Eagles fall short to Brantley, end season in sub-regional round

Brantley broke away from a tie game at halftime and earned a hard-fought 67-59 win at Pleasant Home in a 1A boys’ sub-regional game on Saturday, Feb. 8.

The Bulldogs moved to 21-4 overall and advanced to the South Regional, while the Eagles finished the year with a 16-4 record.

“I’m very proud of our seniors and am grateful for their leadership. The past couple of years, we have made it to sub-region playing in the toughest 1A area and region in the state, missing the South Regional by a total of ten points. Our seniors set an example of what it takes to make it to the playoffs. We will use that with our returning players to strive to break through to Montgomery and Birmingham,” PHS Head Coach Ken Bledsoe said.

The two teams battled toe-for-toe in the opening period as both offenses got off to hot starts. Jayden Parks started the night with an opposing basket, but Jackson Hawkins hit a three-pointer. Parks evened the score at 3-3 before Brody Bryan found the hoop. Michael Thompson answered for a 6-5 lead. John Luke Colvin gave the hosts an 8-6 lead with 4:05 to go in the frame. Kevin Freeman gave Brantley a 14-10 edge with two threes. Dillan Purifoy and brother Devontae Purifoy had the final say with a combined six points to put Pleasant Home in front 17-15 after one.

Parks opened the second period with five straight as the lead switched back to the visitors. The two teams continued to counter each other as neither side could build a huge margin. Kevin scored a three for a 28-23 lead with 5:31 to go in the first half, but Hunter Holland and Dillan Purifoy erupted the home crowd with back-to-back threes for a one-point lead. Colvin knocked down his second three as the Eagles took a 33-30 lead at the 3:00 mark. Parks continued to engineer the Bulldogs who pulled even for a 35-35 game at the break.

The offenses stayed true to form in the third period, but it was Brantley who scored at will and stymied their counterpart on defense. Parks had seven points during an 11-point swing that took the score 46-37. Bryan converted a deep three and trimmed the deficit to 46-40 with 3:48 left in the frame. Jeovanni Sylvester scored visiting points down the stretch. Bryan and the Purifoys kept Pleasant Home within striking distance and cut the deficit to 54-47 after three.

Hawkins hit a big three with 5:48 left in the game and made the score 56-52. Bryan posted seven in the final period, but the Eagles were unable to draw any closer than Hawkins’ three. Parks continued his good work with 11 points for the Bulldogs who earned the eight-point victory.

Pleasant Home had three players finish in double digits with Bryan leading the charge at 14 points. Dillan Purifoy and Hawkins were next with 13 and 12, respectively. Devontae Purifoy earned nine as Colvin grabbed eight. Parks was the top Brantley scorer with 36 points as Kevin tallied 14.