Dominating: Eagles edge Clay Cougars in Pelham tourney finale
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 3, 2006
The Oak Mountain Eagles continued to prove why they are one of the top ranked Class 6A teams in Alabama Friday night, winning their second tournament in two weeks.
The Eagles&8217; Justin Luquire finished with 21 points and four rebounds as Oak Mountain soundly defeated Clay-Chalkville, 56-42, in the Pelham Invitational.
Head coach Jerry North&8217;s Eagles, 15-1 on the season, took home first place in the Shelby County Invitational on Dec. 23 before competing in the Pelham tourney last week.
&8220;I&8217;m tired and I know they&8217;re tired,&8221; North said of his players. &8220;It would have been nice to have a little break, but this is a big confidence booster for us going into January.&8221;
Luquire, named tournament MVP, was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line while the Eagles as a team hit 28-of-35 shots from the foul line.
Clay (3-11) surged late with the help of four three pointers in the final five minutes, moving within five of the Eagles. But Oak Mountain was able to hold off the Cougars, hitting 12-of-16 free throws in the final quarter for the victory.
&8220;We did some things that winning teams shouldn&8217;t do late in the game,&8221; North said. &8220;But we were able to hit our free throws down the stretch and that pulled us through.&8221;
Luquire was joined on the All-Tournament team by Tyler Gallimore, who finished with 16 points in the win.
&8220;Those guys have played great for us these last two tournaments,&8221; North said of his stars.
T.J. Green of Calera, Steven Clark of Pelham and Kenney Betts of Thompson joined Luquire and Gallimore on the All-Tourney team.
Kingwood 73, Meadowview 46: The Kingwood Lions remained unbeaten at 14-0 Friday night, soundly defeating Meadowview, 73-46.
Cody Owens led the way for the Lions, scoring 19 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the victory.
Adam Irby netted a double-double for Kingwood, finishing with 10 points and two rebounds.
Tuscaloosa County 77, Calera 71: The 6A Tuscaloosa County Wildcats underestimated the firepower that the 2A Calera Eagles brought to the floor Friday night in the consolation game of the Pelham Invitational.
The Eagles (10-5) trailed Tuscaloosa (10-4) by one at halftime, 37-36, but were unable to control the Wildcat&8217;s powerful centers, falling 77-71.
T.J. Green led Calera with 20 points while Kaderious Lacey added 16 in the loss.
Thompson 50, Pelham 41: The Thompson Warriors were able to fend off rival Pelham Friday night, topping the Panthers 50-41.
Laderreous Kelley finished with 16 points for THS (8-7) while Dameion Bland added 11.
Stephen Clark had 16 points for the Panthers (2-15) in the loss.
Briarwood 66, Dora 48: The Briarwood Christian Lions rebounded from a heartbreaking loss to Oak Mountain in the Shelby County tournament championship game Friday night, defeating Dora 66-48 in the final of the Shades Mountain Christmas Classic.
Matt Robertson led the way for Briarwood (12-4) with 15 points. Robertson was named the tournament MVP while teammates Drew Faulk, Nate Carlson and Wesley Lynch all scored in double digits with 13, 11 and 10 respectively.
The Lions defeated Walker Monday night in the first round of the Metro Independent tournament, 73-61. Robertson finished the game with 13 points and hit 6-of-7 shots in the first quarter to lead Briarwood to victory