Shelby County High School’s running back combination of Tae Lewis and Darion Sutton is bringing their success to the basketball court.

Lewis scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats past the Vincent Yellow Jackets in the semifinal of the Vincent Thanksgiving tournament Nov. 26. Sutton led in other areas with 10 rebounds, seven steals and five assists.

“Tae and Sutton give us a toughness that I thought we didn’t have the last couple of years,” Shelby County head coach Charles Dickinson said.

That toughness allowed the ’Cats to rally from a 23-8 deficit in the first quarter against Vincent.

“They came out and didn’t pressure us through the first quarter and we took advantage of it,” Vincent head coach Stacy McGehee said.

But SCHS adjusted and raised the tempo of the game to chip away at the Yellow Jacket lead. A lot of that has to do with attitude, Dickinson said.

“It’s the same guys and you know, winning kind of stays with you,” Dickinson said of his players that went 10–0 during the regular season of football.

Shelby County adavanced to the final against Anniston on Nov. 28, but fell, 66-56. The ’Cats opened the tournament with a 79-56 victory over Keith High School.

B.J. Hamilton led Vincent in the semifinal with 22 points, followed by Devanta Williams’ 12 points.