By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

The Jemison Panther boys varsity basketball team played host to the Calera Eagles on Tuesday night in a Highway 31 showdown.

While the Eagles topped the Panthers on the gridiron this past season, the Panthers got the better of the Eagles on the court, 60-55.

“I talked to a lot of people around here, and they did not remember the last time we defeated them,” JHS coach Stacy McGehee said.

The Panthers (6-3), led by B.J. Kornegay’s hot 3-point shooting, took a slim 17-14 lead at the end of the first period, and they were able to carry that momentum to the halftime break with a lead 35-23 over the Eagles (1-5).

Calera outscored host JHS in the second half, 32-25, but the Panthers were able to hold on.

Austin Lovette led the Panthers with 16 points, Kornegay had 12 and Jacob Hatch posted 10 points.

Kornegay also had nine rebounds, two steals and four assists.

Lovette dished out four assists, and Kortlin Zeigler blocked three shots.

Jemison’s varsity girls, meanwhile, played host to Calera with hopes of extending their two game winning streak.

But turnovers cost the Panthers (4-4) throughout the game as they were unable to solve the defense of the Eagles (4-2) in a 53-27 loss.

Calera jumped out on the Panthers early in the first half, building an 11-point lead, and the Eagles would never look back as they made their lead 19 at the end of the third period and cruised to the win.

Laura Vinzant of Jemison led all scorers, shooting 6-of-9 from the field for 14 points.

Shelby Griffin added six points for Jemison. The visiting Eagles had four players in double digits.

Both sets of Panthers are scheduled to take on Montevallo Thursday evening.