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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Shelby County Wildcats secured Chase Cornelius’ first win as their head coach after surviving a tight county battle on the road.

Shelby County defeated the Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights 66-60 on Friday, Nov. 15 at Berry Middle School.

Both teams were coming into the game in opposite directions as the Wildcats lost 72-33 in their opening game against St. Clair County.

On the other side, Westminster OM beat Victory Christian 61-46 on Tuesday, Nov. 12, securing Greg Bradford’s first win with the Knights after a 70-67 opening night loss to Indian Springs.

The Knights got out to a stronger start as both teams rode the 3-ball to early success. David Sellers knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for Westminster, and Ryan Sipes responded with two of his own for Shelby County.

That gave the Knights a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The teams were more evenly matched in the second quarter as Nate Byrne stepped up for five points before the break and Westminster got help from Thomas Fleming’s success at the free throw line and Sellers’ hot hand as he hit double figures before halftime.

The Wildcats won the second quarter 13-12 to cut into the halftime deficit as the Knights took a 29-25 advantage into the locker room.

Shelby County continued chipping away from long range thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Sipes and long-range baskets from Byrne and Drew Shelton.

Sam Lipperd made three field goals to help Westminster keep pace, but his team only had a 42-41 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats offense kicked into overdrive in the final period as Lawson Starnes, Caleb Endfinger and Andres McGinnis took over the last eight minutes.

Starnes scored nine points after being scoreless in the opening three quarters, Endfinger added three field goals for six points and McGinnis went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth to help put the game on ice.

Those performances helped Shelby County outpace Westminster 25-16 in the fourth quarter and seal the 66-60 win on the road.

McGinnis and Sipes tied for the game high with 14 points apiece for the Wildcats and Byrne joined them in double figures with 10 points. Starnes and Endfinger each had nine points and Shelton scored six points.

As for the Knights, Sellers led the team with 11 points and Fleming and Davis Franklin each scored 10 points, with all of Franklin’s points coming in the fourth quarter. Currin Carter scored nine points and Sam Carter had six points in the second half.

Shelby County will have two games in two days as they host Jefferson Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 and Ellwood Christian at 7 p.m. Both games will be at Shelby County High School.

After a strong performance against a 5A side, Westminster will travel to Thorsby on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.