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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Helena Huskies sent off a landmark 2024 for their program with a big win over a Class 7A opponent.

Helena defeated the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats 52-30 on Monday, Dec. 30 at Helena High School to end the calendar year with a victory.

The win came after a 1-1 stretch at the Husky Holiday Shootout, which featured a 41-33 win over Hewitt-Trussville and a 45-42 loss to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, as well as a 47-45 defeat to Opelika on Dec. 28.

The Huskies brushed off the two one-possession losses with a strong start at home against the Wildcats that they built off throughout the game to secure the win.

Joseph King, Denton McDonald and Nate Ferguson stepped up to lead the offense in the first quarter as each of them hit multiple baskets in the opening period.

With multiple offensive weapons hitting shots for Helena, it proved hard for Tuscaloosa County to keep up as the Huskies took a 19-12 lead into the second quarter.

The defensive intensity stepped up from there with the Wildcats scoring just seven points in the second. Helena dropped 13 in response highlighted by Elijah Hudson’s first five points of the day, which helped the hosts build out a 32-19 lead heading into the halftime break.

That double-digit deficit soon became an impossible hill for Tuscaloosa County to climb after the Huskies held the Wildcats scoreless for the entire third quarter.

On the other end of the floor, Kevin Pinkard and McDonald paced the offense and extended the lead to 44-19 by the end of the quarter.

From there, Helena cruised to victory as Tuscaloosa County chipped into the deficit but couldn’t overcome it, giving the Huskies a 22-point lead to finish out a 2024 that included an area title and a trip to the Final Four.

Pinkard led Helena with 10 points, McDonald and King each scored nine points, Ferguson posted six points, Hudson and Cash Gallahan finished with five points each and Torrey Ward had four points in the win.

The Huskies enter 2025 with a 10-6 record and will start Class 6A, Area 8 play on the road against Chelsea on Friday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.