Tigers boys hold on for win over Calera
Published 2:47 pm Friday, January 17, 2014
Chilton County’s basketball teams took one of two against the visiting Calera Eagles on Thursday night, with the Tigers varsity boys winning while the varsity girls and junior varsity boys come up short.
A tough Calera defense kept the Tigers varsity girls’ offense at bay all night while the Eagle offense was clicking on all cylinders on their way to a 50-20 victory.
Chilton County’s Cade Hatch scores two of his 18 points during Thursday’s game against Calera.
A tough first period for the Tigers, plagued by turnovers and missed opportunities, put the Tigers in an early hole, 21-4.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, things would get no better in the second period. With the Eagles out-shooting the Tigers from the field 44 percent to 24 percent, Calera took a 36-13 lead into the halftime break.
The Eagles’ defense continued to harass the Tigers in the second half as the their offense continued to light up the score board, building a 49-17 lead at the end of the third.
With a running clock in the final period, the Eagles cruised to the win.
Kalen Starks led the way for the Eagles with 19 points, six rebounds, eight steals and one block.
Keona DeJarnett led Tigers with 10 points and one block.
Despite a great first half and leading by as many as 16 points at one point of the game, the Tigers varsity boys had to survive a late Eagles surge to pull out an 81-70 win.
Chilton County’s Gabriel Kelley shoots over the Calera defense on Thursday.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the first half behind four points from Braylen Parker, but eight points from Jordan Bishop helped the Eagles keep it close at the end of the first period, 15-13.
The Tiger offense picked it up a notch in the second period. The Tigers led 40-30 at halftime behind 12 points from Davre Williams.
The Tigers continued their hot shooting in the second half, shooting 64 percent from the field, but the Eagles kept pace with Bishop continuing to have his way in the paint, adding another eight points to his tally.
With just seconds left in the third period, Keddrick Thomas threw up a half-court prayer that found nothing but net, bringing the third period to a close with the Tigers still leading 63-51, but giving the Eagles a little momentum.
The three-pointer by Thomas started a 12-1 run by the Eagles, and with 4:52 to play Calera had cut the lead to just one, 64-63.
That was as close as the Eagles would get, however, as the Tigers went on a run of their own in the closing minutes, outscoring the Eagles 17-7 to pick up the win.
The Tigers had three players score in double digits: Davre Williams with 25 points, Cade Hatch with 18 and Braylen Parker with 15.
The Eagles were led by the combination of Jordan Bishop with 25 points and Ronnie Clark with 22.
The Tigers junior varsity came up just short, falling short in the final seconds, 27-25.
