Hillcrest Patriots (Tuscaloosa, AL) followers were in high spirits Saturday as they saw their basketball team nip the host Helena Huskies (Helena, AL), 45-42 in a non-league bout.

The Patriots now possess a 13-3 record. They play next when they travel to James Clemens for a non-league bout on Saturday, December 21. Hillcrest will play a Jets team coming off a 57-49 non-league win over Sparkman (Harvest, AL). The Jets record now stands at 11-5.

With the loss, Helena falls to 9-5 on the campaign. The Huskies travel to Opelika (Opelika, AL) to play the Bulldogs in a non-league bout on Saturday, December 28. The Bulldogs go into the bout with a record of 15-3. Opelika won 61-50 in their recent non-league bout against JAG (Montgomery, AL)