The Pleasant Home Eagles needed to rally from behind in both games, but came out on top of the Brantley Bulldogs to secure spots in the Class 1A South Regional Tournament in Dothan.

GIRLS

PLEASANT HOME 46, BRANTLEY 39

In the opening match, the Lady Eagles rallied in the second half to knock off the Lady Bulldogs 46-39.

Camille Holley got the Lady Eagles on the board first, but Brantley responded with a few 3-pointers to take an 11-9 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the opening period.

With their star player River Baldwin battling an ankle injury, the Lady Eagles had to get creative in their game plan.

In the first half, Baldwin spent most of the time on the Lady Eagles’ end of the court because the injury kept her from running the floor.

Brantley extended the lead to 26-18 heading into halftime.

Baldwin sat for most of the third period, but after the Lady Bulldogs stretched the lead to 12 points, Baldwin reentered the game.

Baldwin took over with several big shots to help lead the Lady Eagles to the win.

“That was big for us,” Lady Eagles’ head coach Jerry Davis said. “With about 30 minutes left in practice yesterday, River rolled her ankle. I honestly didn’t know coming into the game if she would be able to go. I was really proud of the way the girls stepped up and fought through the adversity. We kept our composure and I was very pleased with the effort.”

BOYS

PLEASANT HOME 54, BRANTLEY 48

The Eagles varsity boys’ squad secured a spot in the Class 1A South Regional in Dothan with 54-48 victory over the Brantley Bulldogs.

With the win, this Eagles squad becomes the first Pleasant Home boys’ team to make it to the regional tournament in 14 years.

Brantley came out strong and quickly jumped out front 6-0.

Walt Weaver knocked down a 3-pointer and a layup for the Eagles, but the Bulldogs were on top 11-10 heading into the second period.

Aaron Warthen tied things up 17-17 with a layup in the second period, but Brantley was up 25-24 at the halfway point.

Tyler Myrick got things going in the third period with a layup through contact to put the Eagles up 26-25.

Austin Kelley came up big in the third as he dropped in three layups and drew fouls on each one.

Kelley hit 3-of-4 free throws in the period, and Myrick knocked home another 3-pointer to put the Eagles on top 45-39 heading into the final period.

Kelley extended the Eagle lead with a pair of free throws to start the fourth period, and put the Eagles on top 47-39.

Brantley began to make a push and cut the Eagles’ lead down to 47-44 with just over four minutes left in the game.

Warthen dropped in a pair of free throws to stretch the Pleasant Home lead to 49-44, but Brantley still wasn’t going to go away without a fight.

The Bulldogs battled and trimmed the Eagles’ lead down to 51-48 with 32 seconds left in the game.

Scott hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 17 seconds to secure the win for the Eagles.
“I felt like we came out a little tight in the first period,” Pleasant Home head coach Troy Turman said. “We tried to loosen them up as best as we could, and once we loosened up I really felt that we played better. The thing I like the most is that these kids are finding a way to win. They are really starting to show a lot of resilience. This is the first time in 14 years that a Pleasant Home boys’ team has made it to regionals. That’s huge for us, and I told the seniors that this is their stamp that they can leave on this program.”