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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

Then, there were 16.

Chilton County High School’s varsity boy’s basketball team made sure they were one of those 16 teams remaining in the AHSAA Class 6A state playoffs by taking down Helena High School 63-52 on Feb. 14. The win locks the Tigers into the Sweet 16 round that will take place at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham.

Senior guard Jakobe Worthy led the Tigers with 15 points and knocked down four 3-pointers on the road to secure the win. Worthy went 4-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line, and added six rebounds and four assists to his totals.

“Our seniors really stepped up, and our guards played so well last night,” CCHS coach Austin Moncus said. “They were downhill all night, making plays for other guys and going into an environment like that in the first round of the playoffs is tough.”

CCHS came out of the gates quickly on Helena and built a significant double-digit lead at halftime. Latavion Floyd had a double-double tallying 12 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting effort and 12 rebounds. He had four blocks in the game as well.

“Our guys were locked in, and I thought we had a good game plan going in and the guys stuck to it, executed it and trusted each other,” Moncus said.

The Tigers were able to withstand any Helena run in the second half to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 round. Seniors Jakeveon Bolding and Jamon Dejarnett each had 11 points for the Tigers. Bolding added three rebounds and two assists and steals, and Dejarnett had six assists.

Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa awaits CCHS in the Sweet 16 round that will take place on Feb. 16 at 10:30 a.m. at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham. Hillcrest is the Class 6A Area 7 runner-up and advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 62-51 win over Hueytown High School in the subregionals.

In Moncus’ four years coaching at CCHSs the Tigers have been to the state playoffs three of the four years, but never to the Sweet 16.

“It means a lot to me … Going to the playoffs last year and to the Sweet 16 this year is a program builder,” Moncus said. “It is something you can build off of and something you preach to your guys that if you do things the right way, good things happen. They have put the work in, and they have done everything we have asked them to do. I am glad they are getting rewarded for their hard work.”