By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – Since Dec. 8 the Montevallo Bulldogs have won three games, two by an average of 22 points and one in overtime, to advance to 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in area play. Montevallo, which is ranked as the No. 4 team in 4A currently, beat West Blocton on Dec. 8 by a final of 52-36 and beat Tarrant on Dec. 9 76-49 before surviving against a tough Calera team 87-83 in overtime on Dec. 11.

Against West Blocton, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter, and led 31-8 at halftime, to effectively end the game after two quarters. The Montevallo starters had a light night, and Tae’ Smith led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds while Tavarus Hall contributed 10 points and five boards as well.

One night later against Tarrant the story was the same. The Bulldogs poured in 43 first-half points and limited Tarrant to just 18, nine in each of the first two quarters. Hall was the leading scorer on the second half of the back-to-back with 18 points and seven rebounds while Smith added 14 points and nine boards and Daqwan Bryant added 11 points as well.

The first time that Montevallo and Calera squared off this season on Nov. 30, Montevallo won by a single point, 80-79, in the closest game of the season for either the Bulldogs or the Eagles. The second meeting of the year took extra time to decide, as the two were all square at 75 apiece at the end of the fourth quarter. The Eagles have given Montevallo problems this season with their superior size and rebound ability, and it took special efforts from Smith, Hall and Undreaz Lilly to get the four-point, 87-83 overtime win.

Smith had 26 points to lead all scorers and also pulled down 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double while 24 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and four blocks for his most well-rounded game of the season. Lilly also poured in a season-high 21 points and also grabbed 10 boards and was the third player in the game to finish with a double-double for Montevallo. The three combined for 82 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring. CJ Smith led Calera with 14 points and Taric Wright, who had 13.