43rd annual Huntsville City Classic satisfies all lovers of high school basketball

HUNTSVILLE- The 43rd annual Huntsville City Classic, formerly known as the Huntsville Times Classic, again proved to be one of the most exciting and supplying of superior boys high school basketball tournaments in the Southeast. The large crowds in attendance at the three-day Christmas time event, hosted at Huntsville High by the Huntsville Sports Commission, were treated to team and individual play second to none.

The championship game featured Class 7A sixth-ranked Huntsville facing Class 6-A No. 2 ranked Oxford and the final game did not disappoint. The Crimson Panthers enjoying their home court surroundings took a twopoint lead after the first quarter, led by eight points at halftime and by just two after the third quarter before outscoring the Yellow Jackets 19-10 in the final stanza to post a tournament winning score of 57-46. It was the program’s third title victory in the 43 years of the tournament’s existence.

Meanwhile, three local schools to Madison also participated in the always exciting event with Sparkman rolling to a 66-59 victory over Mae Jemison (11-8) for third place. Starting the game with a 13-0 run, the Class 7A fifthranked Senators (13-5) never gave up its lead, but only led by four going into the fourth quarter before using a pressure defense and ball control offense to secure the victory.

“I knew our guys can shoot the basketball and in the game we looked to try and find balance on the court,” said Sparkman head coach Obadiah Threadgill after the game to 97.7 The Zone, which broadcasted the tournament. Asked what he learned about his team in the Classic, Threadgill said, “We knew we were scrappy and in this tourney I found out they have resiliency.”

Six-foot senior shooting guard Eli Bannister led the Senators with 20 points as the squad opened a nine-point lead after quarter number one and led by just four points at halftime and after the third quarter. Both squads were held to low scoring in the fourth quarter with Sparkman outscoring Mae Jemison 1411 in the quarter.

To make their way to the third place trophy presentation, Sparkman defeated Columbia (7-9) 8054, and a top-notch cliffhanger 7978 win over rival James Clemens (11-4) before falling to tournament top-seed Huntsville (16-3) in a gutsy performance 62-60. Versus Columbia, the Senators were led by three players who scored double digits. Landon Malone 23, Landon Howard 22 and DeMarius Williams 13. In the one-point victory over James Clemens, again the scoring was spread out among the Senators with Howard leading the way with 27, Eli Bannister 17 and Malone and Williams with 15 points each.

Both Bob Jones and James Clemens put their footsteps into the tournament.

Bob Jones (8-9) opened the action with a 61-59 overtime win over Grissom (6-13). Harrison Lockett had 13 points while M.J. Robinson had 11 for the Patriots. Next, Bob Jones fell to Mae Jemison (11-8) despite a 17-point performance by the 6-foot-3 senior Lockett. In the consolation bracket, the Patriots fought a gallant battle before falling to Lee-Huntsville (11-5) the Class 6A No. 8 ranked Generals. Lockett had 10 points, Jacob Parks 13, while Robinson led the charge with 19.

The Class 7A No. 2 ranked Jets of James Clemens defeated Class 6A No. 10 Hazel Green (12-6) in the opener 47-43 before the Trojans would advance to winning the fifthplace trophy in the 16-team tournament. The Jets were outscored 14-4 in the fourth quarter but had opened a big lead to hang on for the four-point win. Alexander Blue led the Jets with 13 points.

In their second game, the Jets were edged 79-78 by Sparkman in what many called the best game of the event. James Clemens was outscored by eight points in the fourth stanza. Six-foot senior Isaiah Cleaves had a spectacular game hitting for 30 points to lead all scorers. He also led in rebounds with nine. In its third and final matchup, the Jets tangled with Class 3A No. 2 ranked Hale County (13-6) and came away with an impressive 74-59 victory. Corban Johnson led the Jets with 16 points while Cleaves had 14 and Seito Yokota added 10.