By Kyle Parmley
TRUSSVILLE — Many of the area schools were on the hardwood Monday afternoon, taking part in holiday tournaments throughout the state. Here’s a short recap:
BOYS
Hewitt-Trussville 78, Etowah 76 – The go-ahead basket by freshman Sean Elmore with three seconds remaining almost went for naught. Following a timeout, Etowah sunk a would-be game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. But after a brief discussion by the officials, it was determined that Etowah had six players on the floor. The basket was waved off, giving the Huskies the victory. Hewitt-Trussville finished the Albertville Civitan Christmas Classic with a record of 1-2, falling to Minor and Guntersville over the weekend.
McEachern (Ga.) 54, Clay-Chalkville 46 – Within the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cougars trimmed a 15-point deficit all the way down to two with a 16-3 run. They never got the equalizing bucket, and McEachern pulled away in the final minutes. Edward Leggett led Clay-Chalkville with 14 points, with Hasan Abdullah joining him in double figures with 10 points. The Cougars went 2-2 in the Big Orange Classic at Hoover High School, defeating Davidson and Woodlawn and losing to Hoover.
Minor 53, Pinson Valley 46 – The Indians got out to a 28-25 halftime edge, but were unable to hang on in the semifinals of the Albertville Civitan Christmas Classic. Cornell Hale led Pinson Valley with 11 points. Also scoring nine points apiece were Cordarius Reese and Donevan Waldrop. Clint Argo’s team has already defeated East Limestone and Westminter Christian, and will face St. John Paul II Catholic at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the third place game.
GIRLS
Fort Payne 58, Hewitt-Trussville 36 – The host team of the New Year’s Shootout fell in the semifinals on Monday afternoon. The Huskies were outscored 15-2 in the first quarter and never recovered. Eighth-grader Morgan Kirk finished with a team-high 12 points, and Rebecca Stanley chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds.
Gadsden City 46, Clay-Chalkville 44 – In the other semifinal of the New Year’s Shootout, Gadsden City’s Haley Troup buried a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to knock off the Lady Cougars. Point guard Kristian Hudson surpassed 2,000 career points for Clay-Chalkville, far and away a school record, by pumping in 19 points on the day.
Clay-Chalkville and Hewitt-Trussville are 1-1 in the tournament, and will face off against each other in the third place game at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The Pinson Valley Lady Indians participated in the Keith Davis Memorial Christmas Tournament over the weekend. The double-elimination tournament saw the Indians fall to the defending Class 3A state champion Lauderdale County and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa.