Montevallo’s boys and girls basketball teams both sweep season series with Tarrant

Published 3:40 pm Tuesday, November 28, 2023

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

TARRANT – The Montevallo Bulldogs got back on track with a pair of victories over the Tarrant Wildcats on Monday, Nov. 27 to get back to winning ways and sweep both season series against their Birmingham foes.

The varsity boys team defeated Tarrant 59-38 shortly after the varsity girls won 42-30.

In the boys’ game, Tarrant held a slight early advantage, but Montevallo sat well within striking distance at the end of the first quarter, only trailing 12-11.

That let the Bulldogs go on a 15-7 run behind strong performances on both offense and defense and take the lead from the Wildcats.

With Montevallo leading 26-19 at the half, the Bulldogs needed a great third quarter to pull away and establish themselves as the favorites in the matchup, and they did just that.

Montevallo outscored Tarrant 14-4 in the third quarter, which extended its lead to 40-23 going into the fourth.

Both teams had their best offensive quarters of the game in the fourth quarter, but Montevallo’s double-digit lead meant that Tarrant’s best efforts would be in vain and the Bulldogs would take a 59-38 win.

Before that, Montevallo’s varsity girls team took an early 10-3 lead in the first quarter, and that set the tone for the rest of the first half.

The Bulldogs outscored the Wildcats 15-5 in the second quarter, and that gave the visitors a commanding 25-8 lead going into the second half.

Tarrant did cut the lead by five in the third quarter, but Montevallo still held a 32-20 lead after the quarter ended.

That 12-point lead proved to be the margin of victory as well after the Bulldogs and Wildcats each put up 10 points in the fourth quarter, which meant that Montevallo’s dominant stretch in the first half was enough to secure the 42-30 victory.