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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ADAMSVILLE – The 2024-25 basketball season kicked off with a longtime rivalry as a pair of close neighbors in Shelby County duked it out at Minor High School during its Veterans Day Showcase.

In the end, the Thompson Warriors prevailed over the Pelham Panthers 87-78 on Monday, Nov. 11 to win in their season opener.

The win was extra special for Thompson coach Major Deacon as it was his first victory as the head coach of the Warriors, a team he previously served as an assistant for under Dru Powell.

On the court, Carson McKenney and Ethan Hudson paced the offense on the floor with nine points from McKenney and six from Hudson in the first quarter. In addition, Jaden Love went 5-for-5 from the free throw line to help the Warriors score 22 points in the opening period.

However, Pelham kept it close on the foul stripe, going 9-for-14 in the first quarter alone. Andy Olds scored six points on his former team during the first eight minutes while Jayden Robinson added five to make the score 22-19 Thompson at the end of the first.

The Panthers defense locked in during the second quarter and surrendered just six more points before halftime, opening the door for the offense to take advantage.

Six different Pelham players found the bottom of the net in the second quarter led by five points from Egypt Daniel and four from Trey Pittman, which helped their team take the lead going into halftime by a score of 36-28.

However, the Warriors flipped a switch from deep in the third quarter and took command of the contest.

Thompson scored eight 3-pointers from four different players, including a trio of deep balls from Hudson as part of a 15-point quarter from him, and two 3-pointers from Daeshaun Morrissette.

In all, the Warriors scored 32 points in the third, outpacing Daniel and Kendall Smith’s offense for Pelham and putting Thompson up 60-51 heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams continued to showcased a balanced attack in the fourth by spreading out the scoring, with Hudson adding on eight points to his lofty total and Morrissette tacking on six points.

The Panthers couldn’t quite overcome the deficit and the Warriors sealed the nine-point come-from-behind win.

Hudson led the way with 32 points for Thompson along with double-digit days from Morrissette, who had 16, and McKenney, who score 15. Landyn Smith scored seven points, Jason Parks had six points and Love added five points in the win.

As for Pelham, Daniel had a team-high 20 points, Smith scored 10 points, Pittman earned nine points and Olds, Robinson and Eli Lewis each scored six points.