Calera coach Robert Burdette chalked it up to defensive intensity. And his Eagles showed plenty during their victory over top-10 ranked Shelby County last Thursday night in Columbiana.

&uot;It’s always tough playing Shelby County,&uot; Burdette said. &uot;It’s always a tough game from a standpoint of big rivals, big crowd, ranked teams. Everything you could imagine was on the line tonight.&uot;

The Eagles forced 29 turnovers and fought off a second half comeback attempt by the Wildcats to win 70-57.

&uot;I just think our kids came out with a defensive intensity that we haven’t seen all year,&uot; Burdette said. &uot;For 32 minutes, our kids played their guts out.&uot;

Paul Delbridge had 18 points to lead Calera to the win, a month after the Eagles fell to Shelby County at home.

&uot;It was just revenge this game,&uot; Delbridge said. &uot;So we came out to play hard the whole time.&uot;

T.J. Green stepped up with 12 points, eight rebounds and nine assists while George Drake added 12 points.

Trey Russell scored 9 points with five rebounds and six assists for the Eagles.

Justin Mallory led Shelby County with 18 points while Brandon Burns had 13 points and eight rebounds.

In other games:

Oak Mountain 54, Vestavia Hills 44: Thomas Nordyke led Oak Mountain with 17 points and pulled down three rebounds as the Eagles defeated the Rebels. Andrew Chesney, Tyler Gallimore and Micah McKinney each had nine points for OMHS. Chesney added seven rebounds while Gallimore had five assists and two steals.

Spain Park 48, Oak Mountain 40: The Eagles were a dismal 32 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 20 times in a sloppy loss to the Jaguars. Andrew Chesney led OMHS with 12 points and four rebounds. Thomas Nordyke scored eight and Tyler Gallimore had five points, four assists and two steals for Oak Mountain (17-3).

Briarwood 55, Sylacauga 34: The Lions (15-4) jumped out to a 22-13 lead by halftime and continued to pile it on the Aggies in the second half to secure the win. Charles Hoke led BCS with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Will Cunningham had 18 points and six assists for the Lions.

Girls Basketball

Calera 60, Shelby County 40: Shanavia Dowdell posted an 18-point third quarter after sitting out much of the first half to help the Lady Eagles beat the Wildcats. Dowdell finished the night with 30 points. Laquarius Wilson had seven points for Calera. Kayla Williams led the Wildcats with 19 points and Leah Bland had 15 for Shelby County.

Briarwood 48, Sylacauga 38: Andee Matthews scored 26 points to lead the Lions (12-8) to the win over the 12-4 Aggies. Matthews picked up 19 of her points in the second half of the game to help Briarwood nail down the victory. Dandi Ammons had 12 points for Briarwood.

Chelsea 26, Fultondale 33: Lindi Thompson led the Hornets with eight points as they fell to Fultondale. Melissa Beard had six points and eight rebounds for Chelsea.

Chelsea 46, Holt 8: Chelsea destroyed Holt to pick up its seventh win of the season after a big night from Lindi Thompson and Charlie Bowman. Thompson led the Hornets with 12 points while Bowman had eight for Chelsea (7-8)