Briarwood falls short against Pelham
Briarwood Christian had its eyes on a potential upset against Pelham in the Class 6A, Area 9 Tournament at Homewood High School, but a rough third quarter was the Lions’ undoing, in a 54-39 loss on Thursday night.
The third quarter began with back-and-forth play, much like what was seen in the first half, as each team exchanged a pair of baskets. A four-point play from Alex Reese – a layup with an intentional foul – gave Pelham a brief lead at 24-23. The Lions quickly regained the edge as Carson Donnelly picked up a steal and converted a layup on the other end.
But a Briarwood technical foul gave Pelham the lead once again, and the Panthers would hold it for the duration. The Panthers received free throws and the ball three times in the third quarter by way of an intentional foul and two technical fouls.
The Panthers held a 12-point lead after three and they held solid to that lead for the entirety of the fourth quarter.
To start the game, Pelham jumped out to 9-0 lead, with the first seven coming from Reese, who ended the quarter with eight points, as the Panthers led 11-5 after a quarter of play.
Briarwood turned up the energy, starting the second quarter on a 9-0 run of its own to take a 14-11 lead on a Luke Dyson three-pointer that banked in off the glass. Pelham scored the next five on baskets from Devon Jenkins and Justin Allison.
The Lions scored the next five, including a pull-up jumper from Brayden Blythe at the end of the half, as the Briarwood team and its fans erupted in elation with the 19-16 halftime lead. Blythe led the Lions with ten points for the game.
“Those guys have been with us through thick and thin,” Briarwood head coach Bobby Kerley said of the Briarwood student section that nearly filled up a section of bleachers in the Homewood gym. “This season’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. That crew is a testament to our school.”
Dyson scored eight in the game for the Lions, and Thomas Collier and Jeffrey Travis added seven each.
Reese and Allison carried the load for Pelham. Reese led the way with a game-high 26 points, and Allison was right behind with 22.
The Lions will now say goodbye to seven seniors, a bittersweet moment for their head coach.
“I’ve been coaching them since they were seventh graders and were 12 years old and gangly and goofy and not knowing what to do with life,” Kerley said. “Tonight’s a really tough night. My life certainly has been blessed as a man to be impacted by a bunch of great kids and families like they have. “