KIMBERLY The Clay-Chalkville boys have forced a coin toss.
With a 55-37 road win over Mortimer Jordan on Friday night, the No. 5-ranked Cougars have created a two-way tie with Pinson Valley atop the Class 6A, Area 12 standings. The crosstown rivals split the regular season series with Pinson Valley claiming the first meeting 61-39, followed by a 59-51 Clay-Chalkville victory three weeks later. Both teams swept their remaining area games over Gardendale and Mortimer Jordan to finish dead even in the final standings.
A coin toss will determine the regular season champion.
“It starts in our locker room,” said Clay-Chalkville head coach Jeremy Monceaux. “These kids have been in our program since the seventh grade all the way through, so there’s an expectation for how they come to work every day. We’ve got eight seniors, they are all unbelievable kids, unbelievable in the classroom and it’s starting to show on the floor as well.”
By Erik Harris, sports editor
PINSON After squeezing into the ASWA top-10 poll for the first time this week, the Clay-Chalkville boys basketball team celebrated with its biggest win of the season.
The No. 10-ranked Cougars (13-4, 3-1) defended their home floor on Thursday night, knocking off second-ranked Pinson Valley 59-51. The win comes in Class 6A, Area 12 play and avenges a 61-39 loss to the Indians (15-3, 4-1) on Jan. 7 at Mike Dutton Gymnasium.
After a back-and-forth opening period, Clay-Chalkville separated a little going into the break thanks to a 16-point second quarter. Senior point guard Donovan Shangase started the surge with two quick baskets in the second, including an and-1 that put his Cougars out front 19-13. They trailed 13-12 when the quarter began.
PINSON The game was tight for three quarters of play, and then Donovan Shangase took over.
The senior point guard led a fourth-quarter push that capped off Clay-Chalkville’s 63-48 home win over Gardendale on Tuesday night. Shangase was one of four Cougars to reach double figures in scoring to pull the Class 6A, Area 12 victory.
“Donovan Shangase is the most underrated player in our area,” said Clay-Chalkville head coach Jeremy Monceaux. “There’s a lot of guys on some other teams that get more publicity, but he’s averaging about 19 points a game. He’s been our guy really for three years and when he has the ball in his hands, you’re a pretty good coach.”
High school basketball action is in full swing. Check below for game-by-game recaps involving local squads.
The Springville boys hit the road on Friday night and came back with a 55-31 area win over Pell City. The Tigers (18-3, 4-1) finished with 15 assists on 22 made field goals as they pulled things out of reach.
Springville started both halves strong with 16 points scored in the first period and 18 points in the third. The visitors led 24-10 at the break and stretched it to 42-17 after three complete.
Jake Goolsby paced the Springville offense with 11 points, followed by Chase Higgins with 10 and Pearson Baldwin with nine. The Tigers have now won 13 straight after falling to Boaz 58-55 two days before Christmas.
Several boys and girls basketball teams were in play on Tuesday night.
The Hewitt-Trussville girls claimed their first Class 7A, Area 6 win on Tuesday night in Hoover. The second-ranked Huskies (18-2, 1-1) bounced back after a 6-point first frame with 16 points in the second and eventually pulled away with a 49-39 victory over No. 6-ranked Spain Park.
Senior Amiya Payne led the way with 20 points to go with 11 from Audreonia Benson and 10 from Jordan Hunter on the road.
Hewitt-Trussville is back in league play on Friday night at Gadsden City.
The Hewitt-Trussville boys slid to 0-2 in Class 7A, Area 6 play on Tuesday night thanks to a 70-44 loss at No. 4 Spain Park.