The Shelby Academy Raiders moved into sole possession of first place in area play with wins over Coosa Valley and Chambers Academy last week.

The Raiders defeated the Rebels 58-55 behind 16 points from Jamie Griffin last Tuesday night at Coosa Valley.

Justin Klepin scored 11 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in the win.

Ryan Elm and Andrew Elm chipped in 10 and 9 points, respectively.

For Coosa Valley, head coach Kimbo Rutledge said his team’s performance on the court as of late leaves a lot to be desired.

&uot;Since Christmas, we have not been playing very well,&uot; Rutledge said.

&uot;I don’t know what has happened to us since then. We have not been able to shoot the ball well at all and our defense is just plain lackluster.&uot;

The Rebels, before the Christmas break, were averaging 72 points per game and shooting more than 50 percent from the floor.

&uot;We are now lucky to score in the 50s and we shot 30 percent from the floor in the Shelby Academy game,&uot; Rutledge said.

The Rebels shot 18 percent from the floor in the first half and were forced to score 33 points in the fourth quarter to stay in the game, a trend Rutledge says has to end for the Rebels to be successful.

Brandon Nix led the Rebels with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Zach Rutledge scored 23 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.

Lady Rebels 37,

Lady Raiders, 33

The Shelby Academy Lady Raiders were not as fortunate, dropping a 37-33 decision to the Lady Rebels last week.

Amanda Hoppers paced the Lady Raiders with 14 points and 5 steals in the loss.

The loss dropped the Lady Raiders to 8-4 overall and was the first area loss on the season (2-1).

Whitney Lowery scored 6 points and grabbed 7 rebounds and Paris Reneau scored 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

For the Rebels, Molly Brasher led the way with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Kirby Johnson scored 11 points while Lori Patterson chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

SA 55, Chambers 33

The Raiders traveled to Chambers Academy last Friday night and also picked up a win, 55-33. The win improved the SA boys to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in area play.

The Raiders were led by Griffin with 12 points, Josh Kervin with 9 and Klepin with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

CVA 57, CCS 50

The Rebels finished the week with an important 57-50 area win over Cornerstone Christian. Rutledge led the Rebels with 29 points and 8 rebounds and Brandon Nix scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Casey Hall chipped in 6 points in the win.

&uot;Casey’s points were huge for us because they came at a pivotal point in the third quarter and were both three-pointers,&uot; Kimbo Rutledge said.

For Cornerstone, Ben Lee led the way with 20 points while Ty Youngblood scored 11. Micah Whitson chipped in 10 points in the loss.

LADY REBELS 51, LADY CHARGERS 37

The Lady Rebels claimed another area win over Cornerstone last week, 51-37. Johnson led the Lady Rebels with 27 points, including 4 three-pointers.

Brasher was the only other Lady Rebel in double figures with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

For the Lady Chargers, Chelsey Hall led the way with 22 points.

The wins improved the Lady Rebels to 13-4 overall and 4-0 in the area, good for first place