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Chelsea handled Pelham for its second-straight area win behind great games from Aiden Owens and Jordan Garcia. (File)

By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – The scoring tandem of Aiden Owens and Jordan Garcia was too much for the Pelham Panthers to handle, as Chelsea cruised to a comfortable 45-30 win on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Chelsea High School.

The game was low-scoring due to both teams employing an aggressive defensive style. However, Chelsea used several momentous plays, including a pair of poster dunks from Owens, to leave Tuesday night with a victory.

Owens scored 19 points on the night, while Garcia added 15. They were the only Hornets to score in double-figures, as the pair’s two-man game was more than enough to defeat Pelham.

Kendall Smith was the lone Panther to score in double-figures for the Panthers. His creative attacking style on offense led to 11 points on the night, including six from the free-throw line.

The game, much like the women’s contest earlier Tuesday evening, began with an impressive 12-4 run by Chelsea. Both teams played tight defense early, with the score knotted at 2-2 with 4:40 left in the first.

Jordan Garcia hit a contested three to make it 5-2, but Egypt Daniel was the recipient of a highlight-reel alley-oop that cut the deficit to 5-4.

A rough stretch for Pelham followed. The Hornets pushed the lead to 9-4 off a pair of baskets before Aiden Owens hit an impressive 3 at the buzzer to push the lead to 12-4 at the end of the first.

Between the first and second quarters, an argument between the head official and the Panthers scorekeeper arose after various foul calls in the first quarter, leading to his removal as scorekeeper.

The game was stopped for five minutes to sort out the chaos, as coaches, players and fans alike from Pelham all expressed their displeasure to the referee crew.

After the game resumed, Chelsea took advantage of the lull to push their lead to 22-4. Owens had a monster dunk, and Garcia punctuated the Hornets run with a contested and-1 layup.

The Panthers began to string together stops near the end of the second quarter, narrowing the deficit and creating a 27-11 halftime score.

Momentum began to swing in favor of Pelham in the third quarter. The Panthers created several turnovers and started the half on an 8-2 run to make the score 29-19.

Aiden Owens then hit a crucial and-1 to push the lead back to 12 points. He then punctuated the quarter with a poster dunk that electrified the Hornets faithful.

The score headed to the fourth and final period was 33-22. Both offenses cooled off in the fourth, as Chelsea only scored 12 points while Pelham only scored 8. The Panthers offense was hesitant to shoot the 3-ball, and the Hornets dominated time of possession to stave off a Panther comeback.

Chelsea will travel to Spain Park on Thursday, Jan. 9 to face the Jaguars. Pelham will travel to Helena on Thursday, Jan. 9 to face the Helena Huskies.

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