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C.J. Smith posted 20 points for Calera in a 69-62 victory against county opponent Montevallo on Tuesday, Dec. 4. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

CALERA – The Calera Eagles were able to hold off a furious fourth-quarter rally from Montevallo to pick up a 69-62 victory against the county-foe Bulldogs on Tuesday, Dec. 4, in front of a home crowd honoring senior Chandler Smith who was in a car accident on Sunday, Dec. 2.

The Eagles posted to social media saying the game on Tuesday was dedicated in Smith’s honor as he recovers from the accident.

Calera (5-4) held a strong 61-36 lead heading to the final quarter, but Montevallo (3-4, 1-0) outscored the Eagles 26-8 in the period to come back and make things interesting, before the Eagles closed out the win.

The Eagles’ first three quarters, however, were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome thanks to a strong offensive presence from the home team.

Point guard C.J. Smith started his 20-point night with a dominant first quarter posting 11 of Calera’s 16 points in the period. The Eagles also shot 6-8 from the free throw line in the quarter to help in the fast start.

The defense for the Eagles also stepped up limiting Montevallo to just two made 3-pointers and three made free throws in the period, which gave Calera a 16-9 lead heading to the second quarter.

That’s when the game really took a turn in the home team’s favor.

Calera was able to put up 25 points in the period thanks to seven more points from Smith as well as points from seven other players in the quarter as the Eagles shot 6-8 from the free throw line again.

Montevallo upped its presence offensively posting 15 points thanks to aggressive play that got the Bulldogs to the free throw line. They were able to knock down nine of their 12 shots from the stripe in the period, but they still went into the half down 41-24.

That trend continued into the second half as Calera’s offense just continued to wear down the Montevallo defense with 20 more points in the third quarter.

This time, it was thanks to Laparris Whatley, who posted more than half of the Eagles’ points in the period with 11. He was joined by four other scorers.

Montevallo’s Kavounte Britton tried to keep his team within grasp thanks to a nine-point quarter, but the Eagles had nonetheless extended their lead to 61-36 heading to the final period.

That’s when Kial Cottingham got to flash his skillset in a comeback effort for the Bulldogs.

Cottingham went on to knock down seven field goals in the fourth quarter for all of his 15 points in the game. His effort was part of a 26-point final period that saw the Bulldogs pull within single digits thanks to limiting Calera to just eight points in the period.

Montevallo, however, went 0-3 from the free throw line in the quarter, which didn’t help. The Bulldogs still were able to show an impressive effort in the comeback attempt before the Eagles went on to win 69-62.

Smith’s 20 points were a game high, while Whatley ended the night with 11 points and Christian Hall nine points.

Montevallo was led by Britton with 17 points, while Cottingham was just behind with his 15 points in the final period. Michael Jones and Jamarius Carter had nine and eight points, respectively.

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