By Erik Harris
TRUSSVILLE – Tribune area basketball teams went 2-2 on Monday night in the Bryant Bank Thanksgiving Classic at Hewitt-Trussville High School.
(Girls) Hewitt-Trussville 47, Briarwood Christian 45
Tonya Hunter and the Hewitt-Trussville girls squeaked past Briarwood Christian, 47-45, in the semifinals. Huskies’ guard London Coleman led all scorers with 13 points in the overtime win. Gabby Hill pitched in with another 9 points to lead Hewitt-Trussville into Tuesday’s championship contest with Fort Payne at 5 p.m.
“Even though we were flat all three quarters, I think we had three minutes where we played harder and I think it was more towards the end of the fourth quarter and in overtime,” said Hunter.
The Huskies outscored Briarwood Christian 16-12 in the fourth period.
(Boys) Briarwood Christian 35, Hewitt-Trussville 34
After leading for much of the fourth quarter, Hewitt-Trussville came up one point short in a tough loss to Briarwood Christian. Poor free-throw shooting hurt the Huskies down the stretch, as they shot 2-for-8 from the stripe in the closing minutes of Monday night’s loss.
Damon Harper led Hewitt-Trussville with 13 points, six of which came via the 3-point line over the final six minutes of play. Harrison Stanley and Grant Page each went for six apiece.
“I have great confidence in these guys and their ability,” said interim head coach Marcus Thomas. “As long as they’re (shooting) in their area. When they step outside their area, that’s when my confidence begins to (dwindle).”
(Boys) Oak Mountain 57, Clay-Chalkville 52
An inexperienced Clay-Chalkville team made it interesting, but couldn’t make the plays down the stretch to outlast Oak Mountain.
“We really competed and to be honest with you we’ve got a bunch of young guys that haven’t played varsity basketball before, so the struggle has been showing up every night through four games,” said Clay-Chalkville head coach Jeremy Monceaux.
M.J. Embree led the Cougars with 12 points and got substantial help from Jalen Jordan, Kiethan Parker and Jonathan Billingsley who combined for 29 of Clay-Chalkville’s 52 points.
“I wasn’t really worried about the outcome, I was worried about the effort and the effort part was there. Now we have to learn to win,” added Monceaux.
(Boys) Pinson Valley 64, Fayette County 36
For the first time in the young season, Pinson Valley got in the win column against Fayette County. The Indians hope to continue that trend tomorrow afternoon against Minor. That game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Hewitt-Trussville High School.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor for the Trussville Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @jeharris2 or email him at jmseharris2@gmail.com.