Roll Tribe
- Updated: January 14, 2015
Energetic Indians top PV for second win in less than 24 hours
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Winning back-to-back games might not seem such a significant thing for an established basketball program, but when you haven’t done it in a while it becomes pretty important.
The Ohatchee boys won for the second time in two days Tuesday, beating Pleasant Valley in a road matinee 52-33. It has been at least three seasons since the Indians (6-15) have won in consecutive starts.
“I think that’s big,” Indians coach Bryant Ginn said. “It’s a little momentum. The kids are playing with a little confidence now.”
Ginn’s biggest concern coming into the game was how well his team would recover from an intense one-point, last-second victory over Wellborn less than 24 hours earlier.
The Indians showed hardly any sign of a letdown, breaking off a 13-0 run to open an early 16-3 lead. The flurry included three 3-pointers – two by Monday hero Austin Tucker – and a three-point play by Micah Lee.
Tucker and Lee led the Indians’ offense with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Ben Glass chipped in 11, hitting two 3-pointers in the first half, and Bryan Jennings was strong on the glass with 11 rebounds.
“I really thought it may take us a quarter to get going, but we came out with a lot of intensity, a lot of energy,” Ginn said.
“I felt more energetic because of that big win yesterday,” Lee said. “I think it energized most of us because the bench was in it, too, the whole game. I don’t think any of us were getting really tired.”
PV coach Ronnie Preston thought the Indians “had a lot of energy” as well. He was hoping his young team would feed off the energy of the student body in the gym, but the Raiders (3-17) struggled to knock down shots early and were in catch-up mode the rest of the day. They have lost 11 in a row.
“We missed a lot of shots at the beginning of the game and they did a great job of rebounding,” Preston said. “That has happened multiple times this year and then we’re fighting an uphill battle. To be in the game we had to shoot the ball well and we didn’t.”
Matthew Parker and Reid Hightower had 12 points each for the Raiders.
During the doubleheader, PV principal Mark Proper presented Rachel Faucett her ring for winning the Class 2A high jump title at the state track meet last spring.
Ohatchee 52, Pleasant Valley 33
OHATCHEE (6-15) – Dylan Yates 0 1-2 1, Ben Glass 2 5-6 11, Micah Lee 5 2-3 12, John Noel 0 0-0 0, Blaine Cole 0 0-0 0, Owen Hale 0 1-2 1, Austin Tucker 5 4-6 16, Christian Rouse 0 0-0 0, Bryan Jennings 2 2-2 6, Tristan Woodall 1 3-3 5, C.J. Ray 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 18-24 52.
PLEASANT VALLEY (3-17) – Josh Preston 1 0-0 2, Kirklin Childs 1 0-0 2, Marshall Smith 0 0-0 0, Josh Faucett 0 0-0 0, Nick Robbins 0 0-0 0, Andy Brannon 0 1-2 1, Matthew Parker 3 3-3 12, Reid Hightower 3 4-5 12, Chase Craven 1 0-0 2, Seth Kirk 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 8-10 33.
Ohatchee 16 12 17 7 — 52
Pleasant Valley 5 10 9 9 — 33
3-point goals: Ohatchee 4 (Glass 2, Tucker 2); Pleasant Valley 5 (Parker 3, Hightower 2). Total fouls: Ohatchee 13, Pleasant Valley 20. Fouled out: Brannon. Officials: Miller, Hollingsworth, Preston.
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