The Reset: Basketball teams complete area play

Over the course of the year, 280 Living will keep you up to date on the various local high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.

BASKETBALL

Briarwood

The Briarwood basketball teams concluded Class 5A, Area 8 play last week, beginning with a set of games at home against Woodlawn on Tuesday night. Before the girls game, Briarwood honored longtime coach Jim Brown, who passed away in the summer. Brown won his 500th career game last season and retired following the year.

Both Lions teams played well in his honor, with the girls team starting things by pulling out a 28-27 victory. In the game, Jalen Hunter and Maddie Vaughn led the Lady Lions with seven points. Despite boys coach Bobby Kerley being out with the flu, the boys team dominated en route to a 72-46 win. The Lions were led on the bench by assistant coach Jeremy Mears and on the court by Hayden Lamey, who scored 22 points.

Briarwood completed area play on Thursday at John Carroll. Vaughn scored a career-high 21 points in the Lady Lions’ 44-38 overtime win over the Cavaliers. Caroline Mays and Hunter each scored 10 points as well. The boys team fell to John Carroll 67-58.

Both teams completed area play with a 2-4 mark, with the boys holding a 12-11 overall record. The girls are 10-7. Briarwood hosts Dora and Locust Fork and travels to Mortimer Jordan this week to round out the regular season.

Chelsea

The Chelsea basketball teams completed Class 6A, Area 10 play last week, beginning with a trip to Calera on Tuesday night. The girls remained perfect in area play with a convincing 55-33 win, led by Jordan Parker’s 17 points. Pressley Rains and Sydney Schwallie joined her in double figures with 10 points each, and Mackenzie Titus added eight points.

The boys also won, getting a dramatic 62-61 victory over the Eagles. Jacob Tierney converted an and-one basket with three seconds to play, sinking the free throw for the win. Tierney rebounded a missed free throw and scored while being fouled. Chelsea jumped out to a 10-point lead early in the game, but Calera quickly narrowed the gap and the Hornets held onto a one-point lead at the half. Daniel Washington led Chelsea with 18 points, followed by Tierney’s 14.

Chelsea’s girls completed a perfect area slate with a 45-30 win over Helena on Friday night. Parker scored a game-high 24 points in the victory. The boys fell to the Huskies 40-38 in a tight contest. Washington led the team with 10 points, and KJ Hall added nine points.

The girls finished area play with a 6-0 mark and now have a 13-10 overall record. The boys are 12-12 and went 4-2 in area play. The Hornets finish the regular season this week with a trip to Oak Mountain and a home date with Tuscaloosa County.

Oak Mountain

The Oak Mountain basketball teams rounded out the Class 7A, Area 5 slate last week, beginning things with a home matchup against Tuscaloosa County on Tuesday night. The Lady Eagles came away with a 55-48 victory. Kailey Rory scored 18 points to lead the team, and Hannah Edwards chipped in 16 points.

The boys game yielded a positive result for Oak Mountain as well, with the Eagles taking a 51-41 win. Noah Young led the team with 15 points. Antheny Carey and Drew Dunn scored 12 apiece in support.

Oak Mountain notched another sweep on Friday, as both varsity teams beat Thompson. The girls beat the Warriors 74-63 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Rory led the team with 22 points and has now eclipsed 1,000 points in her career. Edwards added 20 points, and Clara Fuller scored eight.

The boys notched a 59-47 win behind 21 points from Dunn, who sank 6-of-8 3-point attempts. Turner Youngblood and Zane Nelson each scored nine points, while Evan Smith tallied seven points and seven assists.

The boys team completed area play with a 4-2 mark and is now 17-8 overall. The girls are now 13-11 overall and finished 2-4 in area. The Eagles round out the regular season this week by hosting Chelsea and traveling to Helena.

WRESTLING

The Chelsea wrestling team was in action last week, participating in a tri-match on Tuesday. The Hornets fell to Mountain Brook 48-36 and defeated Pinson Valley 42-27. Chelsea was in another tri-match on Thursday, narrowly falling to Shades Valley 28-27 before beating Fultondale 52-24. Chelsea also finished fifth overall in the Mountain Brook Invitational on Saturday.

Oak Mountain’s wrestling team competed on Wednesday, notching wins over Fairhope (55-22) and Foley (42-39), but lost to Gulf Shores 49-20.

BOWLING

The Oak Mountain girls bowling team qualified for the state tournament, held last week at Oak Mountain Lanes. The girls were the No. 16 seed after the first day of competition and lost to eventual state champion Southside-Gadsden 1,265-1,002 in the first round.

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

The Briarwood indoor track and field teams competed at the Martin Luther King Indoor Track Classic on Monday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Leading the way for the Lions was Cady McPhail, who won the 1,600-meter run in 5:26.07. Also notching top-10 finishes in their respective events were Trent Malloy (ninth in the 1,600), Nicholas Robson (seventh in the 60-meter hurdles), Riley Margene (fourth in the pole vault) and Riley Underwood (fifth in the pole vault).

Oak Mountain was also at the event, with Trey Allen highlighting the Eagles’ results by clearing an impressive seven feet in the high jump. Nicole Payne finished second in the 60-meter dash (7.70), and the girls 4x200-meter relay team was third (1:46.14). Aaron Brooks finished fifth in the 60 and eighth in the 400.

The Last Chance Invitational was held at the CrossPlex over the weekend. Briarwood’s McPhail finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.87. Oak Mountain’s Payne won the 400 with a time of 55.03. The Oak Mountain boys relay teams did well, finishing second in the 4x200 (1:31.81) and third in the 4x400 (3:25.63).

All area indoor teams will conclude their seasons this week at the state meet, held Friday and Saturday at the CrossPlex. 

— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.