Gardendale senior Candace Parris (10) has been named to the 2018-19 All-North Jefferson News Basketball Team. 

The Gardendale boys basketball team (10-6, 1-0 Class 6A, Area 11) earned its tenth win of the season on Friday night with a 74-57 home win over Hayden (8-9).

The Rockets asserted themselves early with a 23-point first quarter and separated late with a 21-point fourth.

It was a quick flurry of 3-point makes that led to the fast start. Sophomore Jalon Moore pulled up from top of the key for his first triple and marched right back down the floor for another make from the right wing. He then stretched for an offensive rebound and kicked it out to an open Clayton Cunningham, who buried his outside look for a 21-11 lead late in the opening frame.

Moore would finish the night with a team-high 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half of play. Fellow sophomore Goose Crowder poured in 12 points of his own for the home team.

A better defensive effort opened the door to Gardendale’s transition offense in the second half. The Rockets closed out on some sharp Hayden shooters and turned several loose balls into easy transition baskets.

“I thought in the second half we came out with a little bit better focus, contested shots a little bit better, rebounded the ball a little bit better and that led to some transition opportunities for us on offense,” said Gardendale head coach Trent Hosmer.

His lead shrank to 38-31 at the end of the third quarter, but the fourth was all Gardendale. The Rockets outscored Hayden 21-14 over the last eight minutes of play, and much of that output was achieved in the transition game.

“That’s where it starts for us. We’ve got to commit to the defensive end,” said Hosmer. “If you play defense, you give yourself a chance.”

Offensively, Moore and Crowder had plenty of help as Josh Lankford provided 10 points to go with eight points apiece from Kameron Burkett and Kenneth White Jr.

Gardendale now takes a week off before area foe Jackson-Olin comes to town next Friday.

“This was kind of like our last tune-up before area play gets going,” said Hosmer. “We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be, but [Hayden] plays hard. Tip your cap to them. They hit a lot of shots and made us do some things that we don’t necessarily want to do.”

The Gardendale girls basketball team (4-13, 0-1 Class 6A, Area 11) lost another close one to the Hayden Wildcats. The Rockets fell to Hayden 40-39 last week in the Blue Devil Holiday Tournament and came back Friday night for a 43-39 home loss to the Wildcats.

Hayden (11-4) led at the end of each quarter, but Gardendale kept things close for the most part.

The visitors brought some pressure defense in the fourth quarter and capitalized on some mistakes to take a 38-26 advantage midway through the frame, but that’s when Gardendale started mounting a comeback.

Senior Candace Parris got it started with a triple from the corner. She quickly struck again with a deep make from right of the circle and junior Chelbi DeBardleben followed suit with a 3-pointer of her own. The Rockets would work the deficit down to 1 point, but a late turnover would lead to an easy 2 for Hayden junior Gracie Benton.

Her transition lay-in essentially killed the comeback and sent Hayden home with a 43-39 road win.

“Our girls fought tonight,” said Gardendale head coach Will Glaze. “I’m really proud of them, and the way they’ve played over the last six games is completely different than how we started the year. I’m really proud of the way they’re playing.”

Glaze then pointed to next Friday’s area game against Jackson-Olin: “We’ve got a full week to prepare for a really good J.O. team that we’ve already played in a tournament and beat. It’s going to be a great opportunity. No one is really counting on us to do anything, so it’s a big opportunity for us just to go play and play loose and have no expectations and just go see what we can do.”

The Mortimer Jordan girls basketball team (11-6, 3-0 Class 5A, Area 11) took a 34-31 road win from Helena on Thursday night. Sophomore forward Reese Colburn poured in 18 points for the Blue Devils in the non-area win. Eighth-grader Sarah Kanaday came through with nine points.

Mortimer Jordan returns to area play next Tuesday when Jasper visits.

The Mortimer Jordan boys basketball team (7-11, 3-0 Class 5A, Area 11) has dropped seven straight games, dating back to Dec. 19 at the Oak Mountain Invitational. That skid continued on Thursday with a 44-32 loss at Helena.

Fortunately, none of those seven defeats have come within the bounds of area play where the Blue Devils currently hold a record of 3-0. They’ll look to climb to 4-0 next Tuesday when Jasper comes to town.

The Fultondale boys basketball team (9-2, 2-0 Class 3A, Area 9) notched its fourth straight win on Friday night with a 61-51 win at Heritage Christian. Sophomore guard Joshua Maston set the tone with a last-second make from the timeline as the first half expired. He went on to score “around 13-15” points to go with three rebounds and as many assists. 

The Wildcats get back in area play next Tuesday when Holy Family Catholic visits.