Oxford a handful for Gadsden City
- Updated: January 11, 2015
By East Alabama Sports Today
GADSDEN – Oxford’s young basketball team took a body blow early in the game that might have had a lesser team reeling, but the Yellow Jackets refused to let it get them down.
Gadsden City scored 14 straight points in the first quarter to grab the lead, but it would be hard to say the Titans ever got comfortable as they only won 48-42.
The Yellow Jackets led 6-5 when the Titans embarked on their run. But instead of building on that momentum, the Titans lost a step. Oxford held them to only four points in the second quarter and cut its deficit to five at the break.
“They showed a lot of grit and toughness,” Oxford coach Joel Van Meter said. “They’ve come a long way as a group, a long way as individuals.”
Querrian Mason scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Daunte Lauderdale scored only one point but he led some relentless play around the boards with 11 rebounds.
“Lauderdale did a great job,” Van Meter said. “He has matured tremendously and become a leader on this team. I couldn’t be more pleased with where he is right now.”
Kalin Johnson and Chris Dudley led the 10th-ranked Titans with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Johnson scored 13 in the second half.
Talladega 80, Etowah 40
TALLADEGA – The fourth-ranked Tigers enjoyed balanced scoring and erupted for 56 points in the middle two quarters to win at Chuck Miller Arena.
D’Angelo Scales and Josh Madden scored 13 points apiece to lead the attack. Desmond Green and Jay Smoot added 11 points each. Sophomore Khail Keith came off the bench to score seven points and grab eight rebounds.
GIRLS GAMES
Gadsden City 61, Oxford 37
GADSDEN – Inspired by the halftime talk of acting coach Lydia Elkins, Ebony Kelley scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half to keep Oxford interested.
The Yellow Jackets trailed by 29 at halftime, but they outscored Gadsden City in both the third and fourth quarters.
“I told them at halftime that they have won the games they needed to win, so act like it’s practice, go out and have some fun and take it to them,” Elkins said.
Elkins was pressed into service when head coach Tonya People needed to handle a family emergency.
Brooke Burns scored 11 of her 14 points in the first half as the Lady Titans.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Gadsden City 48, Oxford 42
OXFORD (7-14) – Kaleb Kidd 4 0-0 9, Jalen Moore 0 6-10 6, Querrian Mason 7 1-2 15, Jakolbie McClendon 1 1-2 3, Jacob Baker 2 0-0 6, Torry Robertson 0 0-0 0, Daunte Lauderdale 0 1-1 1, Chris Jarman 1 0-2 2, Blaize Brimer 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-18 42.
GADSDEN CITY (17-3) – Josh Juddine 2 0-0 5, Darnell Mooney 2 0-0 4, Kalin Johnson 4 7-10 16, Chris Dudley 5 5-5 15, Vincent Coats 1 0-0 2, Denzel Moody 0 0-0 0, Chandler Hall 0 0-0 0, Brailen Jackson 1 0-0 2, Jacob Hyde 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 12-15 48.
Oxford 6 12 14 10 — 42
Gadsden City 19 4 15 10 — 48
3-point goals: Oxford 3 (Kidd, Baker 2); Gadsden City 2 (Juddine, Johnson). Total fouls: Oxford 11, Gadsden City 16.
Talladega 80, Etowah 40
ETOWAH – Andreas Waker 1 1-2 3, Joseph Green 1 2-4 5, Frederick Moore 0 0-2 0, Denzel Aaron 2 0-0 5, Labradford Britton 2 0-0 5, Kordell Rudolph 0 1-2 1, Jalen Williams 2 0-1 4, Andrew Noles 3 1-2 8, Alvin Bolton 3 0-0 7, Stacy Williams 0 2-2 2, Sean Nunn 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-15 40.
TALLADEGA — Marius Echols 0 1-2 1, D’Angelo Scales 4 3-5 13, Jay Smoot 4 1-1 11, Desmond Green 5 1-1 11, Josh Madden 5 2-5 13, Ohyja Garrett 3 2-2 8, Antoine Garrett 0 1-2 1, Kenderius Smith 4 0-1 9, Josh Wilson 2 0-2 4, Robert Houston 1 0-0 2, Khail Keith 3 1-2 7. Totals: 31 12-23 80.
Etowah 10 15 7 8 — 40
Talladega 13 29 27 11 — 80
3-point goals: Etowah 5 (Green, Aaron, Britton, Noles, Bolton); Talladega 6 (Scales 2, Smoot 2, Madden, Smith). Total fouls: Etowah 18, Talladega 17. Fouled out: Nunn.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Gadsden City 61, Oxford 37
OXFORD (8-9) — Anna Bolton 1 0-0 2, Makayla Kidd 1 0-0 2, Winter Taylor 2 0-0 5, Makayla Lowery 0 0-0 0, Tremeria Britt 1 0-0 3, Ebony Kelley 7 1-3 15, Alex Gomez 0 0-0 0, Jordan Smith 2 0-0 4, Alexus Davis 3 0-0 6, Grace Mitchell 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 1-3 37.
GADSDEN CITY (18-2) — Taylor Tucker 4 0-1 9, Yakila Williams 1 0-0 3, Brooke Burns 5 3-4 14, Haley Troupe 3 2-2 9, Tansley LaCourt 1 0-0 2, Takara Blount 6 1-4 13, Robin Treadwell 0 1-4 1, Kyana Rigby 2 .
Oxford 7 7 14 9 — 37
Gadsden City 16 27 10 8 — 61
3-point goals: Oxford 2 (Britt, Taylor); Gadsden City 4 (Tucker, Williams, Burns, Troupe). Total fouls: Oxford 10, Gadsden City 6.
Cover photo: Talladega and Etowah players watch a shot hit nothing but net in their game Saturday night.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login