Cubs tighten area race
- Updated: December 18, 2014
UPDATED with Jacksonville sweep of Glencoe
Alexandria boys force three-way tie in 5A-12; Piedmont upsets Sand Rock
By East Alabama Sports Today
LINCOLN – Alexandria knew it needed to beat one of the area contenders on the road to stay in contention to host the area tournament and it pulled off a big one Thursday night.
The Valley Cubs turned the Class 5A Area 12 race tighter than a stuffed Christmas stocking with a 61-53 victory at Lincoln.
The result left the Cubs, Golden Bears and Anniston all tied at 2-1 in area play, with all the losses coming among themselves.
“This was really big,” Alexandria coach Jason Johnson said. “You want to kind of steal an area game on the road because you always feel a little more comfortable coming back to your place.
“That’s what I thought was so critical about losing to Anniston. Now, to come back and steal one from Lincoln at their place gives us a little even hand there. We’ve kept giving ourselves a chance to still host that thing. That’s what the kids kind of want.”
Lincoln picked a bad night to go cold. The Bears (8-4) were an icy 2 of 30 from 3-point range. They are 8-0 when they hit six or more 3s this season, but in their four losses have not hit more than three.
“That’s the biggest stat of the night,” Lincoln coach Rush Rutledge said. “They’d go down in the hole and come out. We don’t have a true inside post player and if you have to shoot the 3 sometimes you could live and die by it. We live and die by the 3 and tonight we died by it. It was just dead.”
Dakota Kelley led the Cubs with 16 points. Alton Davis scored 15 and held Lincoln leading scorer Dee Whiteside scoreless in the first half. Luke Tucker hit five of six free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Cubs out front.
Whiteside eventually found his stroke and finished with 13 points to lead the Bears. Zay Caldwell added 12.
“We were fortunate that they struggled,” Johnson said. “I don’t think either team shot it really good. It was a tough atmosphere and we were able to hold on. We’ll be happy with that.”
After seeing all the teams in the area, Rutledge declared Alexandria the best team, but predicted the area title will be claimed elsewhere.
“Whoever can beat Anniston at Anniston will win the area,” he said. And both Lincoln and Alexandria have the Bulldogs on the road.
Jacksonville 74, Glencoe 64
GLENCOE — Cam Horton had another 30-point game and the Golden Eagles took command in the third quarter to snap a four-game losing streak.
Horton scored 31 points in 32 minutes to lead three Jacksonville players in double figures. He shot 9 of 15 from the floor and was 11 of 16 from the free throw line. There were 94 free throws attempted in the game between the two teams – two fewer than total field goal attempts; Jacksonville was 27 of 44, Glencoe 31 of 50.
In a game during a season in which the hand check is a point of officiating emphasis there were 62 fouls called and four players fouled out. The game took nearly two and a half hours to play.
“The game is no fun to watch or coach or play when it’s like that,” Jacksonville coach Ryan Chambless said.
The teams play again in the Gadsden State tournament Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Savon Parker had 14 points and six rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Sid Thurmond had 12 points, seven assists and nine steals. Jacksonville forced the Yellow Jackets into 27 turnovers.
Jacksonville led 23-14 at quarter’s end, but held only a three-point lead at halftime. The Golden Eagles outscored their hosts 17-10 in the third quarter.
Pace Ozmint led four Glencoe scorers in double figures with 26 points; he also had 13 rebounds. Grant Griffin and Dalton Roberts had 12 points each and Garrison Clowdus added 10. Ozmint and Griffin were a combined 22 of 29 from the foul line.
Wellborn 54, Ohatchee 50
Blake Hanson scored 18 and Jordan Montgomery had 17 as Wellborn stuck Ohatchee with another close loss.
The Indians got 13 points each from Brian Jennings, Micah Lee and Austin Tucker. Jennings grabbed a team high nine rebounds.
Corri Tignor added 10 points for the Panthers.
Cherokee County Invitational
Piedmont 41, Sand Rock 38
CENTRE – Bayley Blanchard scored 12 points and three others had seven each as Piedmont upset No. 8 Sand Rock. The Bulldogs roared to a 12-point halftime lead, but were only ahead two going into the fourth quarter. Taylor Hayes, Tyler Lusk and Austin Brazier each scored seven to keep Piedmont ahead.
In games of local interest Friday, Spring Garden plays Sand Rock at Cherokee County High School at 5:30 p.m. and Piedmont plays Gaston at the Gadsden State Cherokee Arena at 5:30.
GIRLS GAMES
Jacksonville 59, Glencoe 27
GLENCOE – Angel Kidd scored a game-high 19 points and had five assits and five steals as the fourth-ranked Golden Eagles continued to roll.
Dasia Kirksey scored six points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Destiny Easley and Sierra Stone also had five steals each.
The Golden Eagles forced 22 steals among the 24 Glencoe turnovers they forced. They held their hosts to single digits in three of the four quarters.
Ohatchee 53, Wellborn 19
Morgan Lee scored 21 points and Joria Steger was solid in several areas as the Lady Indians rolled. Steger had 12 boards, eight rebounds and five steals. Dymond Myles led Wellborn with eight points.
Cherokee County Invitational
Piedmont 41, Pell City 36
CENTRE – The Lady Bulldogs trailed after each of the first three quarters, but came on strong in the fourth quarter to win for the 10th time in 11 starts. Bre Green led all scorers with 21 points for Piedmont, which used a 15-7 fourth quarter to win.
Spring Garden 52, Handley 20
CENTRE – Tykean Rogers led four players in double figures with 15 points as No. 4 Spring Garden won for the 12th time in 14 starts. Darien Gaines added 12 points, Payton McGinnis 11 and Madison Sides 10. The Lady Panthers opened a 23-5 lead in the first quarter.
In games of local interest Friday, Spring Garden plays No. 5 Sand Rock at Gadsden State Cherokee Arena at 4 p.m. and Piedmont plays Cherokee County there at 7.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Alexandria 61, Lincoln 53
ALEXANDRIA – Nick Porter 0 0-1 1, Riley Shaw 1 0-0 2, Alton Davis 7 1-2 15, Tyrelle Gay 2 2-3 7, Caleb Young 2 0-0 4, Ronnie Royal 1 0-0 2, Marcus Swink 3 0-0 6, Luke Tucker 1 7-8 9, Dakota Kelley 6 2-2 16. Totals 23 12-16 61.
LINCOLN (8-4) – Isaac Davis 3 1-1 8, C.J. Orr 0 0-0 0, Zay Caldwell 5 2-2 12, Tyler Hemphill 1 2-2 4, D.J. Bradford 3 1-2 8, Quin Carmichael 3 0-0 6, Dee Whiteside 5 3-3 13, L.J. Carmichael 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 9-10 53.
Alexandria 13 13 17 18 — 61
Lincoln 13 10 11 19 — 53
3-point goals: Alexandria 3 (Kelley 2, Gay); Lincoln 2 (Davis, Bradford).
Total fouls: Alexandria 13, Lincoln 15.
Jacksonville 74, Glencoe 64
JACKSONVILLE – Cam Horton 9-18 11-16 31, Savon Parker 5-7 4-7 14, Sid Thurmond 3-12 6-9 12, Casey Trull 2-4 3-4 7, Tristan Yates 2-6 0-2 4, Aaron Bragg 1-3 0-0 3, Taye Ackles 0-4 1-2 1, Ben Jaskowski 0-0 1-2 1, Rivan Hill 0-2 1-2 1,Zack Casey 0-0 0-0 0, K.J. Satcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 27-44 74.
GLENCOE – Pace Ozmint 7-16 11-12 26, Grant Griffin 1-5 10-17 12, Dalton Roberts 3-9 4-9 12, Garrison Clowdus 3-4 4-5 10, Andrew Willis 1-3 1-2 3, Craig Barkley 0-1 1-2 1, Jacob Bradley 0-1 0-3 0, Seth Napper 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Weems 0-1 0-0 0, Ty Minshew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 31-50 64.
Jacksonville 23 15 17 19 — 74
Glencoe 14 21 10 19 — 64
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3-12 (Horton 2-5, Thurmond 0-2, Braqgg 1-2, Ackles 0-2, Hill 0-1); Glencoe 3-6 (Ozmint 1-2, Roberts 2-4). Rebounds: Jacksonville 32 (Yates 7), Glencoe 49 (Ozmint 13, Griffin 8). Total fouls: Jacksonville 33, Glencoe 29. Fouled out: Hill, Roberts, Clowdus, Willis.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Jacksonville 59, Glencoe 27
JACKSONVILLE — Angel Kidd 5-12 8-12 19, Virginia Poe 3-9 2-2 9, Destiny Easley 3-10 2-3 8, Darrien Martin 2-5 3-4 8, Dasia Kirksey 3-6 0-2 6, Sierra Stone 1-3 1-2 3, Ataliya Morgan 1-7 0-0 3, Kyra Williams 0-0 3-4 3, Nicole Goodson 0-0 0-0 0, Quenteeria Mooney 0-0 0-0 0, Malieah Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Bradi Canady 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-52 19-29 59.
GLENCOE — Sally Tinker 3-8 6-9 13, Madison Lou 2-3 4-5 8, Kaliegh Billingsly 2-4 2-2 6, Breia Little 0-2, 0-0 0, Mykla Edwards 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 7-19 12-16 27.
Jacksonville 12 18 11 18 — 59
Glencoe 3 15 4 6 — 27
3-point goals: Jacksonville 4-16 (Kidd 1-3, Poe 1-4, Easley 0-2, Martin 1-2, Morgan 1-5); Glencoe 1-7 (Tinker 1-4, Billingsly 0-1, Little 0-2). Rebounds: Jacksonville 33 (Kirksey 10), Glencoe 18 (Lou 5). Total fouls: Jacksonville 22, Glencoe 13.
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