Sparkman Takes Third Place In Huntsville City Classic
HUNTSVILLE- The Sparkman Senators faced top opposition in the 36th annual Huntsville City Classic, known as the Huntsville Times Classic for many years, and came away with a third place finish in the 16-team, three-day event held at Huntsville High School.
Led by seniors Malik Tyson and Rondell Cole, the Senators defeated Madison Academy 66-48 in the tourney opener, bounced Class 6A No. 8 ranked Muscle Shoals 64-57 in round two before losing to Jemison 86-73 in the tournament’s semi-finals. In the third-place contest against Class 6A No. 2 ranked Lee-Huntsville, Sparkman defeated the Generals 57-49.
“We lost to Lee by nine points in the N2HOOPS Holiday Tournament and beating them this time was a nice bounce back for our team,” said Jamie Coggins head coach of Sparkman. “Our players responded well and we’ve done that all-season.”
Against the Generals, the 6-4, senior Tyson popped in a game-high 22 points while Cole added nine. Sophomore Trevon Ragland added three points.
Versus Jemison, the Senators suffered a very disappointing loss as they had already defeated the Jaguars twice this season. “We started slow and were down by 18 at the half, but battled back to cut the lead to within six late in the game,” said Coggins. “We kept fighting and that’s how our teams plays.”
For the tournament, Tyson scored 30 points each of the first two games and 14 against the Jags in game three. His tourney total came to 96 points, many of which came from three-point shots. Cole popped in 25 points against Jemison and added 22 additional points in the other three outings for a tourney total of 47. Ragland added 33 in the four games.
Jemison went on to win the tournament with a 76-65 victory over Columbia High. The Jags are led by head coach Howard Pride in his first year as head coach after spending several years as an assistant at James Clemens. As a former player at Butler High, Pride won three Classic championships. His coaching victory makes the former Alabama Mr. Basketball and Vanderbilt All-SEC player the first to win the tournament title as both a player and head coach.
James Clemens won its first game of the Huntsville City Classic with a 67-48 score over Decatur Heritage, but lost its second-round contest 70-63 to Columbia. Madison Academy lost its two games in the tournament. First to Sparkman and then to Riverdale 55-41.
