1 of 6

Briarwood's Hayden Lamey, above, had 23 points to lead the Lions to a dominant 80-55 win against Altamont on Tuesday, Nov. 27. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – There’s not many perfect nights for any sports team, but for the Briarwood Lions boys basketball team, they came pretty close on Tuesday, Nov. 27, in an 80-55 victory against Altamont in the first home game of the season.

While the defense could have played better at times late in the game, overall that side of the ball performed well, while the offense completely dominated all night.

The Lions (3-2) had three players in double figures, including two with 20 points or more, had 10 different players score in all, hit 12 3-pointers and went 8-8 from the free throw line.

It started in the first quarter with their best defensive quarter of the game combined with hot shooting from Jack Dicen. He hit three 3-pointers in the period to account for nine points, while Mac McNamee, Brooks Donnelly and Chance Beard also added points to give the Lions 17 in the opening frame.

While Altamont hit three 3-pointers of its own in the opening quarter, that was the team’s only scoring, which led to a 17-9 advantage for Briarwood.

In the second quarter, Altamont hit two more 3-pointers but totaled just 10 points, while Briarwood caught fire from the field.

Dicen again hit three 3-pointers in the quarter to bring his game total to 18 points by halftime, while Hayden Lamey finally got going as well. Lamey totaled 10 points in the period thanks to three field goals, a 3-pointer and one free throw to cap off an and-1 opportunity.

Those two scored 19 of Briarwood’s 24 points in the quarter, as the Lions had extended their lead to 41-19 at the half.

Briarwood’s only kryptonite in the first half was defending the 3-point line, and that continued to be the Lions’ only problem in the third quarter.

Altamont’s Dylan Lyall hit three more 3-pointers in the period, giving him six in the game, while the team had four total in the quarter to give them their highest quarter total to that point with 18 points.

Briarwood didn’t have a bad quarter offensively by any stretch, but thanks to Altamont’s hot shooting, the Lions were outscored 18-16 in the quarter.

However, they still held a 20-point lead, 57-37, as the four 3-pointers from Altamont weren’t enough to trim the deficit down significantly.

In the final quarter, Altamont scored 18 more points thanks to nine points from Wyatt Tramnell, but the Lions did a much better job of defending the 3-point line giving up just one in the quarter.

Briarwood also got back to its dominant offensive ways in the period. Seven different players scored in the frame, including nine from Lamey to match Tramnell, while the team also went 4-4 from the free throw line.

It led to 23 points for Briarwood in the final period, and the dominant 80-55 win.

Lamey led the way with 23 points in the game, all of which came in the final three quarters. He finished 3-3 from the line and hit two 3-pointers. Dicen was second on the team with 20 points thanks to his six made 3-pointers in the first half. Behind that, Beard added 11 points to give the Lions a third double-figure scorer. Six different players had at least five points in the victory.

More 280 Reporter

Coosa Valley drops 8-man opener after Southern Prep starts fast

Strong second half play propels Vincent over B.B. Comer for first time since 2014

Briarwood falls in road battle with Homewood

Stracener’s late touchdown leads Chelsea to first 2-0 start since 2016