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Pelham’s third-quarter offensive outburst helped the Panthers outpace the Montevallo Bulldogs for their first win of the season. (For the Reporter/Tracy Wood Franklin)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers are officially in the win column for the first time this season with a victory in a county matchup between two teams with deep ties to each other.

Pelham defeated Montevallo 68-50 on Thursday, Nov. 14 at Pelham High School as Panthers coach Greg Dickinson got the better of his former side in the Bulldogs.

In the opening quarter of the game, Pelham proved to be the stronger side, outpacing Montevallo 12-8 in the first with baskets from five different scorers, including four points from Greyson Childress and a 3-pointer from Jacob Gibbs.

Nahjear Russell’s four points for the Bulldogs helped keep it a two-possession game entering the second quarter.

The offensive pace for both teams continued into the second quarter as Andy Olds, Sam Tolbert, Eli Lewis, Trey Pittman and Jordan Winston all knocked down a field goal for the Panthers.

As for Montevallo, Demeco Gibson took over, scoring six points in the second after a scoreless first quarter.

Pelham outscored the Bulldogs 13-9 in the second quarter to grow the halftime lead to 25-17.

From there, both offenses hit their second gear in the third quarter, but the Panthers continued to operate a step above Montevallo and started to pull away even more.

Continuing to operate with a balanced attack, Pelham scored 23 points in the third as nine different scorers got in on the action. Olds led the way with five points, Kendall Smith and Childress both hit a 3-pointer and the team went a combined 5-for-10 from the foul stripe.

While Gibson and Dee Cutts helped the Bulldogs respond on the other end of the floor, their team’s 15 third-quarter points were not enough to keep pace with Pelham.

As a result, the Panthers took a 48-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

Both offenses traded blows down the stretch, with Pelham continuing to involve much of its players even as it dug into its bench with the game in hand. Smith scored five points to add to his total and Kyle O’Neil hit a 3-pointer and a free throw to score four points in the fourth.

Montevallo did much of its damage on the free throw line, going 6-for-11 in the final quarter as Cutts spearheaded the offense with an eight-point effort.

The Bulldogs’ 18-point fourth quarter was outmatched by 20 points from the Panthers, and the hosts walked away with the 18-point victory for their maiden win of the season.

Olds and Sam Tolbert tied for the team-high with 10 points apiece, Childress scored nine points, Smith and Gibbs had eight points each and Pittman earned seven points.

As for Montevallo, Cutts and Gibson scored 16 points each, Buck Ross earned eight points and Russell had six points.

The Panthers followed the game up with a 61-47 loss on the road to the Shades Valley Mounties on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Pelham will look to bounce back from that loss on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Class 7A Hewitt-Trussville.

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