By Erik Harris
IRONDALE — For the third time this season, Pinson Valley cracked under the pressure defense applied by Shades Valley. The Indians struggled in the second half and eventually fell to their hosts, 67-45.
The game stayed close throughout the first half, which ended with the Mounties leading 30-25, but Pinson Valley broke down in the second half of play.
A flurry of 3-point makes by Shades Valley turned a close contest into a lopsided one in the third frame. Cameron Lawrence drove hard to the paint, went through contact and finished at the rim to draw the Indians to within one early in the third. That’s as close as the score would get.
Claude Newell provided the home team with instant offense once he got back on the floor. He picked up three fouls just two minutes into the contest and was forced to watch from the bench for nearly the entire first half.
Newell, who leads the Mounties in scoring this season, buried a pair of triples in the early moments of the third frame to help his team jump out to a 41-29 lead midway through the quarter.
His two makes sandwiched a Lawrence miss and proved to be a back breaker in a previously close battle.
“(Clint) Argo is a good coach,” said Shades Valley head coach Mike Burrus. “He had his kids ready to play. We came out a little flat and had to make some attitude adjustment at halftime and got them back on track.”
Sophomore Desmond Trotter then got out in transition to convert an old-school 3-point play to give Shades Valley a 46-31 lead with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Second chance opportunities got Pinson Valley back to within 11 points midway through the final frame. Three offensive rebounds got Cornell Hale a bucket in the paint before another offensive board freed Lawrence up for an open look from behind the arc. The senior connected on his opportunity from the left wing to update the score to 52-41 with under five to play in the game.
From that point, Shades Valley ended the game on a 15-4 run.
The win improves the Mounties’ record to 17-7 on the year. Pinson Valley has only one win this season.
Lawrence led the visitors with 11 points. Hale finished with nine points and Duncan Merriweather went for another eight.
In very limited action, Newell still managed to log a 12-point evening for the Mounties. Marcus Gilbert led all scorers with 20 points.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor for the Trussville Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @jeharris2 or email him at jmseharris2@gmail.com.