The Belgreen Bulldogs held off the East Franklin Rebels to win the ninth grade boys division of the Franklin County Tournament 26-19 on Saturday.

Jake Dill led the Bulldogs scoring 16 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, going 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

Both teams got off to a slow start with the Bulldogs leading 2-0 at the end of one quarter of play. The two teams exchanged baskets during the second quarter as Belgreen held onto a 9-7 lead at halftime. Belgreen extended their lead to 16-13 at the end of the third quarter and held off the Rebels in the fourth quarter to take the championship trophy.

For Belgreen, Jaxon Wood and Chris Bentley scored three each. Damian Deloa and Mason Henley added two points each.

Jeremiah Smith led East Franklin with eight points followed by Isaac Duboise with six points and Braxton Downey with five points.

SEMIFINALS

Belgreen 38, Vina 18

Belgreen dominated Vina 38-18 to advance to the finals of the Franklin County Tournament.

The Bulldogs led the Red Devils 21-7 at halftime and 31-10 at the end of the third quarter.

Carlos Alban and Jake Dill led Belgreen with 13 points and 12 points respectively.

Jamie Brown led Vina with eight points.

East Franklin 37, Tharptown 34

The East Franklin Rebels used a strong second half start to beat the Tharptown Wildcats 37-34 and advance to the finals of the Franklin County Tournament.

Tharptown jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter. East Franklin chipped away the lead in the second quarter to cut Tharptown’s advantage to 19-16 at halftime. The Rebels outscored the Wildcats 13-8 in the third quarter to take a 29-24 lead into the final period of play. Tharptown closed the gap but East Franklin held on to the win.

Jeremiah Smith and Braxton Downey led East Franklin scoring 13 points and 12 points respectively.

Braden Hamilton and Austin Chaney led Tharptown scoring 11 points and 10 points respectively.