Helena sinks 11 3-pointers in blowout win over rival Pelham

Published 11:16 pm Friday, January 10, 2020

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

PELHAM – After grabbing their first region win of the season against Calera on Jan. 7, Helena kept the momentum going by defeating rival Pelham on the road in dominating fashion 58-35 on Friday, Jan. 10.

Helena hit 11 3-pointers–including seven of those in the second half–to outscore Pelham 30-15 in the final two quarters to pull away for a 23-point win.

The Huskies had four finish in double figures for a balanced scoring attack as Caden Pierce led all scorers with 15 points, Brody Moss had 13 points and Daunte Cave and Kellen Watkins each had 10 points. All of Pierce’s points came from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Huskies started the game on an 8-0 run and never looked back, as Helena stifled the Pelham offense by forcing shots and causing several turnovers. The Panthers were held to single digits scoring in both the first and third quarters.

After the 8-0 run to start the game, Helena closed out the first quarter with a 17-6 lead as five players scored three points apiece.

Pelham inched their way back in the second quarter by outscoring the Huskies 14-11 led by five points from Roy Gonzalez. He was the only Panther to finish the game in double figures with 14 points as Helena’s lead stood at 28-20 at the break.

After getting in early foul trouble and finishing with just three points in the first half, Pierce helped spark a third quarter onslaught where the Huskies went on a 13-0 run to close out the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

In the span of just a few minutes in the third quarter, Pierce drained three 3-pointers and Cave had two impressive drives to the basket for lay ups during the 13-0 run to give the Huskies a 44-25 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Helena wouldn’t relinquish the big lead, holding Pelham to 10 points in the final quarter. The Huskies’ starters exited the game with a 58-34 lead with 2:42 to play and closed out the 58-35 win.

The win moved Helena to 2-0 in region play as Pelham dropped to 0-2 in region play. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Helena.