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Shelby County's boys and girls were able to sweep Montevallo on Tuesday, Nov. 27, on the road. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – The Shelby County boys and girls were able to pick up a sweep of the Montevallo Bulldogs on Tuesday, Nov. 27, with the girls grabbing a dominant victory and the boys pulling off a slim seven-point win.

A recap from each game can be found below.

Boys

Shelby County 67, Montevallo 60

After a closely contested first three quarters of the game, Shelby County was able to pull away from a two-point lead heading into the final quarter to grab a hard-fought 67-60 victory.

Early in the game, however, it was Montevallo who took the early lead with a 21-18 first quarter thanks to Jay Sullens, Davion Gilbert, Kial Cottingham and Jamarius Carter all having solid starts.

The Wildcats (1-2) didn’t have a bad start to the game either with four 3-pointers falling in the opening period, including two from Nathan Bates, but the Bulldogs (1-3) just made one more shot.

What Shelby County did do well in the opening period was establish an aggressive game plan that led to several free throw attempts throughout the game.

In the first quarter, the Wildcats were 5-7 from the line, which carried over into the second period with several more attempts from the line. Strong shooting from the stripe, combined with a couple of field goals, led to 17 points for the visitors.

The impressive aspect of the period, however, was on the other end of the floor, as the Wildcats flipped a switch defensively in the second quarter to limit Montevallo to just 12 points. The strong play on that end allowed them to overtake the lead at 35-33 heading into the half.

In the third quarter, that defensive mindset carried over, but it was also a point of emphasis for Montevallo as both teams struggled to score points and played to a 9-9 tie, which gave the Wildcats a 44-42 lead heading to the fourth.

The offensive struggles lasted all of one quarter as the two teams combined for 41 points in the final quarter of the game.

While Jamarius Carter was able to close out the game with an impressive final quarter, it wasn’t enough to overcome the strong free throw shooting of the Wildcats in the late going to hang on for a 67-60 victory.

Nathan Bates led Shelby County with 20 points in the win, while Tae Whetstone ended in double figures as well.

The Bulldogs were led by Carter with a triple-double after posting 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 blocks.

Girls

Shelby County 61, Montevallo 18

From start to finish, Shelby County’s experienced team dominated a Montevallo team still growing early on the season on both sides of the ball to claim a 61-18 victory.

A big reason for that success was the continued strong play of Maggie West as well as Aaliyah Cotton for the Wildcats (3-0). Both West and Cotton started the game off with a bang combining for 14 of the team’s 23 first-quarter points. West totaled eight points in the period, while Cotton added six herself.

The strong offensive start was also aided by Nataley Whitner and Skye Lilly, who had four and three points, respectively, to open the game. While the offensive stats were impressive, the defense was what helped bust the game open in favor of Shelby County very quickly.

Having scored 23 points, the Wildcats’ defense held Montevallo (0-2) to just six points in the opening period of the game, which didn’t just give the Bulldogs a steep mountain to climb, but set the tone for the rest of the game.

Having such a confidence boost in the first period helped the Wildcats come out with a strong attitude each and every period the rest of the night, and the defense only got better.

In the second period, the Wildcats held Montevallo to five points on two made field goals, while West and Lilly continued strong play offensively with six points each in the period on six made field goals.

That strong play gave Shelby County an insurmountable 36-11 lead at the half.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Wildcats didn’t let off the throttle and had their second best quarter of the game with 17 total points on the offensive end, while posting their best defensive quarter of the night limiting the Bulldogs to three points on one field goal.

The Wildcats took a 53-14 lead at the end of the quarter and went on to close the game out with an 8-4 final quarter.

Shelby County held Montevallo to six points or less in every quarter of the game and scored more points in two different quarters than the Bulldogs had the entire game.

The Wildcats were led by West with 21 points, while Lilly posted 15 points and Cotton 12 points.

Montevallo had five different players score and is still a younger team gaining experience from two very difficult opponents early in the season.

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