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Shelby County survived early and late rallies from Westminster OM to secure the victory in the county battle. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Wildcats faced a tough test at home on Tuesday, Dec. 10 as they took on the Class 2A Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights in a county matchup.

In the end, Shelby County survived but got all it could handle in a 59-51 win over Westminster at Shelby County High School.

The Knights emerged in control in the early minutes, using six points from Currin Carter and a couple of baskets from Clayton Connor to lead the way for an offense that scored 20 points in the opening quarter.

Shelby County also had some early success but was largely limited to the deep ball, getting 3-pointers from Nate Byrne, Sutton Reed and Parker Oden but only three points from elsewhere on the floor, leading to a 20-12 deficit after the first quarter.

The Wildcats defense locked in during the second quarter and was able to regain some traction. Allowing just eight points in the second and keeping Westminster off the 3-point line allowed Shelby County to start making its way back in the game.

Tyson Duncan led a balanced attack that saw six different scorers find the bottom of the net. Unlike the first quarter, only one basket came from behind the arc, but the increased volume of scoring allowed the Wildcats to win the quarter 14-8 and chip into the halftime deficit, which sat at just 28-26.

Shelby County found even more success in the third quarter as it built off its momentum before the team headed to the locker room.

The Wildcats grabbed hold of the lead after keeping the Knights very quiet in the third quarter, with a David Seller 3-pointer and two free throws from Sam Carter representing their only five points in the period.

With the opportunity to get back out in front now firmly in their reach, Shelby County didn’t waste its chance. Reed knocked down another pair of 3-pointers to get into double figures and five other Wildcats joined him to score 18 points, giving the team a 44-32 lead at the end of the third.

Westminster would not go away quietly though.

Carter erupted from deep, scoring four 3-pointers in the fourth after being held scoreless since the opening quarter, and Canaan Hill and Thomas Fleming also scored to put pressure on Shelby County.

The Wildcats used a pair of 3-pointers from Byrne and Ryan Sipes along with a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line to seal the win down the stretch.

Reed led Shelby County with 12 points, all of which came off of 3-pointers. Duncan and Sipes each scored eight points, Byrne had six points and Montez White and Donovan Portis each finished with four points.

As for the Knights, Carter scored a game-high 18 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Thomas Fleming earned eight points, Seller finished with six points and Sam Carter, Sam Lipperd and Clayton each had four points.

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