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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers brushed off the disappointment of falling short in the championship game of the Pelham Turkey Tipoff with a bounce-back win over the Hueytown Golden Gophers.

Pelham defeated Hueytown 61-54 on Monday, Dec. 2 at Pelham High School to get back to their winning ways.

The Panthers were powered by a balanced scoring attack throughout the first half, although Kendall Smith provided a spark with a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers.

He was one of six scorers for Pelham in the first quarter as the hosts looked to take a hold of the game.

On the other side of the court, Hueytown tried to get going on offense but couldn’t get the ball to a variety of scoring options. The Panthers kept it at a two-possession game going into the second quarter with the lead at 16-10.

The Golden Gophers made the second quarter a lot closer than the first as they shut down Pelham’s deep shooting. Despite the lack of 3-pointers, the Panthers still outscored Hueytown 11-9 in the second quarter.

That increased their halftime lead to 27-19 as Pelham continued to hold a grip on the game.

The Golden Gophers worked their way to the free throw line frequently in the third quarter and went 11-for-15 during that stretch to try and keep pace with the Panthers.

Pelham continued to succeed on the other end of the floor though, finding its own free throw success by going 7-for-8 as a team while Jacob Gibbs added six points from the field.

As a result, the Panthers won the third quarter 19-15 and extended their lead to 46-34 by the end of the quarter.

Facing a double-digit deficit, Hueytown turned on the jets in the fourth quarter and scored 20 points in the final eight minutes.

It proved to be too little, too late though as Pelham fended off the Golden Gophers on the opposite end. Jayden Robinson led the Panthers offense with seven fourth-quarter points after scoring just two points in the first three quarters combined.

While Hueytown was able to cut into the final deficit, Pelham still walked away with the seven-point victory.

Smith led the Panthers with 11 points on the night. Robinson scored nine points, Gibbs dropped eight points and Eli Lewis posted seven points. Andy Olds and Sam Tolbert each added six points as 11 Pelham players found the scoresheet in the win.

Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Sylacauga to face the Aggies on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.