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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – The Helena Huskies continued their strong start to the season and nearly walked away with silverware in the process as they made a deep run at the Discover Shelby Thompson Thanksgiving Invitational.

Helena defeated the Wilcox Central Jaguars 62-39 and the Briarwood Christian Lions 62-40 to advance to the tournament finals at Thompson High School, where they fell 78-68 in overtime to the Thompson Warriors.

The Huskies remained largely in control in their win over Wilcox Central, taking a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter as Drew Davis led the charge with six points during that span.

He continued to make an impact in the second quarter with seven points in the second quarter to get himself into double figures, joining contributions from multiple other Huskies on the offensive end.

However, the Jaguars made their move on the other end of the floor, bouncing back from scoring just eight points in the first quarter by tallying 16 in the second. That helped them outscore Helena 16-14 in the second quarter and cut the halftime deficit to 28-24.

The Huskies bounced back in the third quarter and pulled away on both ends of the court. Davis added seven points to his total to reach the 20-point mark while Denton McDonald and Nate Ferguson scored four points apiece.

In all, Helena outscored Wilcox Central 19-7 in the third quarter to take the lead to 47-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Huskies continued to pile on the points in the fourth quarter with six different players finding the bottom of the net. That helped them secure the 62-39 win and advance to the winner’s bracket semifinals.

Davis finished the game with 22 points. Joseph King and Ferguson each scored eight points, Tyler Anderson and McDonald both earned seven points apiece and Torrey Ward added on six points.

Helena had a similar strong start in the semifinals against Briarwood as the Huskies took an early 12-6 lead over their former area foes. Davis led the way with five points in the opening quarter to help Helena take a two-possession lead into the second quarter.

However, the Lions quickly flipped the script, outscoring the Huskies 20-15 in the second quarter. Tory Smith scored seven points after going scoreless in the opening quarter while Eli Thompson and Sam Canale each hit multiple baskets.

Their offensive contributions helped fend off another strong quarter from Davis on Helena’s side and slash the deficit to one point heading into halftime.

With the Huskies only leading 27-26 at the start of the third, they locked in on the defensive side, quieting Briarwood’s hot hands and allowing just one basket from the field and six points total in the third.

Helena countered that with a balanced scoring effort as five scorers combined for 16 points, extending the lead to 43-32 at the end of the third quarter.

That helped the Huskies take firm control of the lead, and they pulled away from there. King, Ferguson and Davis all powered Helena to a big offensive finish, adding 13 more points to the lead to advance to the finals.

Davis led the team with 18 points, Ferguson scored 15 points, King joined them in double figures with 12 points and Ward recorded seven points in the win.

In the finals against Thompson, Helena took the fight to the tournament hosts after defeating the Warriors at home just a few days prior.

After Thompson took a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Huskies chipped into the lead over the next two periods. King led the final push to get Helena in the lead with 13 points in the third quarter to take a 50-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

However, the Warriors took charge in the fourth, rallying to leave the score tied heading into the final moments. That was when a play at the rim as time expired was called for a charge foul on the Huskies, negating the potential tournament winner and forcing overtime.

In the extra period, both teams hit a plethora of shots in hopes of grabbing the win, but Thompson’s free throw and 3-point shooting pushed the hosts to the 10-point win to claim the tournament title.

King led the Huskies with 25 points. McDonald earned 12 points, Elijah Hudson scored nine points, Kevin Pinkard had seven points, Davis and Ward each scored six points and Ferguson rounded out the team with five points.

Helena will return to the court on Tuesday, Dec. 3 when the Huskies travel to face the Gardendale Rockets at 7:30 p.m.