By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

ALABASTER – In the home opener for both the boys and girls basketball teams from Thompson on Nov. 17, the Warriors continued their early season winning ways with a pair of victories over in-county opponent Calera. The girls started the night off with a 65-50 win and the boys followed suit with an 80-63 win as both moved to 2-0.

On the girls’ side, Calera has been one of the top programs not only in the county, but across the state the last few seasons. The Lady Eagles played for a 5A state championship in 2013-14. Thompson, however, has also been one of the county’s premier girls programs as of late, and was the superior team on this night. The Lady Eagles did not go away quietly however, and the two teams were tied at halftime 34-34 thanks to a 25-point second quarter effort by Calera.

Calera could not sustain that offensive pace in the second half, however, as the Lady Eagles only managed four third-quarter points and 12 fourth quarter points compared to Thompson’s 13 and 18 third and fourth quarter totals as the Lady Warriors rolled.

Jordan Lenoir had a double-double on the night with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Indian Cohill had 14 points and three assists and Azariah Jackson added 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Thompson. Tyesha Haynes had a game-high 26 points for Calera as she was responsible for over half of the Lady Eagles’ scoring total.

The boys held serve for Thompson as the Warriors outscored the Eagles in three of four quarters in the second varsity contest of the night, and took a commanding 44-28 lead into the break before eventually picking up the 80-63 win.

Drew Thomas continued his early season offensive success with 23 points, and also contributed five steals. Reggie Chambers and Michael Freeman chipped in 16 points and six rebound and 14 points and eight rebounds respectively. Tyler Miller led the way for Calera with 21 points.

The Warriors have now won their first two games by an average of 20 points.