Golden Eagles go cold
- Updated: December 20, 2014
County teams go 3-1 on opening day of Riley Whitaker Classic; Oxford’s girls rally to win
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
GADSDEN — The last time Jacksonville and Glencoe got together on the basketball floor, the game was basically decided at the free throw line.
Another line came into play when the teams played Saturday in the Riley Whitaker Christmas Classic at Gadsden State.
Jacksonville lost to the Yellow Jackets 77-65 and was the victim of icy-cold outside shooting. The Golden Eagles hit just two of 23 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. They were 18 of 40 from everywhere else in the field. Five players took the 3s, but only Cam Horton hit (2-for-14).
Horton had a miserable first quarter with no points and two fouls. The Golden Eagles did not get on the board until they were down 11-0 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
Glencoe’s Pace Ozmint, meanwhile, was having a brilliant first quarter with 10 points. He finished with 36 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including three 3-pointers.
Ozmint poured in 14 more points in the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets opened a 35-24 halftime lead. Horton finished the half with five points and three fouls.
Jacksonville came out on fire to start the second half and immediately scored seven straight points to cut the lead to 36-32 and it looked like the game was on. But Glencoe responded with an 18-7 run to end the quarter with Ozmint collecting six more points.
The Golden Eagles made one final run in the fourth quarter, scoring eight straight points to cut their deficit to 60-48 with four minutes left. The Jackets opened it back to 14 points and put the reserves in.
Horton had 11 fourth-quarter points to finish the game with 20 points. Sid Thurmond had 13 points.
When the teams played Thursday night there were 62 fouls, 94 free throws and four players fouled out. Four players fouled out Saturday, but there 52 fouls and 66 free throws.
The tournament resumes Monday with Weaver-Saks (6 p.m.) and Alexandria-Glencoe (7:30) in the winner’s bracket, St. Clair County-Westbrook Christian (3 p.m.) and Ashville-Jacksonville (4:30) in the loser’s bracket.
Weaver 75, St. Clair County 69
Seven free throws down the stretch topped off a fourth-quarter rally that helped the Bearcats (6-6) move into the second round.
The Bearcats entered the fourth quarter down by one, but quickly regained the lead with a spectacular play by Cameron Lynch and Paul Hubbard. Lynch had nine fourth-quarter points and Hubbard had five.
“We have to make those free throws down the stretch and we learned a lot today,” Weaver coach Daryl Hamby said. “They were tough to put away and we had our chances there, but we got the win.”
The Bearcats jumped out to an early 16-7 lead behind Paul Hubbard’s 7 points and a tight press. But the Saints began to figure out the press and pounded the ball down low to 6-foot-6 Leslie Patton, who responded with seven points of his own and gave the Saints their only lead of the quarter with a lay-up at the buzzer.
Patton was dominating inside as at one point scored 12 straight points for the Saints until he took a rest midway through the second quarter. The Bearcats kept pace by hitting eight free throws and got five points off the bench from Charles Coleman for a 40-35 halftime lead.
Weaver went cold from the floor in the third quarter as the Saints reeled off 10 straight points to take a 51-48 lead. Lynch’s free throws stopped the spurt and cut the Saints lead to 51-50 as the third quarter ended.
Weaver shut down the Saints’ big guy in the fourth quarter with great defensive play by Coleman and Elliot Moore.
The Bearcats were led by Lynch’s 18 points. Delo Forbes and Hubbard had 15 each. Moore and Copeland finished with eight each. Patton led St. Clair County with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Hakeem Davis added 19 points.
Saks 66, Westbrook Christian 56
The fourth-ranked Wildcats used an explosive third quarter to build an 18-point lead and then held off a Westbrook Christian team determined to rally.
The Wildcats jumped out quickly 9-4 behind six points from Makel Taylor. They closed the quarter with 3s from Quen Williams and Quinn Smith to lead 15-6.
They pulled away 21-10, but three straight turnovers gave the Warriors six points and got them back in the game. Westbrook’s Chandler Richards had 11 points in the second quarter to help make it a 26-21 game at halftime.
The Wildcats went on a 10-0 run after halftime and opened up a 17-point lead at 47-30 and held a 48-34 lead after three quarters. It was a 56-38 game in the fourth when the Warriors began to claw away and cut their deficit to eight with three seconds left.
Taylor led four Wildcats in double figures with 15 points (and eight rebounds). Darion Coleman had 13, Williams 12 and Smith 10.
Chandler Richards poured in 17 for Westbrook (6-4).
Alexandria 65, Ashville 32
The Valley Cubs drained 10 of their 14 3-pointers in the first half to open a 30-point halftime lead and coast to another easy win.
Dakota Kelley had five of the treys in the half, Tyrelle Gay three and Riley Shaw two. The Cubs’ swarming press and the relentless substitutions created many turnovers that led to some great looks. Kelly had 15 first-half points while Gay had 14.
“We were getting some good looks and our kids were hitting them,” Cubs coach Jason Johnson said. “I was especially proud of our defense. We were creating a lot of problems and turnovers from them and that helped us get some of those good looks. I was real proud of the way our guys got out there and went after them in the first round of this tournament.”
Caleb Young started the second half with a bucket and a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 55-17. Gabe Green then got hot for Ashville and nailed two 3s to cut Alexandria’s lead to 57-27 after three quarters. Green finished with 19 points.
A running clock in the fourth quarter helped keep the score in hand as reserves for both teams finished out the game.
Cherokee County Invitational
Cherokee County 56, Piedmont 46
CENTRE – Joel Wester scored 24 points behind six 3-pointers and undefeated top-ranked Cherokee County (11-0) pulled away from a close game with a big four quarter. Quartez Henderson hit a pair of 3s to fuel his 11 points.
Taylor Hayes led Piedmont with 18 points. Bayley Blanchard added 13. The Bulldogs (7-6) finished runnerup in the tournament for the second year in a row and the fourth time since 2007.
GIRLS GAMES
Oxford 50, White Plains 46
WHITE PLAINS – Winter Taylor and Ebony Kelley combined for all of their team’s 15 fourth-quarter points, including going 4-of-5 from the foul line down the stretch, as the Yellow Jackets (3-6) rallied to win.
Kelly broke a 46-all tie by hitting one of two free throws. Taylor was fouled after White Plains failed to score and hit two more, and then after the Wildcats misfired again Taylor hit another free throw to make it a two-possession game.
Kelley finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Taylor had 12 points. Tremeria Britt added seven points for the Yellow Jackets, who trailed 40-35 entering the fourth quarter. Jordan Smith blocked six shots.
Shelby Wood led White Plains with 15 points, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Amber Greenwood had 12.
Cherokee County Invitational
Spring Garden 50, Piedmont 25
CENTRE – Tykeah Rogers scored 22 points and fourth-ranked Spring Garden (14-2) held Piedmont scoreless until the second quarter to win its first CCI title since 2007, the last time the Lady Panthers reached the championship game. Darian Gaines added 10 points behind three 3-pointers.
Bre Green scored 21 points for Piedmont (11-2). Keshauna Jones had its other four.
Pell City (4-7) beat Handley (5-5) in the consolation game 55-35. Kaylan Millender had 22 for Pell City while Jasmine Finley-Kimble had 22 for Handley.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Glencoe 77, Jacksonville 65
JACKSONVILLE — Cam Horton 6-23 6-6 20, Sid Thurmond 3-14 7-10 13, Taye Ackles 3-11 3-3 9, Savon Parker 4-6 0-1 8, Rivan Hill 2-4 3-3 7, Tristan Yates 1-2 4-4 6, Casey Trull 1-2 0-2 2, Ben Jaskowski 0-0 0-0 0, Aaron Bragg 0-1 0-0 0, Zack Casey 0-0 0-0 0, K.J. Satcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-63 23-29 65.
GLENCOE — Pace Ozmint 12-16 9-13 36, Dalton Roberts 2-4 7-7 11, Andrew Willis 2-3 4-4 8, Garrison Clowdus 3-8 0-0 8, Dylan Stone 2-7 3-4 7, Grant Griffin 1-4 1-2 3, Cody Weems 0-1 2-4 2, Seth Napper 0-1 2-2 2, Craig Barkley 0-0 0-1 0, Jacob Bradley 0-1 0-0 0, Ty Minshew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 28-37 77.
Jacksonville 7 18 12 28 — 65
Glencoe 13 23 16 25 — 77
3-point goals: Jacksonville 2-23 (Horton 2-14, Thurmond 0-2, Ackles 0-5, Hill 0-1, Bragg 0-1); Glencoe 5-12 (Ozmint 3-5, Clowdus 2-4, Stone 0-1, Weems 0-1, Napper 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 39 (Parker 9, Trull 7); Glencoe 33 (Ozmint 9, Willis 7). Total fouls: Jacksonville 29, Glencoe 23. Fouled out: Thurmond, Ackles, Parker, Willis.
Weaver 75, St. Clair County 69
WEAVER (6-6) — Delo Forbes 4 7-10 15, Craig Copeland 3 3-3 9, Maurice Goodman 1 0-0 2, Paul Hubbard 5 4-7 15, Cody Cochran 0 0-0 0, Elliot Moore 3 2-2 8, Cameron Lynch 5 8-10 18, Tyrik Hall 0 0-0 0, Marcus Sanders 0 0-0 0, Dale Akers 0 0-0 0, Charles Coleman 3 2-3 8, Totals 24 26-35 75.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY — Taylor Mickens 5 0-0 11, Kelvin Johnson 0 0-0 0, Chris McCugh 1 3-4 5, Hakeem Davis 7 4-4 19, Armond Brasfield 0 1-2 1, Mason Anderson 4 0-0 9, Lesley Patton 8 4-11 20, Willie Buchannon 2 0-0 4. Totals 27 12-21 69.
Weaver 19 21 10 25 — 75
St. Clair Co. 21 16 14 18 — 69
3-point goals: Weaver 1 (Hubbard); St. Clair County 3 (Mickens, Davis, Anderson)
Total fouls: Weaver 18, St. Clair County 22. Fouled out: Johnson.
Saks 66, Westbrook Christian 56
SAKS (7-1) — Makel Taylor 5 4-5 15, Darion Coleman 5 1-3 12, Devin Harris 2 1-2 5, Quinn Smith 3 3-4 10, Jalen Britt 0 0-0 0, Davieuntae Booker 0 0-0 0, Monty Young 4 0-1 8, Quinn Williams 5 0-0 12, Quay McCord 0 0-0 0, Demetrius Powell 2 0-2 4. Totals 26 9-17 66.
WESTBROOK (6-4) — Will Jones 2 1-2 5, Tyler Self 3 0-0 7, Gilbert Rosos 0 0-0 0, Kyle Edwards 3 1-3 7, Wil Appleton 1 0-0 2, Cameron Migliore 1 0-0 3, Emilio Smith 2 0-0 4, Jordan Kilgore 0 0-0 0, Chandler Richards 8 2-2 18, Braden Beecham 0 0-0 0, Kyle Leonard 4 0-0 10, Boo Shirley 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-7 56.
Saks 15 11 22 18 — 66
Westbrook 6 15 13 22 — 56
3-point goals: Saks 5 (Taylor, Coleman, Smith, Williams 2); Westbrook 4 (Self, Migliore, Leonard 2). Rebounds: Saks 26 (Taylor 8); Westbrook 17 (Richards 7). Total fouls: Saks 11, Westbrook 13
Alexandria 65, Ashville 32
ALEXANDRIA – Chance Williams 3 3-3 11, Austin Wells 0 0-0 0, Nick Porter 0 0-2 0, Cole Nail 0 0-0 0, Riley Shaw 2 1-2 7, Kevin Swink 1 0-0 2, Alton Davis 2 0-0 4, Tyrelle Gay 5 1-2 14, Caleb Young 3 0-0 8, Ronnie Royal 0 0-0 0, Marcus Swink 1 0-0 2, Luke Tucker 0 0-0 0, Dakota Kelley 5 0-0 15, Darrin Caver Jr 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 5-9 65.
ASHVILLE — Hunter Huckaby 0 0-0 0, Samuel Wilson 0 2-2 2, Brandon Bothwell 0 0-0 0, Malek Williams 0 0-0 0, D.J. Cook 0 0-1 0, Nick Looney 3 3-3 9, Gabe Green 6 4-5 19, Judd Mundy 0 0-0 0, Noah Carter 0 0-0 0, Zareen Williams 0 0-0 0, D’Angelo Williams 0 0-0 0, Antonio Pierce 0 2-3 2. Totals 9 11-14 32.
Alexandria 18 29 10 8 — 65
Ashville 7 10 10 5 — 32
3-point goals: Alexandria 14 (Williams 2, Shaw 2, Gay 3, Young 2, Kelley 5); Ashville 3 (Green 3), Rebounds: Alexandria 20 (Young 3); Ashville 16 (Looney 9). Total fouls: Alexandria 12, Ashville 11.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Oxford 50, White Plains 46
OXFORD – Anna Bolton 2-5 0-0 5, Makayla Kidd 0-3 0-0 0, Winter Taylor 3-5 4-7 12, Makayla Lowery 1-5 2-2 5, Tremeria Britt 3-7 1-2 7, Ebony Kelley 6-13 5-9 17, Alex Gomez 0-3 0-0 0, Jordan Smith 2-10 0-0 4, Alexus Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Grace Mitchell 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 12-21 50.
WHITE PLAINS – Rian Chandler 1 0-0 2, Carly Wood 4 1-2 9, Hannah Barno 3 0-0 8, Ann-Katherine Dothard 0 0-0 0, Chasity Nelson 0 0-0 0, Amber Greenwood 5 1-2 12, Shelby Wood 4 5-11 15, Landry Bussey 0 0-0 0, Halaya Harmon 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-15 46.
Oxford 12 16 7 15 — 50
White Plains 13 17 10 6 — 46
3-point goals: Oxford 4-10 (Bolton 1-1, Kidd 0-3, Taylor 2-3, Lowery 1-2, Britt 0-1); White Plains 5 (Barno 2, Greenwood, S. Wood 2). Total fouls: Oxford 15, White Plains 13. Fouled out: Burgess.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login