By Erik Harris, sports editor
A few local sports teams were in play this week, fitting in some last-minute competition before Christmas break.
The Springville boys basketball team improves to 12-0 on Tuesday night. The Tigers sank 20 points in the opening quarter, senior forward Ben Bianchi finished with a team-high 17 points and Springville outdueled Piedmont’s two-headed monster of Luke Bussey and Alex Odam en route to a 62-53 road win.
It was a quick start that made the difference on Tuesday night, as the Tigers went to the second period leading 20-8 and later led 36-19 at the half.
For Piedmont, Bussey and Odam combined to score 36 of the team’s 53 points with 18 apiece. Springville rode a more balanced attack with Bianchi (17), Luke Richardson (12) and Jake Goolsby (9) leading the way.
Richardson did his damage from beyond the arc, where he connected on four of five attempts. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs struggled to a 7-for-30 (23.3%) evening from 3-point range.
The Hewitt-Trussville girls basketball team remains unbeaten with a 74-53 road win over Deshler Tuesday night.
A balanced attack propelled the second-ranked Huskies, as Amiya Payne (21), Jordan Hunter (18) and Sara Phillips (12) each scored double-digit points. Londyn Johnson and April Hooks also chipped in with eight points apiece for Hewitt (15-0), who is outscoring its opponents by an average of 24 points per game this year.
The Moody boys basketball team knocked off Gaston 88-47 on Wednesday. Offense traveled well for the Blue Devils, who were led on the stat line by junior forward Mason Trimm with 18 points and senior guard Peyton Ingram with 16 points.
The Hewitt-Trussville wrestling team recorded two victories on Tuesday in the 2020 Hewitt Husky Christmas Duals. The Huskies claimed a 73-6 win over Fairhope followed by a 78-0 decision over Vestavia Hills.
In the opener against Fairhope, Karson Burke (126), Logan Reaves (138), Thomas Shaffer (145), Lucas Reaves (152), Andrew Shelton (160), Chris Hawkins (220) and Harrison Asbury (285) each secured pins for Hewitt-Trussville.
In the shutout over Vestavia Hills, Burke, Patton Kosmus (138), Drennan Jones (152), Shelton, Zyon Austin (170), Luke Golden (182), Hawkins, Clark Box (106) and Alton Lucas (113) scored pins for the Huskies.