Winston Nolen had a career night, scoring 34 points, to lead the Tharptown Wildcats past the Phil Campbell Bobcats 80-72.

Nolen scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half.

Phil Campbell started the game hot, outscoring Tharptown 19-12. Luke Garrison hit two three’s in the first quarter and had eight points.

Tharptown came back in the second quarter to cut Phil Campbell’s lead to two points, 34-32.

Nolen scored 12 points in the third quarter to help Tharptown take a 55-48 lead into the final period.

Nolen scored 10 points in the fourth, and Colton Simmons scored seven points, to help the Wildcats hold on for the win.

Following Nolen in scoring for Tharptown were Simmons with 13 points and Luis Valdez with 10 points. Dylan Valdez added nine points, Edwin Vela seven points, Andy Lopez four points and Hayden Moss three points.

Garrison led Phil Campbell with 23 points, including four three-pointers. Mason Swinney added 16, going seven-for-nine from the free-throw line. Bryant Hyde added 13 points. Others scoring for the Bobcats were Dylan Jeane with seven points, Blain Goodson with five points and Jonah Fisher, Canaan Clay, Brett Saint and Cam Habada with two points each.

Against Sulligent Thursday night, the Wildcats let one slip by. The Blue Devils pulled away in the second half to get a 50-42 win.

Sulligent let 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Tharptown claimed the lead at halftime, 17-15. Sulligent regained the lead at the end of the third quarter 28-27 before pulling away in the fourth quarter.

Nolen led Tharptown with 17 points, scoring 12 of the Wildcats’ 17 first-half points.

Vela added eight points, Dylan Valdez six points, Louis Valdez five points, Simmons four points and Lopez two points.

In varsity girls action, Tharptown couldn’t hold off a late surge by the Sulligent, falling 43-38 in their season opener on the road.

Gracie Montgomery led Tharptown with 16 points.

Autumn Montgomery added five points for the Wildcats. Kyndall Morgan, Jaiden Gaston and Sarah Mansell scored four points each. Kaitlyn Simmons added three points, and Savannah Romans had two points.