Wildcats road warriors
- Updated: December 18, 2015
Boys roundup: Saks completes 3-0 road week with area win over J’ville; White Plains keeps pace, Ohatchee, Anniston, PV all win
By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Things started slowly for Saks Friday night, but it didn’t take long for the Wildcats to get going.
The Wildcats used a 23-2 run through the end of the first half that reminded all of the speed that is Saks basketball. After that, there was no looking back and the Wildcats cruised past Jacksonville 60-39.
Jaylen Britt, who is becoming a very popular name in the Saks box score, had 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
Coach Jonathan Miller, with his son in his arms, was all smiles after the game.
“The big thing is that we are 3-0,” said Miller. “This week was a big week with three road games and when you go 3-0 in those games that makes you feel good.”
Miller and the Wildcats should be feel a sense of accomplishment after a difficult early-season schedule. They are 6-1 overall, with four of the games being on the road.
Other big players in the game for Saks included Demetrius Powell (10 points, four rebounds, two steals) and big man Mario Burnette (six points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots). Pretty good for a guy who hasn’t played before this season.
“He’s never played basketball before,” Miller said. “He has really good footwork for a big man, and he is working every day. He is learning all the time. I’m really glad to see what he’s becoming.”
Jacksonville, severely missing the stellar play of senior Cam Horton, struggled throughout the game to find any consistency. Horton said after the game he will not play in the Golden Eagles’ Riley Whitaker Classic opener against St. Clair County Saturday at Gadsden State, but is looking forward to playing Jan. 5 against – who else? — the Saks Wildcats.
“Mark the calendar,” Horton said.
Taye Ackles had the best night for the Eagles, scoring 11 points, grabbing five rebounds and logging two steals and two assists. Senior Martavious Long had seven points, five boards and four steals.
Saks jumps back into action Saturday at the Riley Whitaker as well. The Wildcats play Springville at 1:30 p.m. before taking a much-needed breather for the holidays before that Jacksonville rematch.
“The thing about us is we have key players that come in off the bench,” Miller said. “We will end up playing 11 guys instead of six or seven, and that always helps when you’re playing games back-to-back like this.”
White Plains 81, Cleburne County 60
HEFLIN – Jerod Guthrie broke out of his mini-slump with 16 points and three other White Plains players scored in double figures as the Wildcats won their second area game.
Guthrie scored 14 points in the first half – 11 in the second quarter – as the Wildcats opened a 39-29 halftime lead.
Pleasant Valley 70, Ranburne 62 (OT)
RANBURNE – Reid Hightower hit a big 3-pointer to give Pleasant Valley a cushion in overtime and then the Raiders went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to seal their dramatic victory.
Josh Preston led three PV scorers in double figures with 20 points, including 4-for-4 from the line in overtime. Hightower had 14 points, including 4-for-4 at the line in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Overall, the Raiders were 16 of 24 on free throws in the game, 10 of 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“They’re getting there,” PV coach Ryan McCoy said. “The tougher you get physically, the tougher you get mentally, and when it comes to a game like that you’ve got to be mentally tough.”
Ranburne forced the game into overtime when Owen Smith hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation. The Raiders had a final shot, but didn’t hit it. Hightower’s 3-pointer in overtime, set up by a nice move by Chase Craven, put PV up by four before its march to the foul line.
Ohatchee 76, JCA 62
OHATCHEE – Micah Lee scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and the Indians hit four of their eight 3-pointers in the third quarter to pull away from a close game.
Brian Jennings scored 14 of his game-high 20 in the first half, as Indians opened a 32-30 lead. Antwon Fegans helped keep the Thunder close with 13 of his 18 points in the half.
The Indians came out firing in the second half. Ben Glass and Tristan Woodall bot his two 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Indians extended their lead to 54-39. Woodall hit three 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points. Glass hit four 3-pointers in the game and finished with 15.
JCA’s Reed Murphy led all scorers with 22 points. He scored nine in the first quarter and nine in the fourth.
Anniston 64, Niceville 49
CHILDERSBURG – The seventh-ranked Bulldogs made it nine in a row – and two straight in the Coosa River Classic — behind Tray Croft’s 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Willie Thomas played another strong hustle game for the second tournament game in a row. He had six points, but grabbed eight rebounds and dealt six assists.
DeQuan Ross had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (9-1). Hakeem Ross had 12 points and four assists. Christopher Beard had five steals.
The Bulldogs go for the title Saturday against host Childersburg.
BOYS BOXSCORES
Saks 60, Jacksonville 39
SAKS — Jaylen Britt 7-14 2-2 20, Demetrius Powell 4-9 2-5 10, Mario Burnette 3-5 0-0 6, Phonso Ward 2-8 0-0 5, Quin Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Davieuntae Booker 1-1 1-3 3, Quay McCord 1-1 1-2 3, Jalen Wynn 1-2 0-2 3, Trae Hughley 1-2 0-0 2, Darrien Briskey 1-2 0-0 2, Landun Peters 1-2 0-0 2, JJ Murray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 6-13 60.
JACKSONVILLE — Taye Ackles 4-11 2-2 11, Martavious Long 3-4 1-4 7, Rivan Hill 2-13 0-0 4, Tahj Kirkland 1-6 2-4 4, Will Fuller 2-4 0-0 4, Blake Morris 2-4 0-2 4, K.J. Satcher 1-6 1-2 3, Aaron Bragg 1-6 0-0 2, Collin Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-54 6-14 39.
Saks 23 11 10 16 — 60
Jacksonville 12 6 9 12 — 39
3-point goals: Saks 6-14 (Britt 4-8, Powell 0-1, Ward 1-3, Wynn 1-1, Peters 0-1); Jacksonville 1-12 (Ackles 1-2, Hill 0-5, Kirkland 0-2, Bragg 0-3). Rebounds: Saks 41 (Burnette 9); Jacksonville 33 (Satcher 6). Total fouls: Saks 10, Jacksonville 15.
White Plains 81, Cleburne County 60
WHITE PLAINS — Jerod Guthrie 5 3-4 16, Peyton Morgan 1 1-2 3, Dylan McCareeth 0 0-0 0, Kevin Carr 3 2-4 9, Eli Hightower 3 0-2 7, Michael McGuirk 3 1-1 7, Jackson Guthrie 0 2-4 2, Quez Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Lawrence Jackson 4 1-3 11, Macy Carr 4 1-1 10, Murphy Doss 6 2-2 14, Brett Beaver 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 13-23 81.
CLEBURNE COUNTY — Noah Ware 0 1-5 1, Hunter Carlile 0 0-0 0, Thomas Austin 0 0-0 0, Chad Brown 2 6-8 10, Josh Brown 3 2-2 9, Jeremiah Blake 1 5-7 7, Brock Swafford 1 0-0 2, Jacob Lee 0 0-0 0, Stashun Henson 5 2-2 14, William Rice 1 1-2 3, John Robinson 4 6-9 14. Totals 17 23-35 60.
White Plains 13 26 23 22 — 81
Cleburne County 11 18 11 20 — 60
3-point goals: White Plains 8 (Je. Guthrie 3, K. Carr, Hightower, Jackson 2, M. Carr); Cleburne County 3 (Henson 2, J. Brown). Total fouls: White Plains 25, Cleburne County 20. Officials: Smith, Robinson, Warren.
Ohatchee 76, Jacksonville Christian 62
JCA – Jimbo Tolbert 0 1-4 1, Jayni Mosley 0 0-0 0, Elijah McCormick 1 0-0 3, Walker Messer 5 3-5 15, Jayden Mitchell 1 1-1 3, Antwon Fagens 6 6-12 18, Reed Murphy 9 2-3 22. Totals 22 13-25 62.
OHATCHEE – Ben Glass 5 1-2 15, Kevin Williamson 2 0-0 5, Micah Lee 8 1-2 17, Jon Noel 0 0-1 0, Bryant Dunaway 1 0-0 2, Brennan Wink 0 1-2 1, Austin Tucker 2 0-0 4, Blaine Cole 0 0-0 0, Brian Jennings 9 2-4 20, Tristan Woodall 4 0-0 11, Sean Barnett 0 1-2 1. Totals 31 6-13 76.
JCA 18 12 9 23 — 62
Ohatchee 15 17 22 22 — 76
3-point goals: JCA 5 (McCormick, Messer 2, Murphy 2); Ohatchee 8 (Glass 4, Williamson, Woodall 3). Total fouls: JCA 15, Ohatchee 24. Officials: Burroughs, Maske, Miller.
Anniston 64, Niceville (Fla.) 49
NICEVILLE – Jeffery Toney 4 5-11 15, Kameron Parker 6 1-3 13, Trey Harris 0 0-0 0, Kevin Robinson 1 0-0 2, Eric Harris 0 1-2 1, Trey Diggs 2 0-1 5, Anthony Litscher 4 0-0 8, Stacey Jones 1 3-4 5. Totals 18 10-21 49.
ANNISTON (9-1) – Marrio Dobbins 1 2-4 4, Tray Croft 7 6-8 25, Hakeem Ross 4 2-4 12, Davion Tippins 2 0-0 4, Willie Thomas 2 2-2 6, Leonard Brown 0 0-0 0, DeQuan Ross 4 4-4 12, Jarvis Jackson 0 0-0 0, Christopher Beard 1 0-0 2, Tae Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 16-22 64.
Niceville 13 12 8 16 — 49
Anniston 14 11 20 19 — 64
3-point goals: Niceville 3 (Toney 2, Diggs); Anniston 6 (Croft 4, H. Ross 2). Fouled out: Robinson, Dobbins, D. Ross. Total fouls: Niceville 19, Anniston 22. Officials: Caldwell, Gamble, Young.
Pleasant Valley 70, Ranburne 62 (OT)
PLEASANT VALLEY — Josh Preston 6 5-5 20, Dakota Jones 1 0-0 3, Caden Turner 3 1-2 8, Britton Proper 1 0-0 2, Marshall Smith 2 3-4 7, Josh Faucett 3 3-7 10, Reid Hightower 4 4-6 14, Nick Robbins 3 0-0 6, Jordan Lambert 0 0-0 0, Chase Craven 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 16-24 70.
RANBURNE — Owen Smith 1 4-4 7, Levi Gordin 3 2-2 9, Asa Fordham 0 0-0 0, Jordan English 8 4-5 20, Dylan Wiggins 3 3-4 9, Wilson Rainey 1 0-2 2, Logan Sibley 2 0-0 4, Logan Brown 0 0-0 0, Blake Young 5 1-3 11. Totals 23 14-18 62.
Pleasant Valley 13 14 16 14 13 — 70
Ranburne 15 6 20 16 5 — 62
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 8 (Preston 3, Jones, Turner, Faucett, Hightower 2); Ranburne 2 (O. Smith, Gordin). Fouled out: O. Smith, Sibley. Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 17, Ranburne 21. Officials: Howell, Battles, Wilson.
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