MURRAYVILLE - Despite winning five straight and six of their last seven games after Friday night's impressive 64-59 win over Class AAA No. 3-ranked White County, North Hall boys basketball coach Bobby Pless says they are just now hitting their stride.
"I think we've been playing well lately, but I think we're starting to really become a team now," Pless said after the upset win in front of a packed North Hall gym. "This should convince them that they can play with anyone."
The Lady Warriors beat North Hall 56-51 in overtime to stay unbeaten in Region 7-AAA North play.
The North Hall boys improved to 11-6, 5-1 in Region 7-AAA North with the win. White County fell into a first place tie with the Trojans but does hold the tiebreaker with a better overall region record.
While Ronny Hulsey put in another monster effort for the Trojans with 21 points and 17 rebounds, it was the defense that was the difference Friday.
They held the Warriors to their lowest total since the Christmas break and slowed down scorers Heath Vinson and Jeff Belflower. Vinson finished with 13 and Belflower just 10. Combined they were averaging over 30 points a game.
"To keep them under 60 points is an amazing job. We were able to limit Vinson and Belflower and that was the key," Pless said. "Our defense has really picked up since the break. The kids realize that defense is what wins games late in the year."
Both teams traded the lead several times in the first half before settling for a 33-33 tie heading into the second half.
Vinson gave the Warriors (15-4, 5-1) a 46-45 lead late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer but they would not lead again.
North Hall took the lead right back on a Robby Hamilton 3-pointer and the Trojans would never trail again.
North Hall closed out the game on a 16-10 run and Russ Short, who finished with 19 points, hit six free throws in the final minute to seal the win. Robby Hamilton scored 18 points, including two big 3-popinters in the fourth quarter.
Adam Cash finished with a team-high 21 points to lead the Warriors.
In the girls game, Erica Sisk scored three huge points in the overtime to help the Lady Warriors hold off North Hall.
Sisk finished with just 6 points but sparked an 8-2 run in the overtime period.
D.J. Galbiati led White County (12-7, 6-0) with 20 points and 6 assists. Molly McDonald added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Warriors. Lindsay Barrett also had 10 rebounds.
White County trailed 17-16 at the end of the first quarter but took control of the game in the second taking a 32-27 lead into halftime. The Lady Warriors maintained leads of six to eight points throughout most of the second half.
But the Lady Trojans (7-9, 3-3) had the momentum down the stretch erasing a 45-35 White County lead to take a 48-46 lead with less than a minute to play.
But White County tied the game with under 20 seconds left and then had a chance to win it in regulation but Tori Turner missed two free throws with two seconds left.
Megan Westmoreland led North Hall with 24 points, but only 8 in the second half and overtime. She also pulled dwon six rebounds. Lindsay Kitchens had 8 for the Lady Trojans.
Friday
May 2nd, 2025
4:42PM
