnovers which led to fast-break opportunities; those efforts eventually created just a little more separation between themselves and the Bulldogs. Phil Campbell also did well rebounding on both ends of the court.

That defensive work was critical to the final result, Phil Campbell head coach Shannon Benford told the Franklin Free Press.

Phil Campbell senior Madden Welch, who finished with 10 points for the Bobcats, looks to make a move against a Belgreen defender.

“We’re just playing better defense. Belgreen has some shooters that you’ve got to close out on them and lock them down,” he said. “(Braycen) Johnson and (Jake) Dill are two great shooters and you have to guard them.”

Phil Campbell took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter, and that’s where the margin hovered for the remainder of the game until Belgreen, forced to foul late, sent the Bobcats to the free throw line. There PCHS was able to boost the final margin of victory to double digits.

Benford said his team played well offensively in the second half of the game, but that’s an area the second-year head coach believes his team can still improve on as the regular season nears its conclusion.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better offensively. We shoot a lot at practice, and we’ve just gotta keep putting the ball in the hole,” he said.

Elliott finished the contest with 20 points for Phil Campbell. PCHS seniors Raper and Welch ended the night with 10 points each.

“Those guys went through football season and had a great year, and they come out and work their butts off for basketball season, too,” Benford said of Raper and Welch. “They’re hard workers and we’re going to miss them, I can promise you that.”

Belgreen senior Braycen Johnson scored a game-high 26 points in the loss. Chris Bentley added 11 points for BHS.

The win improved Phil Campbell’s record to 15-10. Belgreen dropped to 10-12 with the loss.