CLANTON – In exchange for opening the season at home with an in-school game, the Thompson Warriors traveled down to Clanton for an afternoon matchup with Chilton County to complete their season series.
Thompson found similar success in an 85-71 victory over Chilton County on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at Chilton County High School.
It was all systems go for the Warriors out of the gate as Trey Knight got into double figures in the first quarter thanks to four field goals, including a pair of triples. He wasn't the sole shooter of the quarter thanks to Matt Bevelle making three of his four free throws and Riley Bryant hitting two shots from the field.
Chilton County got the majority of its points from the free throw line with a 10-for-14 rate. That defense in the field allowed Thompson to take a 26-19 lead into the second quarter.
The Warriors continued to hold the edge in the second quarter, but this time, Ethan Hudson and Bevelle took charge. Bevelle added six points to get into double figures, and a trio of field goals and free throws gave Hudson nine points.
Like their first meeting though, the Tigers kept firing away on offense and kept Thompson within striking distance. However, the Warriors still led 45-36 at the halftime break.
Chilton County used a plethora of free throw opportunities and a balanced effort from inside the arc to score 20 points in the third. That chipped a little bit off the deficit, but Thompson got the benefit of some foul calls too to keep pace.
The Warriors went 7-for-11 from the free throw line in the third and got boosted by 3-pointers from Jason Parks, Hudson and Cam Pritchett to remain up by three possessions. Thompson led 64-56 at the end of the third and only pulled away as the game went on.
Pritchett, Bevelle and Landyn Smith each contributed multiple baskets from the field, and Bryant added five points to his total with a field goal and three free throws in four attempts.
Even while dealing with five players with four or more fouls, the Warriors limited the Chilton County damage to 15 points while scoring 23 in return during the fourth quarter. Thompson finished out the 14-point win to take the second meeting between the two teams in 2025.
Hudson finished with 16 points, Bevelle earned 18 points, Bryant secured 13 points, Pritchett and Smith each scored 11 points and Knight made it six double-digit scorers with 10 points, all in the first quarter. Parks rounded out the offense with five points.
Thompson will take a 5-6 record into a rivalry battle with the Hoover Buccaneers on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at Warrior Arena.
