HANCEVILLE A historic run has come to an end.
The Clay-Chalkville boys, in their first-ever appearance in a regional final, suffered a hard-fought 48-41 loss to Scottsboro on Wednesday at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville, ending their season at 21-5 overall.
The Wildcats led for all but nine seconds of the game after jumping out to an 8-0 advantage in the opening minutes. Clay-Chalkville senior Skyler Smith gave his boys their first and only lead at 41-40 with 2:10 remaining in the contest. However, his go-ahead 3-pointer was immediately answered by a B.J. Harris jumper that put Scottsboro back on top for good with 2:01 left in the Northwest Regional final.
By Erik Harris, sports editor
PINSON It was a hot start that propelled the Clay-Chalkville boys on Saturday night in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs, as the No.6-ranked Cougars handled Muscle Shoals 58-40.
The home team, thanks to a mix of inside muscle and outside rhythm, rolled out to a 10-0 start that led to a fluffy 18-2 advantage going into the second frame. Senior Skyler Smith started the scoring with a deep splash which preceded back-to-back inside jumpers from Donovan Shangase and Jonathan Harris. Justin Omar punctuated the early push on a second-chance kickout to the corner midway through the first.