By Kyle Parmley
TRUSSVILLE — Hewitt-Trussville fell to Class 7A fifth-ranked Spain Park 68-53 on Friday night in an Area 6 matchup. It was the Huskies’ second matchup of the week hosting a top-five foe.
A solid first-half effort left Hewitt-Trussville (6-16, 0-4) down 31-24 at the break, but a dominant third quarter from the Jags was too much to overcome.
“We had a lot of energy in the first quarter,” point guard Josh Monski said. “But we just didn’t come out too strong in the second half.”
Spain Park (19-3, 3-1) boasts two of the top sophomores in the state in guard Jamal Johnson and Austin Wiley, who stands at 6-foot-9. Johnson had a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds. Wiley put forth a monster game, almost achieving a double-double with points and blocks. He scored 17 points while rejecting nine Husky shots on the night.
Freshman Sean Elmore led the Huskies with 12 points, coming on four 3-point baskets. Glenn Horsley also provided a spark, scoring six points and securing four rebounds.
Hewitt-Trussville jumped out to a hot start in the first quarter, getting five early points from sophomore Harrison Stanley to give his team a 10-4 advantage.
Despite the losses during the week, Monski feels that strides are being made from the team.
“We are getting better every day, we just have to convert it onto the court. We have to keep getting better at the little things,” he said.
The Huskies return to action Saturday at Bryant Bank Arena, where they will take on Pell City at 7:30 p.m.