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Pelham finished out its homestand with a dominant win over Calera to improve to 8-1 on the season. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers improved to 8-1 after a 68-48 victory over their county rival Calera Eagles on Tuesday night, Nov. 28 at Pelham High School.

The Panthers continued to impress to start out the season by coming out of the gate firing on offense again and kept the effort going for much of the game to see out the win.

Pelham scored 22 points in the opening quarter, with Joe Wimberly having eight of them. On the other end of the court, the Panthers defense was lights out as well, surrendering only eight points in the period.

The Eagles responded in the second quarter and scored 18 points in the period, but Pelham countered with 20 points during that same time.  Going into the half, Pelham held a 42-26 lead.

The Panthers defense came out solid in the third quarter, holding Calera scoreless from the field with their only three points of the quarter coming from the free throw line.

Going into the final period, Pelham held a 53-29 lead, but the Eagles never gave up.

In the final period, Calera scored 19 points to trim the Panther lead. It wouldn’t be enough, however, as Pelham mustered up 13 points of their own to handle Calera and leave with the win.

The Panthers were led in scoring by Dynarian Long with 14, Wimberly with 13 and Sam Tolbert, who pitched in nine.

For Calera, Jayden Hall led the Eagles with 11 points, while Tierren Thomas scored nine points and DJ White and Tavis Hatch had six points each.

The Panthers will be back in action for a crucial road test on Thursday, Nov. 30 when they travel to 7A Prattville with tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Calera will start a four-game homestand on the game night against Gardendale at 7 p.m.

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