Bears On Hot Streak
By Nick Hall
After dropping their first two games of the season, the Plainview Bears continued their winning ways last week by defeating Class 4A Anniston and 7A Hewitt-Trussville to win the Bobby Ledbetter Twin City Used Auto Thanksgiving Classic. Then, for an encore, the Bears knocked off 5A Etowah to move their overall record to 5-2. Here’s how the week went down.
Plainview 72, Anniston 47
Plainview exploded with a flurry of offense and stingy defense to take a 17-4 advantage at the end of the first period. Anniston played the Bears closer in the second, scoring 20 points to Plainview’s 23 to shrink the deficit to six, trailing 30-24 at the half. The Bears outscored Anniston 18-12 in the third period and 14-11 in the fourth to take the first night of the Thanksgiving Classic 72-47 over Anniston.
Jonah Williams led the offensive effort for the Bears with 28 points on the night. Williams exploded from behind the arc, shooting an amazing 63.6% from 3-point land while knocking down seven deep baskets. Tristan Willingham followed with 15 points and 8 rebounds for the most balanced performance of the game. Luke Smith was close behind with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Plainview 71, Hewitt-Trussville 59
Plainview struggled early and late, but dominated the second and third periods to take down Hewitt-Trussville. The Bears trailed 9-8 after the opening period, but outscored Hewitt-Trussville 24-11 in the second to take a 32-20 halftime lead. Plainview outscored Hewitt-Trussville 20-16 in the third period to lead 52-46 heading into the final frame. Hewitt-Trussville outscored the Bears 23-19 down the stretch, but it was too little too late.
After an uncharacteristically low-scoring game the previous night, Cole Millican returned to form, leading his team with 28 points and 6 rebounds. Willingham followed with 16 points and 3 rebounds. Millican and Willingham also shot 100 percent from the free-throw line, going 6-for-6 and 4-for-4 respectively.
Plainview 83, Etowah 67
Complete domination early was the key to victory against Etowah. Plainview controlled the first period to the tune of 23-7 and despite winning the second and fourth frames, Etowah never fully recovered. Etowah outscored Plainview in the second 26-25 to go into the half down 48-33. The Bears asserted themselves again in the third period, outpacing Etowah 22-10. Etowah took control down the stretch and won the final period 24-13, but the hole was too deep.
Once again, Williams led the way for the Bears with 22 points and 3 rebounds. Millican netted 17 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Willingham added 13 points and hauled in 8 rebounds. Smith was about as close to a double-double as you can get with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
“First of all, we want to thank Bobby Ledbetter and Mountain Valley News for sponsoring the Thanksgiving Classic,” said Plainview Head Coach Robi Coker. “It takes a lot of support and behind-the-scenes work to be able to bring in quality teams and we appreciate all the people that played a part in that. Offensively, this team is learning how to play with one another and is progressing each time out. We shot the ball well all week and I believe that’s a direct result of our unselfishness and willingness to share the ball. Defensively, we’re getting better, but we’ve got to be able to do it for 32 minutes. Whether it’s conditioning or mental toughness, we’ve got to quit having lapses where we give up easy baskets. There were several bright spots, but we haven’t done it for an entire game yet. I think this group has an appetite for improvement and we’ve got to continue getting better.”