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Rivalry revisited
Published December 23, 2009
Pisgah coach Woody Beard remembers how intense the Pisgah-Scottsboro basketball rivalry used to be.
That’s why the Pisgah alum was confused when his team didn’t “play as enthusiastic as (it) should’ve” at first when the Eagles faced old rival Scottsboro Monday night in the opening round of the Scottsboro Christmas Classic.
Both programs have storied traditions and once had one of the fiercest rivalries in north Alabama.
“They don’t remember,” Beard said of his players. “We haven’t played in a long time. They don’t know what the history is like (between the schools).”
History lesson or not, Pisgah’s intensity turned up in the second half and turned into an 82-76 Eagles’ victory at Hambrick Hall in the teams’ first meeting in some five-plus seasons.
Pisgah (7-4) quickly erased a 43-40 halftime deficit, taking a 47-45 lead on Corey Wheeler’s 3-pointer with 6:25 left in the third period.
The Eagles never trailed again, pushing their lead to 63-56 heading into the fourth quarter.
“Offensive we were scoring in the first half, but our defense was a lot better in the third quarter and we started keeping them off the boards a little better,” said Beard, whose team benefited form nine Scottsboro turnovers in the third period.
Brandon Sensor’s basket gave Pisgah its largest lead at 65-56 with 7:13 to play, but Scottsboro (4-10) refused to go away. A bucket from Ben Word, two free throws from Blake Paradise and a trey from Caleb Brown quickly pulled the Wildcats within 65-63.
The teams traded baskets until the 1:51 mark, when Corey Wheeler knocked down a free throw line jumper to give the Eagles a 77-71 lead. Pisgah made 7 of 8 free throws during the final 1:15 to clinch the win and advance to a semifinal matchup with Hartselle late Tuesday night. The winner plays in tonight’s 7 p.m. title game while the loser plays in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.
Wheeler finished with 25 points while Skylar Hall scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“Corey and Skylar made some really tough shots,” Beard said.
Justin Lewis scored all 11 of his points in the first half, while Josh Perialas and Zac Barringer each scored seven. Zack Peek chipped in six points and Brandon Sensor totaled five rebounds and five assists.
Pisgah made 33 of its 56 shot attempts (59 percent) and was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Scottsboro hit 6 of 14 3-point attempts and was 29 of 59 overall (49 percent). Pisgah made 12 of 17 free throws while Scottsboro hit 12 of 20.
Paradise had a game-high 26 points for Scottsboro, which also got 18 from Douglas and 10 from Word. Brown added eight points and Jake Lewis chipped in six.
Neither team had trouble offensively in the first half, as the teams combined to score 83 points through two quarters.
Scottsboro led 23-21 after one quarter and scored the final four points of the first half on baskets by Douglas and Deuntae Johnson to grab a three-point halftime lead.
Scottsboro fell into the elimination bracket and faced DAR late Tuesday. The winner of that game advanced to the fifth-place game today at 4 p.m.
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