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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Oak Mountain Eagles’ senior night wasn’t short on theatrics as they went to overtime with their county foes, the Helena Huskies, but they walked away with a tight win to enter the postseason with back-to-back victories.

Oak Mountain defeated Helena 59-58 in overtime on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Oak Mountain High School in the final regular season game for both teams.

The Eagles also took time to honor their seniors Blake Benson, William Burgess, Chris Kunard, Chase Lamey, Will O’Dell, Will Patterson and Rocco Plaia for their contributions to the program over the course of their careers.

Oak Mountain got the better of the Huskies in the opening quarter as Burgess kicked off his senior night with six points to lead five different first-quarter scorers.

Drew Davis helped Helena remain close with five points in the first, but the Huskies couldn’t knock down enough shots to overtake the Eagles before the end of the opening period.

With Oak Mountain up 12-8 ahead of the second quarter, the Huskies surged back, allowing just six points in the second as the Eagles continued to struggle from behind the arc with just a 1-for-10 clip for the first half.

Davis, Nate Ferguson and Joseph King stepped up for Helena, hitting a field goal and both of their free throw attempts to score four points each in the second quarter. Another pair of free throws from Nathan Reid meant the Huskies went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the second.

Helena outscored Oak Mountain 16-6 in the second quarter to take a 24-18 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Huskies continued firing after the break as Reid hit a pair of 3-pointers and Ferguson made three of his four free throws, but the Eagles had a better response in the third quarter.

Lamey and Plaia managed to get 3-pointers to fall while Donald Hughes, Plaia and Hartsfield combined to go 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the third.

As a result, Oak Mountain cut the deficit to 39-35 ahead of the fourth quarter and set up its most efficient eight minutes of the game on offense.

Plaia scored four more points to lead five different Eagles scorers, and as a team, Oak Mountain went 5-for-8 from the field as it limited misses down the stretch.

However, Helena kept it close on the free throw line as Davis and Denton McDonald missed just two of their free throws, and the teams ended regulation tied at 51-51.

Both sides shot the ball well in the extra period as Plaia and Patterson each hit their shots to counter a perfect 3-for-3 field goal performance from McDonald, Reid and Kevin Pinkard.

While the Huskies made all four of their free throws, this time, the Eagles had the edge on the free throw line. Lamey and Patterson each went 3-for-4 from the line as their team combined to go 7-for-10 on free throws in overtime.

The Eagles used that free throw success to just eke out a one-point win to finish out the regular season on a dramatic high note.

Plaia led the way for Oak Mountain with 16 points while Lamey scored 12 points and Patterson had 10 points to make it three Eagles in double figures. Burgess finished with six points, Hughes earned five points and Benson and O’Dell each scored on their senior night.

As for Helena, Davis scored a team-high 18 points, including a 10-for-12 run from the free throw line. Reid joined him in double figures with 13 points while McDonald and Ferguson each had seven points and Pinkard scored five points.

The Eagles finished the regular season with a 21-8 record and will now face the No. 4 team in the country, the Hoover Bucs, in the area semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. at Hoover High School.

The Huskies enter the playoffs with a 14-12 record and will play rival Pelham in the area semifinals on Monday, Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Chelsea High School.