Sports Writer

Trevon Hemphill hit a layup with 1.6 seconds remaining as the Charles Henderson High School Trojans upended the Eufaula High School Tigers 49-48 in the first Class Area 4 basketball game for both teams in Eufaula Friday night.

With the victory, the Trojans improved to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in area play as they broke the .500 mark for the first time this season.

CHHS has won six of their last seven games following a dreadful 1-5 start as they earned a rare hard fought area win.

The Trojans led 47-40 midway through the fourth quarter until the Tigers went on a 8-0 run to take a 48-47 lead. However, in the closing seconds the Tigers (6-8, 0-1) missed a pair of free throws which proved to be costly. Following a timeout by Charles Henderson, the Tigers decided to trap and go for a turnover which would end the Trojans’ hopes. However, the gamble failed as the Trojans executed perfectly.

Two passes by Jermaine Jackson and Terrance Barron allowed Hemphill to be found all alone under the goal for the game deciding basket.

Despite the ongoing struggles from the floor shooting the ball throughout the evening, CHHS head coach Carl Hollis said he was more than pleased to see the Trojans win a big road area victory.

"We kept our head up and got a very good area win," Hollis said. "We had four or five guys who played very good man and zone defense for us. (Friday) night taught us a lesson because we put ourselves in that situation. But our kids never gave up and maybe this will help us play with more confidence."

Other individual scorers included Lawrence Mosley scoring eight points, while Hemphill and Barron each scored six points in the winning effort.

Doc Rivers and Steven Dawson each scored 11 points, while Calvin Thomas chipped in 10 points for Eufaula in a losing cause.

Eufaula (girls) 55 CHHS 51

Crystal McKinnon scored 16 points as the number four ranked Eufaula Lady Tigers (12-2, 1-0) held off the Charles Henderson High School Lady Trojans (5-6, 0-1) 55-51 in the opening Class 5A Area 4 game

Friday night.

Jessica Wooten added 12 points while Shanita Porter scored 11 points for the Lady Tigers.

Jeanean Deveridge led the Lady Trojans with 18 points in a losing cause for CHHS as they dropped their second consecutive game in a row following a 5-4 start.

After a Saturday evening game at home against Andalusia, the Trojans faced Carroll High School in another area game at Ozark Monday night. For details on the Andalusia game, see Tuesday’s edition of The Messenger.