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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

LINEVILLE – The Briarwood Christian Lions ended their regular season area slate on a high note as they took care of business on the road in Lineville.

Briarwood defeated the Central Volunteers of Clay County 60-41 on Friday, Jan. 24 at Central High School to sweep the season series between the area foes.

After the teams were deadlocked at the end of the first quarter, the big difference maker came from the Lions’ second-quarter rally, outscoring the Vols 17-3 to take a double-digit lead that they would hold until the end.

Briarwood started out solid on the offensive end, getting 3-pointers from Charlie Caldwell and Sam Canale and four points from Garrett Witherington to keep pace with Central in the first quarter.

The Vols got two 3-pointers of their own and matched the Lions’ offensive output to leave the teams tied at 12-12 at the end of the first.

Drew Mears and Caldwell provided the spark in the second quarter to change all of the momentum.

After scoring inside the arc once during the first quarter, Mears knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and made his first free throw of the night to give him seven points for the second quarter. Caldwell added five points to his total, including his second 3-pointer of the night.

Eli Thompson and Eli Stubbs also joined the scoring party with field goals, and the Lions backed up that offensive effort on the defensive end by surrendering just three points.

As a result, Briarwood took a 29-15 lead into the halftime break.

That lead proved crucial as the Vols came out of the locker room with a renewed offensive effort. The hosts dropped 14 points in the third quarter, but they couldn’t cut into the Lions lead.

That’s because Stubbs and Mears each scored seven points in the third quarter, with all of Stubbs’ points coming from the field and Mears’ coming from a 3-pointer and a 4-for-6 stretch from the free throw line.

Briarwood extended its lead to 45-29 going into the fourth quarter, and it held control over the game down the stretch as well.

The 3-pointers kept falling for the Lions as Mears scored a pair of deep shots in the fourth while Canale and Tory Smith each hit long range balls as well.

In the end, the Lions finished off the 19-point win to close out area play in victorious fashion.

Mears led the way with a game-high 23 points. Stubbs scored nine points, Caldwell earned eight points, Canale posted six points and Smith and Witherington each ended the game with five points.

Briarwood improved to 17-9 overall and 4-2 in area play with the win. The Lions will finish out the regular season against the Mountain Brook Spartans on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Briarwood Christian School ahead of the area tournament at Sylacauga.