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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Calera Eagles are heading in a positive direction thanks to securing two victories over the course of four days.

Calera defeated the Jemison Panthers 63-46 on Friday, Dec. 6 at Jemison High School before heading back home on Monday, Dec. 9 to down the Montevallo Bulldogs 74-59.

While the win over Jemison allowed the Eagles to sweep the season series, the Montevallo victory was revenge for a tight 51-48 loss to the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Dec. 3 in buzzer-beater fashion.

With the heartbreak of that close defeat fresh in their minds, Calera set out to get back on the right track against Jemison on Friday.

The Eagles had a balanced offensive attack right from the start and continued to ride it on to victory.

Five different Calera players combined for 12 points in the first quarter, which went toe-to-toe with Jemison to end the opening period in a 12-12 tie.

With the momentum lying in the balance, the Eagles seized control of the game, limiting the Panthers to just six points in the second quarter while using the opening to grab the lead on offense.

As Darian Hamilton led the way with four points in the quarter, Calera continued to spread the ball around on offense and took a 25-18 lead into the halftime break.

Jemison kept hanging around as it got multiple chances at the free throw line and went 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in the quarter, accounting for over half of the team’s 13 third-quarter points.

However, the Eagles continued to make shots from the field as Cayden Specks got on the scoresheet with three field goals and Jamarcus Adams hit a pair of shots as well.

That grew Calera’s lead to 41-31 at the end of the third quarter, and the Eagles slammed the door shut soon after.

Calera’s offense erupted for 22 points in the fourth quarter as Jeremiah Keller and Garrett Mahone led seven different scorers in the period, outscoring the Panthers by 13 during that span.

That helped the Eagles secure the 17-point bounce-back victory.

Keller led the way for Calera with 11 points, six of which came in the fourth quarter. Specks and Keegan Johnson each finished with 10 points and Adams and Carlos Wisenhunt posted nine points each. Hamilton also had six points in the win.

The Eagles took that momentum into the home leg of a two-game series against Montevallo.

Calera came firing out of the gate on offense. Mahone was lights out from deep, knocking down three first-quarter 3-pointers to ignite the Eagles attack while Specks also hit two shots from the field as well.

While the Bulldogs were able to get some points on the board on offense, Calera outpaced them and took a 19-12 lead into the second quarter.

The Eagles continued to involve a large part of their roster in their offense, with Wisenhunt and Hamilton stepping up to lead the way in the second quarter. Mahone also hit another 3-pointer to get him into double figures for the first half.

Buck Ross continued to spearhead the Montevallo attack as he scored two more field goals to get to eight points for the first half. However, Calera once again outscored the Bulldogs and held a 36-23 lead going into halftime.

After being held to just four points in the first half, Dee Cutts provided a spark for the Montevallo offense in the third quarter. The man who had the buzzer-beating dagger just six days prior to this meeting scored nine points in the opening eight minutes of the half to pace the offense.

The Eagles continued to pull away though as Hamilton eclipsed the 10-point mark for the game and Keller scored his first two baskets of the game, leading six different scorers for the Calera offense.

That helped the Eagles go up 53-36 ahead of the fourth quarter, which effectively put the game in their hands.

Montevallo kept fighting until the end, scoring 23 points in the fourth as Ross dropped 11 points and Cutts and Nahjear Russell each scored five points before the final whistle blew.

Calera was more than happy to engage in a track meet as the teams combined for 44 points in the fourth quarter with the result effectively decided. However, that gave players like Mahone, Wisenhunt and Keller leave one final mark on the game before the Eagles finished off the 15-point win.

Mahone led Calera with 20 points including five 3-pointers. Hamilton scored 14 points, Wisenhunt had 12 points, Keller earned 10 points, Specks dropped eight points and Johnson posted five points.

As for the Bulldogs, Ross finished with 19 points, Cutts scored 18 points, Russell secured double-figures with a 12-point evening and Keiston Ross had eight points.

The Eagles will have a quick turnaround as they will travel to West Blocton on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Montevallo is instead off until Friday, Dec. 13 when it travels across the county to Briarwood Christian for a 7:30 p.m. rematch of a highly entertaining opening night battle.