By Staff
Kim West
BELGREEN – Class 2A Phil Campbell capitalized on 10 first-half turnovers to defeat 1A Belgreen 68-47 Friday night.
Phil Campbell senior forward Pablo Santiago led all scorers with 20 points to help the Bobcats (2-2) win their second game in as many nights after cruising past 1A Shoals Christian 70-31 Thursday.
Belgreen (1-3) trailed 14-6 after the first quarter thanks to seven turnovers and only two made field goals. Phil Campbell opened the second period with a 7-2 run with three points from Santiago, a Jordan Benford driving layup and a putback by Lawrence Butts, who finished with 13 points.
Brandon Hester converted a layup to end a four-minute scoring drought for the Bulldogs, but Phil Campbell used an 8-4 run to lead 31-14 at halftime.
The Bobcats opened the third quarter with a 21-7 run that included seven points from Santiago and a Matt Waid 3-pointer from the corner. '
After scoring only 24 points through the first three quarters, Belgreen forced six Phil Campbell turnovers and scored 23 points in the final quarter. Taylor Hester, who had five second-half steals, keyed a 25-10 run by the Bulldogs with six points, including a 3-pointer from the wing to start the quarter.
Benford, who produced two assists and two steals while splitting time at point guard with Butts, and Bailey Welborn each scored nine points for Phil Campbell, while Austin Nix had six and Adam Mitchell added five points two assists. Waid (5) and Josh Brannon (1) also scored for the Bobcats.
B-team
Phil Campbell 56
Belgreen 36
Landon Hutcheson pumped in 19 points and drained five 3-pointers to lead the Phil Campbell B-team over Belgreen Friday night.
Phil Campbell (3-1) led only 29-28 at halftime and used a 15-2 run in the third quarter to pull away from the host Bulldogs. The Bobcats' defense allowed just eight points in the second half and eight different players produced points on offense as Zach Watkins and Rile Hughes each had eight points and Cameron Harris and Corey Alexander added six apiece.
Trevor Hodge (4), DJ Hill (3) and Trent Jones (2) also scored for Phil Campbell.
Daniel Melecio led Belgreen with 16 points and Samuel Melecio added 10. Austin Oldag (6), Drew Quillen and Trent Edwards (2) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs.