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By LAUREN SEXTON | Sports Reporter

NORTH SHELBY –  Walking into the locker room with the lights turned off following his team’s 20-point win over Chilton County on Thursday, Feb. 2, all of a sudden, the lights beamed on and Oak Mountain head basketball coach Joel Floyd was surrounded by players night.

Picking up an 86-66 win over the Tigers, the victory marked the 200th win of Floyd’s career, which featured time at Pelham and now Oak Mountain. dousing him with water bottles after a historic 

Floyd, however, wasn’t the only Eagle who reached a career milestone during Oak Mountain’s senior night. Just 12 points shy of becoming the fifth player in the two-decade-long history of the School to reach 1,000 points, Matthew Heiberger passed that threshold within the first few seconds of the second quarter as part of a 33-point night to lead the Eagles.

The Tigers, however, did not make the win easy for Oak Mountain early in the game.

The Eagles saw a slow start to the game as the Tigers posted the first two points of the night. However, soon after Oak Mountain picked up the lead and held it for the majority of the opening quarter. 

As time expired in the opening quarter, Chilton County was able to snatch the lead back with a 3-pointer for a 17-16 lead.

Heiberger led the offensive run for the Eagles in the first quarter after knocking down two baskets inside the arc and two outside the arc. He was just two points shy of hitting the 1,000 mark.

Devan Moss went 2-2 from the free throw line, while Tre Thomas picked up a single free throw and Bobby Laury knocked down a 3-pointer.

Within the first few minutes of the second quarter, the Eagles regained the lead, while Heiberger scored his 1,000th point in the process.

Chilton County sought out possession of the ball and tied the score 32-32 in the last minute of the first half. However, several missed free throws from the Tigers gave Oak Mountain the 36-33 edge before the break.

Out of the break, it became clear that a much more offensively driven senior class returned to the court.

Chilton County was limited to only nine more points before the final quarter, while Oak Mountain nearly doubled its first-half score.

Heiberger exceeded 1,000 points after posting 10 out of Oak Mountain’s 27 points knocked down in the third quarter.

Eli Love posted five points from a field goal, while Jack Ronilo and Moss both went 2-2 from the free throw line. Grey Williams and Will O’Dell both picked up three points. Kevin Jaskinski tacked on two.

Chilton County outscored Oak Mountain by a single point in the fourth quarter, however, the Eagles still closed with 23 points to pick up Floyd’s 200th win with an 86-66 final score.

Heiberger led the final offensive run of the night with three baskets inside the paint and one outside the arc. 

Camden Spangler and Ronilo both posted three points each outside the arc. Emanuel Johnson, Braxton DiOrio, Sawyer Smith and Thomas totaled a combined eight points.

Every single Oak Mountain player. Heiberger led with 33 points, while Laury followed Heiberger with nine points. Moss tacked on eight and Jasinski added six.

Oak Mountain’s final regular season game is Friday, Jan. 3 at Helena.