Jacksonville sweeps Lincoln tournament
- Updated: November 26, 2014
Boys win tight game, girls win going away
Jacksonville coach Ryan Chambless makes a point to Sid Thurmond (1) during a time out in the second half of their game with Lincoln Wednesday. Thurmond’s two free throws with 8.8 seconds left sealed the Golden Eagles’ victory.
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
LINCOLN – The first thing Jacksonville coach Ryan Chambless told his boys team entering the dressing room after the game was they ought to be happy they won the game.
Make sure you catch that right. He didn’t say they should be glad they beat Lincoln 58-55 Wednesday to win the Lincoln Thanksgiving Tournament, connoting relief for escaping after not playing well. He said “happy” because they found a way to beat a previously undefeated team on its own floor.
“You beat a good team, it doesn’t matter if you beat them by one or 10, it’s a good win if you can beat a good team,” Chambless said. “To come in here and playing at Lincoln and survive and get out of here, that’s really a great win.”
The Golden Eagles (3-1) rallied from as many as 10 points down to win their third in a row and hand the Golden Bears their first loss after opening their season with three straight wins.
Sid Thurmond sealed the win with both ends of a one-and-one with 8.8 seconds left after K.J. Collins’ uncontested rainbow 3-pointer with 11.3 seconds left made it a one-point game. The Golden Bears had one final chance to tie, but C.J. Orr’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the far rim.
Thurmond finished with 18 points, four steals and six assists. Cam Horton led all scorers with 22 points. They combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter, 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
“That guy is as big a gamer as you’re ever going to find — in any sport he plays; he’s just a gamer,” Chambless said of Thurmond. “When you’ve got winners on a team who are leaders, everybody else follows. Luckily this year I’ve got some good leaders.”
Thurmond went to the line with confidence. He said it reminded him of a situation he faced against Alexandria as a ninth grader – in-season tournament, at the foul line of a tight game inside 10 seconds, hit two shots, opponent misses at the buzzer.
“I like being in that situation where all those people are yelling trying to make me miss,” Thurmond said. “I was just thinking make the free throws and get my team up a couple points, maybe they get the ball back and miss a shot. That’s what happened.”
GIRLS GAME
As much as Jacksonville coach Ryan Chambless stresses defense and as strong as his girls team has played it so far this season, it might not be unreasonable to think the Golden Eagles are capable of pitching a shutout against an overwhelmed opponent this year.
The Golden Eagles didn’t quite pull it off, but they came close. They held Lincoln scoreless in the second and fourth quarters on the way to an easy 57-8 victory for their fourth win in a row.
“Defense is what we always work on first in practice and what we always end it with,” Virginia Poe said. “We definitely work on that more than anything, so when we have a good defensive effort it’s definitely a positive for us.”
The Golden Eagles (4-1) have held three of their opponents this season to fewer than 30 points. In their first win of the season over Alexandria, they held the Valley Cubs to two points in one quarter and three points in two others.
Lincoln’s points came on a two 3-point baskets and a two-point goal. To be fair, the Golden Bears had only six players and only one senior.
“We just go as hard as we can,” Poe said. “I don’t know if you notice we always start out pressing and we always start out playing good defense. It doesn’t matter how many shots are falling, if we’re playing good defense (Chambless) is happy.”
The easy win allowed the Golden Eagles to clear the bench. Thirteen players scored. Malieah Patterson led the way with 10 points.
“We have a bench that everybody can play,” Poe said. “You sub five in, five out there’s not that much drop off. It was good to see everybody play, everybody score.”
BOYS BOXSCORE
JACKSONVILLE (58) – Cam Horton 7-20 6-6 22, Sid Thurmond 6-16 5-5 18, Savon Parker 4-6 0-0 8, Rivan Hill 3-7 0-0 7, Tae Ackles 1-4 1-2 3, Ben Jaskowski 0-2 0-0 0, Aaron Bragg 0-0 0-0 0, Zack Casey 0-1 0-0 0, Kenneth Satcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 12-13 58.
LINCOLN (55) — Quin Carmichael 6-7 2-7 14, Isaac Davis 4-6 2-3 10, Tyler Hemphill 3-5 1-2 8, Dee Whiteside 3-6 0-0 7, C.J. Orr 2-10 2-2 7, K.J. Collins 2-6 0-0 5, Danny Bradford 1-6 2-2 4, Tarez Ellis 0-0 0-0 0, Donte Rivers 0-0 0-0 0, Brikael Truss 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 9-16 55.
Jacksonville 7 13 12 26 — 58
Lincoln 15 9 12 19 — 55
3-point goals: Jacksonville 4-17 (Horton 2-11, Thurmond 1-4, Hill 1-1, Ackles 0-1); Lincoln 4-19 (Davis 0-1, Hemphill 1-3, Whiteside 1-1, Orr 1-8, Collins 1-2, Bradford 0-4). Rebounds: Jacksonville 27 (Parker 7), Lincoln 36 (Carmichael 12, Whiteside 11). Total fouls: Jacksonville 11, Lincoln 14. Fouled out: Bradford.
GIRLS BOXSCORE
JACKSONVILLE (57) – Angel Kidd 2 0-0 4, Destiny Easley 1 0-0 2, Virginia Poe 2 0-0 4, Dasia Kirksey 2 0-0 4, Sierra Stone 2 0-0 4, Darrien Martin 1 0-0 2, Q. Mooeny 1 0-2 3, Ataliya Morgan 1 0-0 2, Malieah Patterson 5 0-0 10, Brandi Canady 0 2-2 2, Kyra Williams 3 0-0 6, Tatyana Thomas 0 0-0 0, Aniyah Robinson 1 3-8 5, Kelsey Ervin 3 3-3 9. Totals 24 8-15 57.
LINCOLN (8) – Katelynn Harmon 1 0-0 2, Ikeida Lawson 1 0-0 3, Curteria Lawson 0 0-0 0, Lymiah Connoy 1 0-0 3, Hannah Carmichael 0 0-0 0, Taylor Conway 0 0-2 0. Totals 3 0-2 8.
Jacksonville 19 21 9 8 — 57
Lincoln 3 0 5 0 — 8
3-point goals: Jacksonville 1 (Mooney), Lincoln 2 (Cannoy, I. Lawson). Total fouls: Jacksonville 5, Lincoln 11.
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