Aaron a burr to Eagles
- Updated: December 16, 2014
Boys roundup: Etowah senior goes for 32; Ohatchee’s Ginn gets first boys win
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Ryan Chambless thought his Jacksonville basketball team was in a “pretty good spot” at halftime Monday afternoon. Then the second half began and the Golden Eagles had even fewer answers for Etowah forward Denzel Aaron than it did in the first half.
As he has done in every game this season, Aaron went for a double-double as the Blue Devils beat the Golden Eagles for the second time in 10 days, 91-83.
Aaron scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Simply put, the Golden Eagles’ bigs weren’t fast enough to keep up with the smooth 6-foot-4 senior and the rest of them weren’t tall enough.
“Like I told them, I think we had 80-some points and lost,” Chambless said. “We didn’t do a real good job of guarding the ball and honestly No. 4 (Aaron) is a heck of a danged player. He’s a mismatch for us and probably a mismatch for everybody that plays them.
“He’s a very good player; you’ve got to give that guy a lot of credit. Anytime they needed two and we’d make a run, they’d just find No. 4 and he was right there for them. He’s a pretty solid kid. We didn’t have an answer for him.”
Aaron scored 17 points in the second half as the Blue Devils (4-4) pulled away from a 41-39 lead to hand the Golden Eagles (5-5) their fourth straight loss. He scored his team’s first four points of the second half after Jacksonville tied the game and six of its last eight at the end of the third quarter to help stretch the lead to 66-52.
He also had two steals, two blocked shots and an assist.
“He’s like that with everybody; we haven’t played anybody who could guard him,” Blue Devils coach James Graves said. “He handles the ball like a guard, but he can play down with his back to the basket; he can just do so many things. He fills the stat sheet up every night. He’s just a headache for people to match up with.”
While the Eagles expected Aaron would get his, they wanted to hold down the supporting cast. It didn’t happen. Jalen Williams and Brad Williams both added 19 points for the Blue Devils.
Jacksonville, meanwhile, got its scoring from the usual characters. Cam Horton led with 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, but, conceding he’s been in a bit of a slump, shot 4 for 13 from 3-point range (10 of 25 overall). Sid Thurmond added 22 points and nine assists, Taye Ackles had 15 points and Rivan Hill had 13.
The Golden Eagles were slow coming back for the second half and it cost them. They did get the game tied at the outset of the third quarter, but then Etowah went on an 11-3 run behind its three top scorers to seize control. Jacksonville never got closer than seven after that and was down 18 early in the fourth.
The Golden Eagles had only two field goals in the first five minutes of the quarter. Aaron and Williams outscored them in the quarter by themselves.
“No. 4, he’s pretty good,” Thurmond said. “We just didn’t have anybody who could match up with him.”
Cover photo: Etowah’s Denzel Aaron (4) prepares for the next play in Monday’s 91-83 victory at Jacksonville.
Ohatchee 63, Coosa Christian 54
OHATCHEE – Brian Jennings led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to give Bryant Ginn his first victory as a varsity boys coach.
The Indians snapped a seven-game losing streak with a balanced scoring attack behind Jennings. Owen Hale added 12 points and Michael Lee had 10, while Dylan Yates and Tristan Woodall had seven each.
“It was a pretty special feeling,” said Ginn, who also coaches the Ohatchee girls team. “Anytime you win it’s big because you know how much goes into it.
“It’s also special, too, because of these kids – both boys and girls. They work so hard and they are getting better each day. To be a part of that is special in itself.”
Anniston 74, Fort Payne 52
Davion Tippins and DeQuan Ross had identical double-doubles as the Bulldogs jumped out early and stayed there.
Both players scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Marrio Dobbins and Tray Croft left the attack for the Bulldogs (5-3) with 16 points each. Croft also had four assists and five steals, while Dobbins had five assists.
Faith Christian 60, Ragland 56
Caleb McCord scored nine of his 20 and Jordan Griswald six of his 21 in the third quarter as the Lions came from behind to win.
The Lions trailed 27-24 at halftime, but when they returned to the floor, McCord, Griswald and Alex Taylor went off. Taylor scored six in the quarter on a pair of 3-pointers. Josiah McDaniel scored their other points in the quarter.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Etowah 91, Jacksonville 83
ETOWAH (4-4) – Denzel Aaron 12-20 7-9 32, Brad Britton 8-15 1-2 19, Jalen Williams 7-10 5-7 19, Alvin Bolton 2-6 4-4 10, Andy Noles 2-3 0-0 4, Andreas Waker 2-5 0-0 4, Stacy Williams 1-1 0-0 3, Sean Nunn 0-0 0-0 0, Zane Mathis 0-1 0-0 0, Jay Green 0-0 0-0 0, Fred Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Cordell Rudolph 0 0-0 0. Totals 34-61 17-22 91.
JACKSONVILLE (5-5) – Cam Horton 10-25 1-2 25, Sid Thurmond 6-16 9-12 22, Taye Ackles 6-12 1-2 15, Rivan Hill 6-9 0-0 13, Savon Parker 3-6 2-4 8, Ben Jaskowski 0-1 0-0 0, Sack Casey 0-1 0-0 0, K.J. Satcher 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Trull 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-72 13-20 83.
Etowah 23 18 25 25 — 91
Jacksonville 20 19 15 29 — 83
3-point goals: Etowah 6-17 (Aaron 1-3, Britton 2-6, J. Williams 0-1, Bolton 2-4, Waker 0-1, S. Williams 1-1, Mathis 0-1); Jacksonville 8-30 (Horton 4-13, Thurmond 1-7, Ackles 2-8, Hill 1-1, Casey 0-1). Rebounds: Etowah 37 (Aaron 12), Jacksonville 39 (Horton 12). Total fouls: Etowah 17, Jacksonville 18. Fouled out: Waker.
Ohatchee 63, Coosa Christian 54
COOSA CHRISTIAN – Randy Washington 2 2-2 6, Michael Leak 0 0-0 0, Alexander Holman 2 1-2 6, Jonathan Grizzard 3 5-8 13, James Mills 3 2-3 8, Kyle Cunningham 0 0-0 0, Wesley Grizzard 2 0-0 6, Caleb Garrett 2 1-2 7, Caden Davidson 1 4-6 6, Jacob Nix 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 13-23 54.
OHATCHEE (1-7) – Dylan Yates 3 0-0 7, Micah Lee 4 2-2 10, John Noel 0 2-2 2, Owen Hale 5 2-5 12, Austin Tucker 1 0-0 2, Brian Jennings 8 6-9 22, Tristan Woodall 2 4-1 7, C.J. Ray 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 14-24 63.
Coosa Christian 10 13 13 18 — 54
Ohatchee 13 19 9 22 — 63
3-point goals: Coosa Christian 7 (Holman, J. Grizzard 2, W. Grizzard 2, Garrett 2); Ohatchee 3 (Yates, Woodall 2)
Total fouls: Coosa Christian 19, Ohatchee 18. Fouled out: Garrett.
Faith Christian 60, Ragland 56
RAGLAND — Jaden Killings 3 0-0 7, Alex McClendon 3 0-0 6, Stoney Merritt 0 0-0 0, Jagger Phillips 3 4-6 11, Devin Turner 1 1-1 4, Donovan Turner 4 2-4 11, Levi Campbell 4 0-0 10, Braxton Thomas 3 0-0 7. Totals 21 7-11 56.
FAITH CHRISTIAN — Ryan Crosby 0 2-4 2, Jordan Griswald 9 3-7 21, Logan Williamson 1 0-0 2, Caleb McCord 9 1-2 20, Jack Sills 0 0-0 0, Michael Kulick 0 0-0 0, Josiah McDaniel 3 0-3 6, Alex Taylor 3 1-1 9. Totals 25 7-17 60.
Ragland 13 19 13 11 — 56
Faith Christian 16 8 25 11 — 60
3-point goals: Ragland 6 (Killings, Phillips, De. Turner, Campbell 2, Thomas); Faith Christian 3 (McCord, Taylor 2). Total fouls: Ragland 16, Faith Christian 10
You must be logged in to post a comment Login