Warhawks advance to area championship

The Daleville Warhawks advanced to the Class 2A, Area 3 Championship on Tuesday, Feb. 4, with a win over the Cottonwood Bears 55-43 in the opening round of the area tournament.

The Warhawks went on a tear in the second and third quarters, building a 20-point lead at one point, despite a sluggish start.

Cottonwood jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter before the Warhawks finally came alive in the final three minutes of the period. Daleville closed out those final three minutes outscoring Cottonwood 12-3 in that span to cut the Bear lead to 15-12 heading into the second quarter.

Daleville continued to pour it on and took its first lead of the game when junior Peanut Bloodsaw converted a layup with 5:50 left in the first half to put Daleville ahead 16-15. The Warhawks would build on that lead and take a 29-19 lead into halftime.

Daleville started off the third quarter on a 9-0 run and eventually built the lead up to 43-26 heading into the final period.

Cottonwood managed to outscore Daleville 17-12 in the fourth quarter – at one point going on a 10-0 run – but the Warhawks managed to hang on for the 55-43 win.

Daleville shot 18-of-37 from the field against Cottonwood but struggled at the three-point line, hitting just 2-of-14 attempts. The Warhawks also knocked down 13-of-22 free throw attempts in the win and outrebounded Cottonwood 31-26.

Daleville point guard Tomar Hobdy led the way with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals as the sophomore filled up the stat sheet.

Bloodsaw chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while senior Melvin Mathews chipped in with nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. It was Mathews’ seventh consecutive game with 10 or more rebounds.

No. 1 seed Geneva County thrashed Houston County 104-46 in the other first round game. Daleville will face off against Geneva County on Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Area 3 Championship.