Faith stages big comeback
- Updated: December 22, 2015
Griswould’s last-second baby hook caps furious rally; Horton returns in J’ville win; Sacred Heart falls in Steel City consolidation game and more
By East Alabama Sports Today
CENTRE — The Faith Christian basketball team’s Christmas holiday will be a little merrier this year after the events of Tuesday afternoon.
The Lions came from eight points down with 1:35 to play — six with less than a minute to go — to beat Cedar Bluff 64-62 in their final game of the Cherokee Invitational.
Jordan Griswould hit the game-winner on a baby hook from the middle of the lane with three-tenths of a second on the clock. He also hit the game-tying basket on a putback.
“I was ecstatic,” Griswould said. “Everybody was running around. With all the hard work we’ve put in I knew we could do it.”
The Lions (8-5) trailed by eight with 2:15 to play after Cedar Bluff knocked down two technical foul shots following a big 3-pointer by Alex Taylor. They plugged in the full-court press at that point and shut Cedar Bluff down the rest of the game.
In the final minute, they turned the Tigers over twice and Jack Sills and Caleb McCord turned them into baskets. Another turnover led to Griswould’s tying putback.
The Lions put in motion the game-winning play with eight seconds left after Sills saved a ball from going out of bounds and called time. Griswould would kick it out to Taylor if the Tigers collapsed to help, but the help didn’t present and Griswould calmly took the shot.
“It was a little bit wild there,” Faith coach Brad Yarbrough said. “For us to keep our head after something like that — I’ve seen it go the other way — I was proud of that. … Our energy and intensity on defense was incredible.”
Griswould finished with 10 points. Taylor led the Lions with 23, 12 in the team’s 28-point fourth quarter; he hit five 3-pointers. Sills had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Michael Croft had 29 for Cedar Bluff, 22 in the second half.
Piedmont 72, Coosa (Ga.) 52
Taylor Hayes led four Piedmont scorers in double figures with 21 points, as the Bulldogs continued to move closer to getting their basketball legs.
Austin Brazier had 16, Bayley Blanchard had 14 and Darnell Jackson had 12.
Chattooga won the tournament, beating Sand Rock in its final game 73-66.
On the girls side, Piedmont fell to Sand Rock Tuesday, 44-31.
RILEY WHITAKER CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
GADSDEN — Cam Horton returned to the Jacksonville lineup for the first time in nine days and according to coach Ryan Chambless “didn’t miss a beat,” scoring 27 points in leading the Golden Eagles to a 65-52 victory over Springville.
Horton has been out since hitting his head on the floor in the first half of the Golden Eagles’ TV24 Holiday Showcase loss to Geraldine on Dec. 13.
Horton was 7-for-8 from the field in his return and 13-of-16 from the free throw line. He also had five steals, five rebounds and three assists.
With their offensive leader back in the fold, the Golden Eagles opened an 18-7 first-quarter lead.
Rivan Hill added 15 points for Jacksonville, while Casey Trull had eight points and eight rebounds.
Alexandria 72, Glencoe 64
Marcus Swink scored seven of his team-high 17 points in the second half and three other Valley Cubs players scored in double figures.
Dalton Dodd and Riley Shaw both added 12 points and Caleb Young had 11. Swink and Young combined for 12 points in the first quarter as Alexandria opened a 24-14 lead. Dodd and Shaw combined for 15 in the second half as the Valley Cubs pulled away.
The Cubs were 11 of 18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Glencoe’s Pace Ozmint led all scorers with 19 points.
Lincoln 69, Ashville 39
Donte Rivers scored seven of his nine points in a 29-point second quarter and Dee Whiteside added six of his game-high 23 points there as the Golden Bears (14-3) pulled away.
The victory allowed the Bears to complete six games in eight days with a 5-1 record. They are now four wins away from matching last season’s victory total.
Boaz 49, Ohatchee 43
Reagin Langley and Evan Jones scored 12 points apiece, but Jones scored six of his points in the fourth quarter and that proved to be the margin of victory.
Austin Tucker led Ohatchee with 18 points. He scored 13 in the first half. Ben Glass scored 10, all in the second half.
Because of the threat of bad weather Wednesday, the day’s tournament games will begin at 9 a.m. The Indians will play Alexandria in the first game.
In the final game Tuesday night, Westbrook surged in the third quarter and defeated Saks 52-44. When Saks plays St. Clair County Wednesday at noon it will be the weary Wildcats’ seventh game in 10 days.
STEEL CITY INVITATIONAL
Ramsay 65, Sacred Heart 47
HOMEWOOD — Sacred Heart was cold from the floor, Ramsay seemingly couldn’t miss and the Rams seemingly rebounded every shot the Cardinals missed in winning the consolation game of the tournament.
Sacred Heart shot only 21.4 percent in the first half while Ramsay hit at a 52-percent clip, but the top-ranked 1A Cardinals (11-6) trailed by only one at halftime by getting to the line and hitting 10-of-15 from the foul line.
Their cold shooting continued in the second half and this time Ramsay stayed hot. The Rams (12-5) shot 62 percent from the field in the half and outscored the Cardinals 40-23. They outrebounded Sacred Heart in the game 41-21, sweeping 33 caroms off the defensive glass.
The Rams scored 36 points in the paint. Brandon Wright and Albert Luke scored 17 points apiece and Justin Wiley had a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds).
D.J. Heath led Sacred Heard with 16 points. Kevion Nolan had 15 and Diante Wood had 13.
The Cardinals don’t have to wait long for a shot at revenge. They play the Rams in their next start, next week in in their first game in the Dwight Madison Holiday Classic at Carver-Montgomery.
TUESDAY BOXSCORES
CHEROKEE INVITATIONAL
Faith Christian 64, Cedar Bluff 62
FAITH (8-5) – Caleb McCord 3 3-4 9, Jordan Griswould 4 2-4 10, Jameson Adams 2 0-0 4, David Wall 1 0-0 3, Jack Sills 5 5-7 15
Jameson Thacker 0 0-0 0, Alex Taylor 8 2-3 23, Julien Key 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 12-18 64.
CEDAR BLUFF — Rashaun Woods 3 1-2 8, Isaih Jones 2 2-2 6, Josh Decker 0 1-2 1, Ivory Starr 0 1-2 1, Michael Croft 10 6-7 29, Deandre Antry 4 3-6 11, Ross Johnson 0 0-0 0, Davion Fife 2 0-1 6. Totals 21 14-22 62.
Faith Christian 6 12 18 28 — 64
Cedar Bluff 7 16 21 18 — 62
3-point goals: Faith 6 (Wall, Taylor 5); Cedar Bluff 6 (Woods, Croft 3, Fife 2). Technical fouls: Taylor. Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Faith 16, Cedar Bluff 18.
RILEY WHITAKER CHRISTMAS CLASSIC
Jacksonville 65, Springville 52
JACKSONVILLE — Cam Horton 7-8 13-16 27, Rivan Hill 5-12 4-5 15, Casey Trull 3-5 2-4 8, Aaron Bragg 1-1 2-2 4, Alex Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Jay Davis 0-1 2-2 2, K.J. Satcher 1-1 0-0 2, Taye Ackles 1-2 0-2 2, Tahj Kirkland 0-2 1-2 1, Alex Gilbert 0-3 0-0 0, Blake Morris 0-1 0-0 0, Terry Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-38 24-33 65.
SPRINGVILLE — Chase Isbell 8-12 1-6 17, Dalton Pitts 4-12 0-0 10, Jordan Byrd 1-2 3-6 5, Jamison Worrell 1-7 2-4 5, Hunter Richardson 2-6 0-0 4, Jared Higdon 0-1 4-4 4, Trevor Hurst 1-3 1-2 3, Jacob Bickerstaff 0-2 2-3 2, Logan Dodd 1-1 0-0 2, Nick Eldridge 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 18-46 13-27 52.
Jacksonville 18 18 10 19 — 65
Springville 7 14 15 16 — 52
3-point goals: Jacksonville 1-5 (Horton 0-1, Hill 1-3, Ackles 0-1); Springville 3-9 (Pitts 2-7, Worrell 1-2). Rebounds: Jacksonville 30 (Trull 8, Hill 6); Springville 33 (Isbell 8, Byrd 7). Fouled out: Gilbert, Worrell. Total fouls: Jacksonville 25, Springville 23.
Alexandria 72, Glencoe 64
ALEXANDRIA – Riley Shaw 3 5-9 12, Austin Taylor 3 1-4 9, A.J. Martin 1 0-0 2, Dalton Dodd 4 4-6 12, Gerald Murphy 2 2-4 6, Cole Nail 0 0-0 0, Jamal Tucker 0 0-0 0, Jordan Romine 0 0-0 0, Caleb Young 5 1-2 11, Marcus Swink 6 5-5 17, Luke Tucker 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 19-33 72.
GLENCOE — Aaron Bush 0 0-2 0, Jacob Bradley 3 3-4 10, Pace Ozmint 6 6-8 19, Justin Barkley 4 0-0 8, Sam Holbrooks 3 3-7 9, Craig Barkley 0 1-2 1, Dalton Roberts 3 0-1 7, Ethan Womack 0 2-2 2, Jeffrey Ford 2 2-3 6. Totals 21 17-29 64
Alexandria 24 16 13 19 — 72
Glencoe 14 22 10 18 — 64
3-point goals: Alexandria 3 (Shaw, Taylor 2); Glencoe 3 (Bradley, Ozmint, Roberts). Fouled out: L. Tucker, Murphy, Bradley, Roberts. Total fouls: Alexandria 23, Glencoe 25. Officials: Baker, Morriss, Whiteside.
Boaz 49, Ohatchee 43
BOAZ – Brady Seyler 1 0-0 3, Trey Knott 0 2-2 2, Jacob Smith 3 0-0 8, Reagin Langley 3 6-12 12, Kaleb Harvey 0 0-0 0, Luke Strawn 0 0-0 0, Cameron Copeland 0 3-4 3, Ty Kirkland 0 0-0 0, Payton Childers 3 1-2 7, Trey Clark 0 2-2 2, Evan Jones 5 1-2 12. Totals 15 15-24 49.
OHATCHEE — Ben Glass 4 0-0 10, Kevin Williamson 0 0-0 0, Micah Lee 1 2-2 4, Jon Noel 1 0-0 3, Bryant Dunaway 0 0-0 0, Brennan Wink 0 0-0 0, Austin Tucker 7 4-5 18, Brian Jennings 1 0-1 2, Tristan Woodall 0 0-0 0, Sean Barnett 2 2-3 6. Totals 16 8-11 43.
Boaz 8 16 11 14 — 49
Ohatchee 10 9 14 10 — 43
3-point goals: Boaz 4 (Seyler, Smith 2, Jones); Ohatchee 3 (Glass 2, Noel). Total fouls: Boaz 15, Ohatchee 18. Officials: Holmes, Stephens, Gamble.
Lincoln 69, Ashville 39
ASHVILLE — Hunter Huckbay 1 7-8 9, Reagan Wilson 1 0-0 2, D’Angelo Williams 1 2-6 4, Jaden Jones 1 3-6 5, Landun Cornutt 3 0-0 8, Noah Cater 0 3-6 3, Zarean Williams 2 2-4 6, Malek Williams 1 0-1 2. Totals 10 17-31 39.
LINCOLN (14-3) — Isaac Davis 2 1-2 5, C.J. Orr 2 0-0 6, Zay Caldwell 3 0-0 6, Tyler Hemphill 2 0-1 5, Malik Weed 1 0-0 2, Quin Carmichael 0 0-0 0, Dee Whiteside 11 1-2 23, L.J. Carmichael 3 0-1 6, Chris Prince 1 0-0 3, Donte Rivers 3 2-2 9, Brikael Truss 1 2-2 4. Totals 29 6-10 69.
Ashville 3 16 10 10 — 39
Lincoln 12 29 17 11 — 69
3-point goals: Ashville 2 (Cornutt); Lincoln 5 (Davis, Orr 2, Prince, Rivers). Fouled out: M. Williams. Total fouls: Ashville 16, Lincoln 24. Officials: Gamble, Smith.
STEEL CITY INVITATIONAL
Consolation Game
Ramsay 65, Sacred Heart 47
SACRED HEART (11-6) – Diante Wood 3-9 7-13 13, Kavarri Ross 0-3 0-0 0, Murdock Simmons 0-3 0-0 0, D.J. Heath 6-19 2-2 16, Kevion Nolan 5-13 2-3 15, Sam Miller 0-2 2-2 2, Caleb Lafollette 0-0 0-0 0, Stansil Stephen 0-1 1-2 1, Jon Riley Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-50 14-22 47.
RAMSAY (12-5) – Justin Wiley 4-6 1-1 10, Justin Gipson 1-6 0-0 2, Brandon Wright 6-12 5-7 17, Kobe McClain 2-2 0-0 4, Albert Luke 4-5 9-10 17, Tyree Blair 0-1 0-0 0, Joseph Williams 2-3 0-2 4, Nathon Orebeaux 0-0 0-0 0, Jacorie Gray 4-6 0-0 8, Brian Sims 1-1 0-0 2, Terrence Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Isaiah Bradford 0-0 1-2 1, Brandon Houston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-42 16-22 65.
Sacred Heart 8 16 15 8 — 47
Ramsay 12 13 21 19 — 65
3-point goals: Sacred Heart 5-17 (Wood 0-1, Ross 0-3, Simmons 0-3, Heath 2-3, Nolan 3-7); Ramsay 1-5 (Wiley 1-1, Wright 0-2, Luke 0-1, Gray 0-1). Rebounds: Sacred Heart 21 (Wood 5); Ramsay 41 (Wiley 11, Wright 7, Luke 7). Fouled out: Wood. Total fouls: Sacred Heart 18, Ramsay 17. Officials: Stanley Wamely, Nick Madison, Corey McKinney.
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