By JORDON SEMIEN / Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER—The Thompson High School Warriors Boys Varsity played host to their Region rivals the Pelham High Panthers in an early season collision of heavyweight contenders. The Warriors boasted home court advantage, but the Panthers remained undaunted, riding a second half surge from 6’9” junior Alex Reese, upsetting Thompson 49-38 in a thrilling match up. Both student sections came with an energy not unlike a playoff game as both teams took the court.

A defensive battle from the opening tip, the Panthers and the Warriors played for possession and positioning, with Reese and Pelham Senior Cole Whitman going to work in the paint against Thompson’s Senior big men Michael Freeman and Matt Huls. The first points of the night went to Pelham’s Devin Jenkins as he drained a three-point attempt and drew a foul from Warrior Senior Reggie Chambers; Jenkins hit his free throw attempt, completing a four-point play for an early Panthers lead.

Despite a foul plagued opening stanza, the Warriors retained a 22-17 lead at the end of the first half of play, thanks in part to the efforts of Freeman and Huls who combined to finish the night with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Drew Thomas’s 10 points and team high seven rebounds. The Panthers came out of the halftime break with a new fire, led by Reese and Whitman. Reese led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Whitman’s 12 points; the duo hauled in a total 16 rebounds as they shut the door on Thompson’s furious comeback attempt, winning 49-38.

Panthers’ head coach Joel Floyd addressed his star’s big night after the game, saying, “He just found a way and he put his will onto the game and that was good for us to see, because he struggled the last game too. He came out tonight and just found a way to put an impact on the game.”

The rivalry win wasn’t lost on Coach Floyd either as he added, “Every time we play each other, it’s going to be a battle. They did a great job; they were prepared tonight to play really well. I was proud of the effort from both teams and we just came out and executed in the second half in a way that we weren’t early on.