Chelsea basketball advances to area final

The Chelsea boys basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Class 6A, Area 10 Tournament with a 55-36 win over Pell City on Tuesday night, in the tournament held at Oxford High School.

The Hornets outscored Pell City 17-6 in the first quarter to jump out ahead and never let up. Sam Powery sank back-to-back three-pointers in that opening frame to spark the team.

Chelsea held Pell City to just two points in the third quarter, as the Hornets ran out to a 20-point lead after three quarters.

Ten of the 13 players that played for Chelsea scored. Matthew Marquet led the squad with 12 points. Josh Hanna added nine.

The win assures Chelsea a spot in the sub-regional round of the state playoffs, and advances them to play Oxford in the area final on Friday night at 7 p.m.

With the win, the Hornets improve to 11-17 on the season, and are winners of six of their last seven games.