Malique Elliott scored 35 points to spark Austin to a Class 6A, Area 16 win at Florence, giving the Black Bears a sweep of the regular season series.

The Black Bears got off to a quick start and took a 19-13 lead after one period. Austin extended the margin to 35-23 at halftime.

Florence made a run at the Black Bears in the third period. Jacob Simpson scored nine points in the period as the Falcons trimmed the margin to 51-47. But Austin was able to maintain the lead behind Elliott, who finished 11-of-13 at the free-throw line.

Simpson led Florence (14-6, 2-3 in Area 16) with 19 points, followed by Rashawn Smith and Isaac Dillard with 12 each, Chaunce Watkins with 11 and Dee Smith with 10.

Troy Harris added 12 points for Austin.

Athens 61, Columbia 59: Neil Malone made a shot at the buzzer to send Athens (13-7) past Columbia.

Athens carried a 28-24 cushion into halftime, and then used a strong performance from its supporting to hang on for the win.

"Columbia focused on keeping the ball away from ‘Giddy’ (Nathaniel Potts), but our supporting cast came through," Athens coach Stace Tedford said. "We had several guys step up late. Our supporting cast came through in a big way."

Marques Shoulders led Athens with 14 points, while Potts tossed in 12. Montel Shoulders added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Dedrick Stinnett scored five points with eight rebounds.

Juwan Lockett led Columbia with 16 points, while Gerald Abrams added 10.

Tanner 57, Hatton 48: Fred Rich led Tanner with 12 points.

The Rattlers (12-1, 4-0 in Class 2A, Area 15) got balanced scoring from its roster. Jace Haggermaker and Greg Maclin had 10 points apiece. Justin Smith added nine points and Desmond Love contributed eight.

Laron Cooper led Hatton with 21, and Ty Terry had 16.

Mars Hill 74, Clements 51: Russell Harrison, Cole White, Seth Hamilton and Marcus McNaughton all finished with eight points to lead Clements in the loss.

Lance Kephart added five points with seven rebounds for the Colts, while Colton Gafford tossed in seven.

Russellville 62, Lawrence County 53: Gabe Vernon paced Lawrence County with 23 points in the loss.

Jesse Childress finished with nine points and eight rebounds for the Red Devils, while Montel McDaniel added eight points.

For Russellville, Jackson Smith and Caleb Robinson combined for eight 3-pointers and 43 points. Robinson paced the Golden Tigers with 23 points, while Smith tossed in 20.

Falkville 62, Meek 39: Aaron Estes posted 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Falkville (7-9, 4-1 in Class 4A, Area 14).

Clay Austill added 10 points for the Blue Devils. Seth Hayes had 15 points and Jentson Hiller added 13 for Meek.

West Limestone 53, Rogers 36: Nathaniel Adams led West Limestone with 19 points as the Wildcats (15-7, 6-0 in Class 5A, Area 16) to claim the regular season area title.

Aaron McWilliams added 11 points for West Limestone.

Danville 55, Hanceville 52: Justin Morgan poured in 20 to carry to the Hawks to an area win. Patrick Doherty added nine for Danville (13-9, 4-1).

Brontae Harris had 17 points for Hanceville, and Dante Reese added 13.

Danville led 31-28 at the half. The Hawks play at Belgreen today.

R.A. Hubbard 55, Shoals Christian 51: The Chiefs held off a Shoals Christian rally in the second half to remain unbeaten in Class 1A, Area 16 play.

Austin Beasley scored 20 points to pace R.A. Hubbard (7-2, 4-0) and John Owens chipped in with 10 points.

Shoals Christian rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit but missed a 3-pointer to tie with 11 seconds to play. Daniel Wood led Shoals Christian (9-10, 3-3) with 17 points. Will Bishop added 16 points and Mitchell Boyd had 10.

Girls basketball

Falkville 54, Meek 37: Autumn Eddy scored a team-high 17 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven steals. Patricia Kilgore had 11 points, nine steals and five assists. Emily Mickelson added seven points and 10 boards.

Austin 52, Florence 44: Takisha Jordan poured in 24 points to lead Austin to a Class 6A, Area 16 win.

Austin (13-5, 5-0 in Area 16) built a 33-18 lead by halftime.

Tyra Johnson and Katie Speegle each finished with eight points for Austin, while Meagan Hamilton added six. Alexis Sherrod paced Florence with 10 points and Missy Hooks tossed in nine.

Brewer 89, Scottsboro 64: The Patriots had three players record double-doubles.

Riley Northway finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Savana Flack had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Rheagan Harvel had 11 points and 10 assists.

Lawrence County 73, Russellville 42: Rachel Childress scored a game-high 31 points and made seven 3-pointers for Lawrence County (14-6, 2-3 in Class 5A, Area 16).

Rachel Garrison led Russellville with 21 points. She also made seven 3s.

East Lawrence 50, Hayleyville 40: Angel Bolden and Aundrea Simpson had 10 points apiece to lead East Lawrence in the Class 4A, Area 15 matchup.

Alli Orear had 10 points for Hayleyville.

Athens 50, Columbia 44: Destiny Bailey scored 16 points and dished out three assists for Athens (9-10).

Jasmin Lucas had 12 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Alliyah Smith grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked two shots, and Jazzmin Hicks contributed eight boards for the Golden Eagles in the Class 5A, Area 16 game.

Brooks, 56, Priceville 44: Alex Moore had 12 points and six rebounds for Priceville (7-12, 3-2 in Class 4A, Area 15).

McKenzie added 11 points, and Emillee Cunningham contributed 10 points and eight boards for the Bulldogs.

Erin Jewell had 14 points for Brooks.

West Limestone 52, Rogers 32: West Limestone secured the Class 5A, Area 16 regular season championship with the win.

Laura Easter scored a team-high 12 points for the Wildcats. Shelby Clay also reached double figures with 10 points.

R.A. Hubbard 47, Shoals Christian 40: R.A. Hubbard overcame a nine-point third quarter deficit to come back and defeat Shoals Christian by seven points.

Shoals Christian surprisingly led 25-19 at halftime and expanded that lead to nine points, but R.A. Hubbard’s defense led the comeback, as the Chiefs forced several turnovers and held the Flame to just 15 points in the second half.

Alex Gholston scored 13 for Hubbard, while Ashlen McCoy had 12, and Oresha Sherrod scored 10.

Lacey Lindley led Shoals Christian with 15 points and Grace Matthews had 12.