Valley Cubs control own destiny
- Updated: January 10, 2015
Boys roundup: Piedmont clinches; Oxford, Anniston, Faith, White Plains all win
By East Alabama Sports Today
ALEXANDRIA – When Alexandria lost its first area game of the season, Valley Cubs coach Jason Johnson knew his team’s margin for error to host the Class 5A Area 12 tournament was going to be narrow for the rest of the year.
Today, after beating Lincoln 83-66, the 10th-ranked Cubs hold their destiny in their hands. If they beat Anniston on the road Tuesday, the keys to the tournament will be theirs.
“We knew if we were wanted to control our own destiny we were pretty much going to have to win out; that was the tough thing,” Johnson said. “It was early in the year, the second game of the year and you lose at home.
“We’re just going to go down there and do our best. Our kids have overachieved all year. I’m excited for them and can’t wait to see how they respond.”
Before they could even think about Anniston, the Valley Cubs (15-2) had to get past the ailing Bears (11-5). It was a five-point game in the first half, but the Cubs finally took advantage of their depth, put together a modest run in the third quarter and seized control of the game.
“We did a pretty good job on the boards and controlling them to only one shot because they’ve got some real good athletic posts,” Johnson said. “And we began to shoot the ball better in the third quarter … and that kind of spread it out a little bit. We kind of took care of business.”
Alton Davis led Alexandria with 21 points. Dakota Kelley had 20 and Caleb Young had 13. Young scored 11 of his points in the second half.
Anniston 64, St. Clair County 39
ODENVILLE – Tray Croft filled up the box score with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and DeQuan Ross went for a double-double as Anniston did its part to stay in the hunt for a Class 5A Area 12 title.
Ross had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Davion Tippins had 14 points and six boards, while Hakeem Ross scored eight points and had 10 steals.
The Bulldogs host Alexandria Tuesday and Lincoln Friday to determine the area race.
Oxford 53, Pell City 39
OXFORD – The Yellow Jackets used some stout second-half defense to improve to 2-0 in Class 6A Area 10.
Querrian Mason led Oxford with 15 points and five rebounds, while Kaleb Kidd added 12 points. The Jackets were up by 12 at halftime, then held the Panthers to only four points in the third quarter.
“We played hard and played good defense and will take the win anyway we can get it,” Oxford coach Joel Van Meter said.
Piedmont 82, Weaver 56
PIEDMONT – Taylor Hayes scored 25 and Bayley Blanchard had 13 points, seven steals and five assists as Piedmont clinched the Class 3A, Area 12 title.
Faith Christian 78, Appalachian 47
Jordan Griswald scored 20 and grabbed eight rebounds and Logan Williamson hit four 3-pointers on the way to 19 to lift the Lions. Josiah McGaniel added 14, including eight in the first quarter.
White Plains 72, Cleburne County 38
HEFLIN — Murphy Doss did the job inside and Jerod Guthrie did it outside as the Wildcats kept pace in their area race.
Doss led four scorers in double figures with 16 points; he scored 10 in the first half as the sixth-ranked Wildcats opened a 19-point lead. Jerod Guthrie had 14, Kevin Carr 11 and Michael McGuirk 10.
Cedar Bluff 60, Spring Garden 35
CEDAR BLUFF – Devante Dixon’s 18 points led sixth-ranked Cedar Bluff (10-6), which broke open a close game with a 14-4 third quarter. Joe Rogers led Spring Garden (5-14) with nine points.
Talladega 70, Sylacauga 51
SYLACAUGA – Josh Madden and D’Angelo Scales both went for 15 as the fourth-ranked Tigers rolled. Desmond Green had 12 points and seven rebounds.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Alexandria 83, Lincoln 66
LINCOLN (11-5) — Isaac Davis 4 0-0 8, Zay Caldwell 6 3-4 17, Josh Hemphill 2 2-4 8, D.J. Bradford 0 3-4 3, Quin Carmichael 2 0-0 4. Dee Whiteside 10 2-4 22, L.J. Carmichael 1 2-2 4, Tarez Ellis 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 12-18 66.
ALEXANDRIA (15-2) — Chance Williams 0 0-2 0, Nick Porter 2 1-2 5, Riley Shaw 1 0-0 2, Alton Davis 8 5-7 21, Tyrelle Gay 2 4-8 9, Caleb Young 5 4-6 13, Ronnie Royal 0 1-2 1, Luke Tucker 4 2-3 12. Dakota Kelley 5 7-8 20. Totals 27 24-38 83.
Lincoln 16 15 14 21 — 66
Alexandria 16 20 25 22 — 83
3-point goals: Lincoln 4 (Caldwell 2, Hemphill 2); Alexandria 4 (Gay, Kelley 3). Total fouls: Lincoln 30, Alexandria 18. Fouled out: Caldwell, Hemphill, Q. Carmichael, L. Carmichael.
Oxford 53, Pell City 39
PELL CITY (2-14) – Chris Kennedy 2 0-0 4, William Daniel 5 2-2 14, Griffin Wright 1 0-0 3, Jamichael Lipscomb 0 0-0 0, Brendan Satterwhite 3 5-9 13, Gabriel McKinney 0 0-0 0, Trevor McClendon 0 0-0 0, Jonathan Wilson 2 1-2 5. Totals 13 8-13 39.
OXFORD (7-13) – Kaleb Kidd 4 4-4 12, Jalen Moore 3 2-2 9, Querrian Moore 6 4-4 16, Jakolbie McClendon 2 0-0 4, Jacob Baker 1 0-0 3, Torry Robertson 0 0-0 0, Daunte Landerdale 1 0-0 2, Solomon Shadrix 0 0-0 0, Blaize Brimer 3 1-2 7, Zachary Lackey 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 11-12 53.
Pell City 10 13 4 12 — 39
Oxford 19 10 12 12 — 53
3-point goals: Pell City 5 (Daniel 2, Satterwhite 2, Wright); Oxford 2 (Moore, Baker). Total fouls: Pell City 10, Oxford 16. Officials: Calkins, Killingsworth, Etheridge.
Faith Christian 78, Appalachian 47
APPALACHIAN — Andrew Whittington 0 0-0 0, James Dean 1 0-0 2, Trey Calvert 0 0-0 0, Dalton McCay 1 0-0 3, Jose Rivera 2 0-0 4, Brian Hawkins 1 1-2 3, Roberto Hernandez 1 1-1 3, Jerald Pantoja 5 0-0 11, Skylar Roberts 3 0-0 0, Christopher Hernandez 1 0-0 2, William Noles 3 0-1 6, Hermero Maldonado 2 0-0 4, Tyler Cardwell 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 3-6 47.
FAITH CHRISTIAN — Ryan Crosby 2 0-0 5, Jordan Griswald 7 6-8 20, Jameson Adams 0 0-0 0, Logan Williamson 5 5-5 19, Caleb McCord 1 0-2 2, Jack Sills 4 1-2 9, Grant Martin 0 0-0 0, Michael Kulick 0 0-2 0, Josiah McDaniel 5 4-9 14, Alex Taylor 2 0-0 5, Julien Key 0 4-4 4. Totals 26 20-32 78.
Appalachian 10 17 15 5 — 47
Faith Christian 27 15 21 14 — 78
3-point goals: Appalachian 2 (McCay, Pantoja); Faith Christian 6 (Crosby, Taylor, Williamson 4). Total fouls: Appalachian 21, Faith Christian 8. Officials: Ortiz, Oliver, Stubbs.
White Plains 72, Cleburne County 38
WHITE PLAINS (16-4) — Jerod Guthrie 4 4-6 14, Dillon Greenwood 1 2-4 4, Kevin Carr 3 3-4 11, Michael McGuirk 3 3-4 10, Jackson Guthrie 2 0-0 4, Quez Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Lawrence Jackson 2 0-0 4, Nathan Gilbert 3 1-2 7, Murphy Doss 8 0-0 16, Brett Beaver 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 13-20 72
CLEBURNE COUNTY — Noah Ware 0 0-0 0, Jacob Lee 3 2-3 8, Colton Austin 1 1-2 3, Macain Carlile 0 0-0 0, Shashun Henson 4 4-6 12, Jeremian Blake 4 0-0 10, Tyler Norton 0 0-0 0, Jacob Camp 1 0-2 2, Taylor Rice 1 1-2 3, John Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 8-15 38.
White Plains 22 17 17 16 — 72
Cleburne County 8 12 13 5 — 38
3-point goals: White Plains 5 (Je. Guthrie 2, Carr 2, McGuirk); Cleburne County 2 (Blake 2). Total fouls: White Plains 15, Cleburne County 16. Officials: Douthitt, Bankston, Robinson.
Talladega 70, Sylacauga 51
TALLADEGA – Marius Echols 0 0-0 0, D’Angelo Scales 5 5-6 15, Calvin Allen 2 0-0 4, Jay Smoot 2 0-0 4, Desmond Green 4 4-6 12, Josh Madden 6 2-4 15, Oderrius Jemison 0 0-0 0, Ohyja Garrett 3 0-0 6, Antoine Garrett 0 0-0 0, Kenderius Smith 1 0-0 3, Josh Wilson 1 0-0 2, Robert Houston 3 0-2 6, Khail Keith 1 1-2 3. Totals 28 12-20 70.
SYLACAUGA – Jaylon McGhee 6 4-6 18, Dekorius Chambliss 1 1-2 4, Bobby Brown 2 0-0 4, Khalil Pope 0 0-0 0, Daveon Nix 4 7-9 18, Jeffrey Burns 0 0-0 0, Antoine Cook 3 0-0 7, Rhett Aderholt 0 0-0 0, D’Angelo Craig 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-17 51.
Talladega 11 17 17 25 — 70
Sylacauga 8 13 18 12 — 51
3-point goals: Talladega 2 (Madden, Smith); Sylacauga 7 (McGhee 2, Chambliss, Cook, Nix 3). Total fouls: Talladega 20, Sylacauga 15.
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