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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

HOOVER – On a night where both teams were looking to pick up their first area win, the Spain Park Jaguars used their long-range shooting ability to lift them to a win over the Helena Huskies.

Spain Park defeated Helena 54-43 on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Spain Park High School, earning the first area victory of the DJ Black era.

The first quarter was slow on both sides of the court as neither team could get shots to fall. Nonetheless, Walker Coxhead hit the big shot of the quarter for the Jags, knocking down a 3-pointer. Josh Fonbah, Sam Fox and Garrett Gorman all added two points each.

On the other hand, the Huskies’ points truly came at a premium as Joseph King and Torrey Ward were the only ones to put up points in the quarter, making it a 9-4 Spain Park advantage at the end of one.

The shots started to fall in the second quarter however as the Jags started to find their stroke, especially from distance. Spain Park hit three 3-point shots in the period from Fonbah, Coxhead and Harrison Stewart, helping give the rest of the team momentum.

While Kevin Pinkard was able to respond back with a deep shot of his own, it was not enough for Helena to pose a threat at the end of the first half. As a result, those 3-pointers helped the Jags earn a 27-16 lead.

Spain Park rode that momentum out of halftime as Coxhead and Gorman kept the party going with two more 3-point baskets. Fonbah also knocked down four more points, helping to keep things going.

Things started to turn around for the Huskies as well, as Denton McDonald not only got on the scoreboard, but made some major noise in doing so. McDonald put down two 3-point buckets in the third quarter, as well as two more points to secure eight for the period.

Ward also kept his night going with four more points added to his total. It seemed that Helena needed something much bigger than that though, despite the big push, as the Jags took a 41-30 lead into the fourth.

Spain Park was determined to not let that happen, and it did so successfully.

The Jags took 12 free throws in the final period of play and converted on nine of them, helping to keep themselves at a steady distance despite the Huskies’ Drew Davis putting up six in that frame. As a result, Spain Park secured the 11-point victory and a win in area play.

Fonbah and Coxhead tied for being the top scorer on the night, each putting up 13 points for the Jaguars. Stewart also contributed in a big way, dropping nine points of his own while Gorman scored seven and Quinn Davis knocked down six, including three from the charity stripe.

McDonald led Helena on the scoreboard with 10 points for the game. Ward dropped nine on the night, while King continued his scoring ways with eight. In addition, Pinkard and Davis both put up six points each, and Nate Ferguson scored four.

Spain Park improves to 8-14 on the year and 1-1 in area play. The Jags will stay home for its third area game, taking on the Chelsea Hornets on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. at Spain Park High School.

Meanwhile, the Huskies fall to 10-8 on the year and 0-2 in the area. They will head back home to host the Pelham Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m., looking for their first victory of 2025.