BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION –– Under head coach Dusty Perdue, the Glenwood Gator varsity boys and girls basketball teams lost a pair of hard-fought games versus the Class 5A Eufaula Tigers. The Class 3A Gators battled throughout both matchups, but Eufaula pulled away in the final moments of each game.
Here’s a recap of each match, separately:
Boys
On the boys side, Eufaula pulled out a 68-57 win over a young Glenwood team. The Gators fell to 2-3 with the loss, while Eufaula improved to 4-5.
Replacing four starters from a year ago and only two seniors on the roster, the young Gators pushed a physical Eufaula team to the edge. Late free-throw shooting allowed the Tigers to pull ahead by double digits, but the game remained competitive throughout.
“My boys team is going to play hard and play together,” Perdue said. “We were tooth and nail with them the entire game. The score may not show that, but I mean — we’d make a run, they’d make a run and it went back and forth like that.”
Despite falling behind early and trailing 36-25 at halftime, Glenwood got some offense going in the second half and made it close. The Gators trimmed the deficit down to four points with 6:29 remaining in the game, but the Tigers slowly padded the lead from that point.
In the end, Eufaula senior forward Montravious Cullins’ 24 points was too much for the Gators. Freshman guard Braylen Alexander starred with 20 points for Glenwood, but senior Gray Garner was the only other Gator in double figures with 11.
Sophomore guard Tyler Claridy provided an outside threat for Glenwood with three 3-point makes, but the majority of the scoring came in the paint for both teams. Eufaula’s size advantage eventually gave it the edge as it capitalized late on drawing fouls turning into opportunities at the free-throw line.
“The boys are still trying to figure out how to play together,” Perdue said. “You’ve got to remember, I’m replacing four starters on that team. We’re going to play a lot of basketball in the month of December, two tournaments, so we’ve got to the end of January to get ready for [the postseason in] February.”
After winning its first two games of the season versus Columbus High and Terrell Academy, Glenwood has lost its last three to Chattahoochee County, Deerfield-Windsor and Eufaula. Despite the losing streak, Glenwood feels like it is growing rapidly with the early challenges on the schedule.
As it continues to learn from these early losses, Glenwood is keeping the end goal in mind as it progresses through a busy end of 2025.
“We’re trying to go one step further than we did last year,” Perdue said. “That’s our goal.”
The Gators finished with a 20-8 record last season, beating Beulah to open the playoffs before being eliminated by losses to Lee-Scott Academy and Montgomery Academy.
Girls
In the girls game, Eufaula held strong down the stretch to beat Glenwood, 45-36. Both teams own a 4-4 record after the game.
Even after finishing the first quarter down 20-12, Glenwood adjusted and surged ahead 30-28 with under four minutes left in the third. Glenwood junior guard Halle Palmore hit a 3-pointer to tie the game and then gave her team a lead by stealing the ball and laying it in on the other end to complete her own five-point run.
However, the aggressive Tiger defense eventually wore down on the Gators, and turnovers helped Eufaula dominate the fourth quarter.
“I thought my girls played very tough tonight,” Perdue said. “It was a gritty game to the end with their legs being tired. They gave me everything. … We also had a little bit of sickness going around right now. Oh well, you have to strap them up and go play.”
Glenwood owned the second and third quarters, outscoring Eufaula 21-14, but the Tigers outpaced the Gators 31-15 between the first and fourth quarters. Eufaula’s fast start and late defensive pressure ultimately proved the difference.
Taking a 34-33 advantage to the fourth quarter, Eufaula’s tough press defense wore down on Palmore, who provided the majority of Glenwood’s offense herself with 20 of its 36 points. Glenwood managed only three points in the fourth quarter and committed more turnovers than baskets scored during the final frame.
Despite the loss, Palmore turned in an impressive performance with 20 points, six steals, three assists and knocking down her first three 3-pointers. No other Gator had more than three points, though seven of them scored. Neither of their two seniors had strong performances as Emersyn White and Claire Hargrove scored just two points each.
“We finally met the toughness of the other team because we hadn’t been very tough all year,” Perdue said. “We have to get hit in the mouth a couple times, then we will come back punching.”
The Gators showed their resiliency in a tough loss. Glenwood now has losses to Terrell Academy, Columbus High, Schley County and Eufaula as well as wins over Deerfield-Windsor, Opelika (twice) and Loachapoka.
The Gators finished 17-9 last season and beat Beulah to open the playoffs before being eliminated by losses to Lee-Scott Academy and Saint James.
