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The Chelsea Hornets took down county foe Helena on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to claim the area championship for the second year in a row and earn a home sub-regional game. (For the Reporter/Robert Dean)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

CHELSEA – For the second year in a row, the Chelsea Hornets were able to hoist a trophy in the air as fans surrounded them in celebration after claiming the area tournament championship on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

The Hornets, who fell into an early 7-0 hole, used a 19-0 run between the first and second quarters that gave them the confidence they needed to propel themselves to a hard-fought 52-47 win to claim the title and earn a home sub-regional game.

That early deficit saw Helena get off to a hot start in the first seven minutes of the game on both ends of the floor, but Chelsea overcame the offensive woes in furious fashion.

The Hornets closed the period with a 14-0 run to storm in front with a 14-7 advantage going to the second quarter.

With momentum fully in their favor, they carried that confidence into the second quarter with two made free throws and a 3-pointer from Brandon Griffith.

Helena’s Torrey Ward finally ended the dreaded run with a layup on the other end to trim the Chelsea lead to 10 points at 19-9.

And a game of runs continued from there.

The Huskies went on a 13-3 run that saw them pull within two points before a back-and-forth spurt ended the half, including a layup from Aiden Owens to put Chelsea in front by five before Elijah Hudson then quickly took the ensuing inbound pass coast to coast for a layup at the buzzer to make it a 26-23 game at the break.

From there, the game took on a much tighter approach in the second half with Chelsea maintaining a lead throughout the third quarter but by 2-4 points until Jordan Garcia buried a 3-pointer late in the period to make it 40-33 going to the fourth.

That three seemed to spark the Hornets, who knew they had put the pressure on with one quarter separating them from the title on their home floor.

Chelsea capitalized by taking a 10-point lead at 45-35 within the first 3:30 of the period, but Helena had an answer throughout the night to remain within striking distance and that continued in the final quarter.

The Huskies trimmed it down to seven before falling behind again by nine with 3:30 left to play, but a big spurt that saw Nate Ferguson bury a three and Ward power his way to an and-1 was part of a 9-2 run that quickly brought them within three points.

Chelsea again extended the lead back to six points, but Ferguson hit another crucial 3-pointer with a minute remaining that made it 50-47.

That, however, was as close as Helena could get the rest of the way.

Garcia hit two free throws on the ensuing trip to the free throw line and chaotic play on the other end of the floor led to that being the final points scored in the 52-47 victory for Chelsea.

The Hornets were led by 14 points from Garcia in the win, while Owens added 13. Owens was also named the area tournament MVP.

Chelsea will now take on Calera at Chelsea this Saturday night for a spot in the Class 6A Sweet 16 next week, while Helena will travel to Benjamin Russell.

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