By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

CHELSEA – Chelsea hosted the 10^th annual North Shelby Tip-Off Classic Tournament from Nov. 23-25, which saw eight teams from across the county and beyond competing. Chelsea beat cross-county foe Helena in the opening round of the tournament before falling to Childersburg and Wenonah in back-to-back games to claim the fourth place spot in its own tournament.

In the opening game of the tournament for Chelsea, the Hornets beat Helena 59-53. Aaron Washington paced Chelsea with 22 points on 6-of-15 shooting while going 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Matt Marquet was the only other Hornet to score in double digits on the day and finished with 16 points, and also led the team in rebounds with seven. Washington and Marquet were the high scorers in the game as well as Chelsea picked up the opening round win.

Marquet led the way for Chelsea in the second game of the tournament against Childersburg with 21. With a berth in the championship game on the line, Chelsea couldn’t hang with the visiting Tigers and was outscored in each of the first three quarters as Childersburg rolled 70-58.

On the other side of the bracket, Auburn beat Wenonah, knocking the Dragons into the consolation contest with Chelsea. The Hornets took an early 16-12 lead behind a pair of first quarter Washington threes before Wenonah started to assert its presence offensively. Behind Quinton Gates’ eight second-quarter points Wenonah took a slim 32-30 lead into the break, a lead the Dragons only built on in the second half.

Chelsea only managed six third-quarter points while Wenonah poured in 20 to take an insurmountable 52-36 lead headed into the fourth quarter. The Hornets didn’t roll over however, and battled in the fourth quarter, but Wenonah eventually came out on top, clinching the third place slot with a 63-57 win. Marquet led the way for Chelsea again with 16 while Josh Hanna was the only other Hornet in double figures in the consolation game with 11.