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BY BRANDON SUMRALL/Special to the Advertiser

Two North Chilton teams came home with county basketball titles, as the Thorsby girls varsity and Jemison boys B-Team each won the Chilton County Basketball Tournament championship, held in Jemison Jan. 5-10.

The undefeated Thorsby Rebels girls basketball team prolonged its winning streak by one more game as they proved too much for Jemison in a 52-41 win in the Chilton County Basketball Tournament championship game on Saturday.

With the Panthers leading 4-3 early in the first period, Zakeya Robinson powered a five-point swing for the Rebels to give Thorsby a 8-4 lead.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Lilyana Barnett and a free throw by Robinson helped the Rebels to a 15-6 lead at the end of the first period.

Five points from Robinson led the Panthers during a 9-0 run to start the second period and made the score 24-6 early in the second period.

India Satterfield broke the Rebels’ run with a free throw, but another Barnett three-pointer made the Rebels’ lead 27-7.

Karmen Mims added a three-point basket for the Panthers, but it did little to cut into the Rebels’ 36-14 lead at halftime.

Laura Vinzant accounted for seven points in a 13-0 JHS run to start the third period before Barnett ended the run with another three-pointer.

With another Barnett three-pointer, the Rebels led 42-27 with 4:17 to play in the third.

Robinson, Sabrina Ellison and Adison Argent each added baskets that outdid a three-pointer by Vinzant and a Robinson two to make the score 48-32 in favor of the Rebels at the end of the third period.

Maria Flores started the fourth with a basket for the Panthers that was answered by a basket by Ellison.

Ray added another basket for the Panthers, but it was answered by a basket by Ellison.

Mims added another three-pointer for the Panthers, but with just 1:45 to play, it did little as the Rebels held on for the win and the county championship.

Robinson led the Rebels with 19 points, three rebounds and four steals. Barnett added 15 points, including five from three-point range, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block for Thorsby.

Vinzant led the Panthers with 12 points, nine rebounds, five steals and a block.

To get to the title game, the Rebels dispatched the Maplesville Red Devils on Jan 8.

The Panthers’ path to the title game saw the team take on the Chilton County High School Tigers’ and despite a close contest early, the Panthers pulled away down the stretch for a 34-14 win.

The Panthers finished on a 7-2 run and advanced to the championship round to take on the Thorsby Rebels on Jan. 10.

Karmen Mims led the Panthers with 11 points and six rebounds.

Panthers claim B-Team title

Jemison’s Alton Cobb Gymnasium was packed all week long as basketball fans stood shoulder to shoulder to watch each round of the 2015 Chilton County Basketball tournament.

Jan. 10 was no different as a standing room only crowd watched as the Jemison Panthers, Thorsby Rebels and Chilton County Tigers claimed county championships.

The Jemison Panthers and Chilton County Tigers matched up in B-Team action to start the day with the Panthers picking up a hard fought 39-33 win.

Will Johns got the game started with a two-point basket for the Panthers that was quickly answered by Mondez Jones.

Reshaun Davis added another Tigers basket, but a three-pointer from Sam Banks gave Jemison a one-point lead.

With 1:25 to play in the first period, consecutive baskets by Bailey Simmons and Ryan Thompson gave the Panthers a 10-6 lead at the end of the period.

Thompson made the Panthers’ lead six points to start the second period, but Keyshawn Williams cut the lead to four with a three-point basket with 3:45 to play.

Four points from Johns and a free throw by John Banks made the score 20-9 in favor of the Panthers with 0:46 to play in the second period.

Two baskets by Jones took the game to the halftime break with the Panthers leading 20-13.

Williams started the Tigers off with a basket to start the third period that was answered by Johns. Sam Banks and Johns extended the Panther lead to 10 with 3:02 to play in the third.

Patrick Rogers and Jamain Flores cut the lead to seven, but a basket from Thompson made the score 27-18 heading to the fourth period.

With 4:55 left in the game, the Panthers held a 12-point lead when a Giquon Lane three-pointer kicked off an 11-3 Tigers run.

With 1:39 to play, the Panthers clung to a two-point, 35-33 lead, as Johns’ three free throws, along with a Banks free throw, powered the Panthers down the stretch and on to a county championship.

Johns led the Panthers with 18 points, seven rebounds, one steal and six blocks.

Jones led the Tigers with 11 points, five rebounds, four steals and a block.

To make the finals, Chilton County faced the Maplesville Red Devils on Jan. 9. The game went back and forth until the final minutes before the Tigers pulled away for a 37-26 win.

Tyler Williams led the Tigers with seven points and five rebounds.

Nathaniel Watson led the Red Devils with 11 points, 18 rebounds, five steals and a block.

Jemison, Thorsby varsity boys square off in tourney

Boys’ varsity basketball teams from Jemison and Thorsby faced off against one another in the opener of the tournament.

The Panthers made their presence known in the tournament with a big win against Thorsby by a final score of 70-38.

The first quarter started slow with both teams playing tough defense.

However, Jemison jumped on the board with a two-point basket from Shun Strong. It was quickly answered by a three-point basket made by Thorsby’s Benjamin Thornton.

It was the only lead held by Thorsby on the evening, as Jemison went on to outscore Thorsby 21-9 in the first quarter.
Jemison continued to extend its lead and ended the half up, 45-22. The third quarter saw the Panthers light up the scoreboard against Thorsby, ending the quarter with a score of 62-31.

The Rebels never quit throughout the game, but were outmatched by the size and speed of the Jemison Panthers.
Most of Jemison’s points came from underneath the basket from Strong (10 points), Cody Thompson (15), and Kevin Nunn (15).

Jemison was also able to capitalize on the line with 13-of-24 free throws made. Other scorers in the Jemison victory were Mason Jones (eight points), Shawn Poe (six), Tremon Bryant (five), Wesley McGehee (five), Wesley Martin (four), and Trevonte Brown (two).

Thorsby’s top scorers were Brock Higgins (seven points), Christian Fortner (seven), and Thornton (seven). Other players contributing to Thorsby’s score were Noah Byrd (five points), James Sellers (four), Israel Garcia (four), Calvin Plyler (four).

The Panthers moved on to face Verbena, and fell to the Red Devils, 56-51.

-William West contributed to this report.