By Erik Harris
HUEYTOWN – It was a slow offensive night for both Clay-Chalkville and Pinson Valley in the opening round of the Jefferson County Tournament at Hueytown High School on Tuesday night.
The Cougars fell, 54-48, to McAdory before the Indians struggled through a, 52-28, loss at the hands of host team Hueytown. Both teams will battle Shades Valley in the next round.
McAdory 54, Clay-Chalkville 48
The Cougars (6-10) started the game hot, shooting 50 percent from the field through the opening quarter to claim a 15-8 lead. Defensive breakdowns by the Yellow Jackets helped that cause, but as the defense tightened, so did Clay-Chalkville’s shot.
“I’d like to say that the offense was clicking, but when teams give us layups, that helps us a lot,” said Clay-Chalkville head coach Jeremy Monceaux. “Once they sit down and force us to make some outside shots, that’s when we start to struggle.”
And struggle they did from behind the arc, going 3-for-16 on the night. Eddie Cole, Jalen Jordan and Ahkari Thompson connected on the Cougars’ three makes.
However, it was the 3-pointers landed by McAdory that eventually made the difference. With Clay-Chalkville trailing by five, Yellow Jackets’ guard Prince Whitfield got the fourth quarter started with a triple from the wing. Devin Whitfield delivered twice more from behind the arc to bump McAdory’s advantage to 48-40 with three minutes remaining.
Devin came through with a game-high 26 points. Prince added 12 more for the Yellow Jackets.
Anthony Holmes posted a team-high 14 points for Clay-Chalkville while Nico Collins finished with 12. Jordan and Thompson each chipped in with 7 points.
The Cougars are scheduled to continue tournament play against Shades Valley on Thursday at Hueytown.
Hueytown 52, Pinson Valley 28
It was a tough night for Pinson Valley’s offense.
The Indians (1-16) enjoyed a 3-2 lead in the opening minutes, but the news only grew worse from there. Hueytown led at the end of each quarter: 11-5 after the first, 23-11 at the half and 35-20 after the third.
“That’s been our story all season,” said Pinson Valley head coach Clint Argo. “If you can’t score, you can’t win. It doesn’t matter how hard you work defensively or how much you get after it. When you can’t score, it’s going to be hard to win a game.”
Argo’s team shot 24 percent from the field on Tuesday night. Over half of Pinson Valley’s offense came from two players – Duncan Merriweather, who finished with a team-best 10 points, and Cornell Hale, who added 7 points of his own.
Merriweather made his first bucket to end the opening frame with the Golden Gophers leading by six. He came back to sink a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter. The first came from the top of the key before he connected from the wing to cut Hueytown’s advantage to 27-17.
“They’ve kind of bought into (a loosing) mentality and we’ve got to get out of that,” said Argo.
The Indians get back to tournament play on Friday against Shades Valley.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor for the Trussville Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @jeharris2 or email him at jmseharris2@gmail.com.