Lions continue to roar
- Updated: December 9, 2015
Boys roundup: Gritty, hungry Faith Christian wins fourth straight game to get over .500 for the first time this season
BOYS SCORES
Anniston 69, Sylacauga 42
Donoho 54, Ragland 52
Etowah 52, Jacksonville 50
Faith Christian 53, Spring Garden 46
JCA 78, Gaylesville 45
Pleasant Valley 61, Wellborn 53
St. Clair County 66, Alexandria 63
Shelby County 47, Talladega 43
Sacred Heart 73, Cornerstone 43
Westbrook Christian 76, Ohatchee 56
White Plains 66, Ranburne 30
By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today
Faith Christian grinded out a fast-paced and hard-fought 53-46 victory over Spring Garden Tuesday night for its fourth straight win that elevated first-year coach Brad Yarbrough over the .500 mark for the first time in his career.
“This was a big win to get over .500 and keep building momentum moving forward to keep growing and chasing our goals,” Yarbrough said. “These guys are hungry and this little run is great for us, but we’re still nowhere near where we want to be.”
One night removed from a dominating performance against Jacksonville Christian, the Lions (4-3) appeared heading in the same direction in the first half against the Garden.
Jordan Griswould continued his solid play with 20 points and a handful of assists and rebounds, setting the tone for a team that was smooth once again in their ball movement to build a 33-19 lead at the half.
Senior Caleb McCord brought seven assists and excellent defense, but was quiet shooting with only three points in the first half.
“He’s a tough kid; he’ll bounce back,” Yarbrough said. “Sometimes we have off nights and tonight just happened to be one of those. He helped us tonight in other ways than shooting. He’s a leader for our team and I believe in him.”
The second half presented a challenge to the Lions as their ball handling became a little more erratic and Spring Garden started to make big shots. Joseph Rogers, Draevan Bowman, and Riley Austin all had big parts in the attempted comeback that got as close as seven points late in the fourth quarter.
“We came out flat and kept forcing shots, instead of attacking like we want,” Yarbrough said. “They were knocking down big shots and they caught fire.”
Jack Sills, though, proved an effective firefighter, hitting five huge free throws to seal the deal. Sills also grabbed 22 rebounds in the game. He had 17 boards the night before.
“He had a huge game in the boards and also was doing the ‘nasty stuff’ to help us with the win,” Yarbrough said.
All in all, this Faith Christian team showed passion and grit. Its methodical passing and stellar defense won it the game, even though the second half was draped with adversity.
“We’ve improved a lot and we’re starting to click on a lot of things,” Yarbrough said. “We are hungry and I think they’re working for it.”
Westbrook Christian 76, Ohatchee 56
OHATCHEE — Kyle Leonard hit all four of his 3-pointers and 18 of his 27 points in the second quarter to keep the Warriors in the game and Chandler Richards scored eight of his 16 in the third quarter as they pulled away. Micah Lee was the only Ohatchee scorer in double figures (22 points).
Etowah 52, Jacksonville 50
JACKSONVILLE – The Golden Eagles rallied from 12 down to take a one-point lead only to fall on a late 3-pointer. Cam Horton led Jacksonville with 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Casey Trull had 12 points and eight boards, while Taye Ackles added 11 points.
The Golden Eagles shot 29 percent from the floor in the game and were only 4-of-22 from behind the 3-point arc.
White Plains 66, Ranburne 30
The Wildcats opened a 48-13 halftime lead and put it on cruise control. Michael McGuirk led White Plains with 15 points. Kevin Carr had 13.
Shelby County 47, Talladega 43
COLUMBIANA – Talladega’s shooting slump continued as the Tigers were only 1-of-8 from the foul line. Jay Smoot led the Tigers with 13 points. He was their only scorer in double figures.
St. Clair County 66, Alexandria 63
ODENVILLE – Hakeem Davis hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 of his 33 points in the first quarter and then went 9-of-10 from the foul line with 11 points in the fourth to spoil the Valley Cubs season opener.
Caleb Young led Alexandria with 16 points. Luke Tucker had 12.
Donoho 54, Ragland 52
RAGLAND – The Falcons rallied from 10 down at halftime, 13 early in the third quarter to take the lead on two Ross Svensen free throws with two minutes left and never lost it.
The free throws were his only points of the second half. Robert Clausen scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the second half.
BOYS BOXSCORES
Faith Christian 58, Spring Garden 46
SPRING GARDEN — Riley Austin 3 2-2 9, Alvin Lambert 2 0-0 4, Benjamin Ivey 0 1-3 1, Ashton Rogers 0 0-0 0, Dylan Rogers 2 0-0 6, Draevan Bowman 3 0-0 9, Tanner Parker 2 0-0 4, Joseph Rogers 4 3-4 11, Avery Gowens 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 8-9 46.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (4-3) — Caleb McCord 1 1-3 4, Jordan Griswould 7 3-6 20, Jameson Adams 0 2-5 2, David Wall 2 0-0 5, Jack Sills 5 6-10 16, Michael Kulick 0 0-0 0, Alex Taylor 2 0-0 6. Totals 17 12-24 56.
Spring Garden 9 10 13 12 — 46
Faith Christian 13 20 8 11 — 58
3-point goals: Spring Garden 6 (Austin, Rogers 2, Bowman 3); Faith Christian 7 (McCord, Griswould 3, Wall, Taylor 2). Fouled out: Lambert. Total fouls: Spring Garden 20, Faith Christian 13. Officials: Stubbs, Kadle, Hinkle.
Westbrook Christian 76, Ohatchee 56
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN — Will Jones 3 0-0 7, Garrett Kennedy 1 0-0 3, Gilbert Rosas 1 0-1 2, Kyle Edwards 1 0-0 2, Cameron Migliore 1 0-0 3, Chandler Richards 6 4-5 16, Kyle Leonard 10 3-6 27, Braden Beecham 2 0-0 4, Luke Graham 3 0-0 7, Jordan Kilgo 1 1-4 3, Boo Shirley 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 8-16 76.
OHATCHEE — Ben Glass 2 1-2 7, Kevin Williamson 0 0-0 0, Micah Lee 6 10-13 22, Jon Noel 1 0-0 3, Bryant Dunaway 0 0-0 0,
Brennan Wink 0 0-0 0, Austin Tucker 3 2-2 8, Blaine Cole 0 0-0 0, Brian Jennings 4 0-0 8, Tristan Woodall 3 1-1 8, Sean Barnett 0 0-1 0. Totals 19 14-19 56.
Westbrook Christian 14 28 23 11 — 76
Ohatchee 14 24 9 9 — 56
3-point goals: Westbrook 8 (Leonard 4, Jones, Kennedy, Migliore Graham); Ohatchee 4 (Glass 2, Noel, Woodall). Fouled out: Tucker. Total fouls: Westbrook 21, Ohatchee 16. Officials: Burroughs, Kelly, Calkins.
Shelby County 47, Talladega 43
TALLADEGA – Fred Dickerson 2 0-0 5, Tyrese Scales 3 0-4 6, Jay Smoot 5 0-0 13, Jarvis McKenzie 1 1-2 3, Ashton Duncan 0 0-2 0, Jamontae Twymon 3 0-0 6, Waderrius Tuck 2 0-0 4, Robert Houston 3 0-0 6, Jaelyn Russ 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 1-8 43.
SHELBY COUNTY — Colin Baker 0 0-0 0, Deon Carter 1 1-2 3, Cole Pate 0 0-0 0, Cory Martin 0 0-0 0, J.T. Owen 3 0-0 9, Quinderious Montgomery 3 3-4 9, Austin Lucas 1 0-0 2, Colby Blythe 0 2-2 2, Tae Whetstone 2 0-0 4, Tanner Brooks 0 3-4 3, David Watkins 5 4-8 15. Totals 15 13-20.
Talladega 13 6 9 15 — 43
Shelby Co. 7 11 12 17 — 47
3-point goals: Talladega 4 (Dickerson, Smoot 3); Shelby County 4 (Owen 3, Watkins). Technical foul: Brooks. Fouled out: Tuck, Brooks.
Total fouls: Talladega 20, Shelby County 13. Officials: Pretnar, Clark, Williams.
Etowah 52, Jacksonville 50
ETOWAH – Alvin Bolton 3-4 3-4 12, Cyrus Smith 5-9 0-1 11, L. Green 4-10 0-0 10, Jamin Graham 4-7 0-0 8, Sean Nunn 2-2 3-6 7, Christopher Jones 1-4 0-2 3, Andrew Noles 0-1 1-2 1, Justin Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph Green 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 7-15 52.
JACKSONVILLE – Cam Horton 5-18 4-6 15, Casey Trull 6-10 2-6 12, Taye Ackles 3-9 3-3 11, Rivan Hill 3-7 1-1 8, Martavious Long 1-11 0-0 2, Tahj Kirkland 0-1 1-2 1, K.J. Satcher 0-0 1-2 1, Will Fuller 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Morris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 12-20 50.
Etowah 7 14 24 7 — 52
Jacksonville 9 14 11 16 — 50
3-point goals: Etowah 7-15 (Bolton 3-4, Smith 1-1, L. Green 2-5, Jones 1-3, J. Green 0-2); Jacksonville 4-22 (Horton 1-8, Ackles 2-7, Hill 1-4, Long 0-2, Kirkland 0-1). Rebounds: Etowah 37 (Bolton 9); Jacksonville 35 (Horton 10, Trull 8). Total fouls: Etowah 18, Jacksonville 14.
St. Clair County 66, Alexandria 63
ALEXANDRIA (0-1) – Riley Shaw 3 0-0 9, Austin Taylor 0 0-0 0, A.J. Martin 0 1-2 1, Gerald Murphy 3 1-4 7, Cole Nail 0 0-0 0, Jamal Tucker 2 0-0 6, Jordan Romine 2 2-2 6, Caleb Young 6 4-4 16, Marcus Swink 3 0-3 6, Luke Tucker 5 1-2 12. Totals 24 9-17 63.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY – Jadarren Carter 0 0-0 0, Taylor Mickens 1 1-4 3, Colby Smith 0 0-0 0, Nyjil Cotton 0 0-0 0. Hakeem Davis 7 14-16 33, Armand Brasfield 0 1-1 1, Grayson Beatty 4 0-0 9, May 2 0-0 4, Mason Anderson 4 1-4 11, Garrett Sanders 2 1-2 5, Grayson Coupland 0 0-0 0.
Totals 20 18-26 66.
Alexandria 16 15 13 19 — 63
St. Clair County 26 7 14 19 — 66
3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Shaw 3, L. Tucker, J. Tucker 2); St. Clair Co. 8 (Davis 5, Beatty, Anderson 2). Fouled out: J. Tucker. Total fouls: Alexandria 27, St. Clair Co. 18.
Donoho 54, Ragland 52
DONOHO — Dylan Dunaway 0 0-0 0, Garrett Steed 5 0-0 10, Saad Ibrahim 0 0-0 0, Ross Svensen 4 3-4 13, Mateen Ibrahim 0 0-0 0, Ross Hagen 1 0-1 2, Tucker Sedmak 2 0-0 5, Mitchell Baker 2 0-1 4, Wilson Russell 2 1-4 5, Robert Clausen 6 3-6 16. Totals 22 7-16 54.
RAGLAND — Jadon Killings 3 0-0 8, Coby Fuller 1 0-0 3, Jagger Phillips 3 1-2 10, Stony Merritt 5 0-2 11, Devin Turner 0 0-0 0, John Brewer 0 0-0 0, Braxton Thomas 6 2-5 15, Noah Hollingsworth 1 0-0 2, Jonathan Thornton 0 0-0 0, Dustin Bunt 0 0-0 0, Tucker Kay 1 1-2 3. Totals 20 4-11 52.
Donoho 16 12 14 12 — 54
Ragland 21 17 8 6 — 52
3-point goals: Donoho 3 (Sedmak, R. Svensen 2); Ragland 8 (Killings 2, Fuller, Phillips 3, Merritt, Thomas). Total fouls: Donoho 12, Ragland 18. Officials: Graves, Hall, Dykes.
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