Beach blowout
- Updated: December 31, 2015
Boys roundup: White Plains uses big second quarter to turn its fortunes in Destin; Anniston’s winning streak ends
White Plains’ Eli Hightower (11), shown from a game earlier this season, has hit five 3-pointers in his last two games and scored 51 points in the Wildcats’ first three games of the Hilton Sandestin Beach Basketball Blowout. The Wildcats play in the consolation final today. (Photo by Kristen Stringer/Krisp Pics Photography)
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES
Glencoe Holiday Shootout: Alexandria 50, Ohatchee 28
Glencoe Holiday Shootout: Glencoe 49, Boaz 35
Glencoe Holiday Shootout: Oneonta 77, Ragland 54
Dwight Madison Classic: Carver-Montgomery 69, Anniston 55
Dwight Madison Classic: Sacred Heart 61, Prattville 43
Haralson County Invitational: Weaver 59, Spring Garden 44
Haralson County Invitational: Pepperell 60, Bowdon 50 (OT)
Sandestin Beach Blowout: White Plains 79, Tipton Rosemark (TN) 48
Talladega Round Robin (Tuesday): Talladega 60, TCC 28
By East Alabama Sports Today
FREEPORT, Fla. – White Plains turned up the defensive intensity in the second quarter and it sparked the Wildcats’ highest-scoring quarter of the season that carried them to a 79-48 victory over Tipton (TN) Rosemark Wednesday in the Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout.
The Wildcats will play St. Benedict (TN) today at 1 p.m. in the consolation bracket final.
White Plains trailed 19-10 after the first quarter, then turned up the press and it produced a 31-point quarter that gave them a nine-point halftime lead.
“It was as good as we played all year,” Wildcats coach Chris Randall said. “I was big-time happy with the effort.”
The third quarter was “pretty impressive as well,” he said. The Wildcats scored 27 in that period and extended their lead to go up by 27. They gave up 19 points in the first quarter, 29 the rest of the game.
“Those two quarters were huge,” Eli Hightower said. “Once we picked our intensity up and settled down, everything fell into place and we started playing White Plains basketball.”
Kevin Carr, Lawrence Jackson and Jerod Guthrie led the charge on the press, forcing turnovers and converting them into points.
All five of the White Plains starters scored in double figures. Carr had 15, 10 in the second quarter. Guthrie had 14, nine in the third quarter. Murphy Doss had 13, Eli Hightower 11 (all in the first half) and Michael McGuirk 10.
Hightower hit three 3-pointers in the game and has had five in the last two. He has scored 51 points in three tournament games. He scored 30 in the tournament opener.
“Playing with a lot more confidence in myself in helping me a lot,” he said. “Making shots is contagious; after one falls I feel like every shot I take will fall.”
Dwight Madison Classic
Carver-Montgomery 69, Anniston 55: The Bulldogs had their 11-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the No. 1 team in Class 6A in the tournament semifinals.
Anniston, which hadn’t lost since its season opener, fell behind by seven at the end of the first quarter and stayed in catch-up mode the rest of the game.
“We just couldn’t get it going,” Bulldogs coach Schuessler Ware said.
Anniston’s Tray Croft led all scorers with 19 points. Hakeem Ross and DeQuan Ross both had 12 for the seventh-ranked 5A Bulldogs. Keondre Davis led Carver with 14.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs are still expected to make a strong case for the No. 1 seed at Sunday’s Calhoun County Tournament seeding meeting.
“We’ve got to regroup and start over next week with a couple of days off,” Ware said.
Talladega Round Robin
Talladega 60, TCC 28: Tournament MVP Jay Smoot scored 22 points as the Tigers clinched their 12th straight Round Robin title and extended their winning streak in the event to 36 games Tuesday night.
Smoot scored 17 points in the first half as the Tigers (12-5) opened a 35-14 lead. TCC hit only two buckets in the half, a pair of 3-pointers. All of TCC’s field goals in the game came from beyond the arc.
Wadderius Tuck scored nine points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Jae-lyn Russ grabbed 12 boards. The Tigers return to action Tuesday against Shelby County in a home game that will go a long way to determining home-court advantage in the area tournament.
BOYS BOXSCORES
White Plains 79, Tipton Rosemark 48
TIPTON ROSEMARK (TN) — Johnie Sanfratello 4 2-2 14, Preston Trainor 2 0-1 4, Tino Garibay 0 0-0 0, Austin Sanfratello 0 0-0 0, AJ Hightower 3 1-2 10, Ryan Duffy 2 0-0 4, Sheldon Spence 0 2-2 2, Konnor Burk 0 0-0 0, Jake Massey 0 0-0 0, Ryan Knight 0 0-0 0, Luke Smith 2 0-0 5, Darien Weakley 3 0-1 6, Jack Owen 0 0-0 0, Garrett Knight 1 1-1 3. Totals 17 6-9 48.
WHITE PLAINS — Jerod Guthrie 6 0-1 14, Peyton Morgan 0 0-0 0, Dylan McCareeth 1 0-0 3, Kevin Carr 6 2-2 15, Eli Hightower 4 0-0 11, Michael McGuirk 4 1-1 10, Jackson Guthrie 0 2-2 2, Quez Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Lawrence Jackson 2 2-2 6, Macey Carr 1 1-2 3, Murphy Doss 6 0-0 13, Brett Beaver 0 0-0 0. Total 31 8-10 79.
Tipton Rosemark 19 13 9 7 — 48
White Plains 10 31 27 11 — 79
3-point goals: Tipton 8 (J. Sanfratello 4, Hightower 3, Smith); White Plains 9 (Je. Guthrie 2, McCareeth, K. Carr, Hightower 3, McGuirk, Doss). Total fouls: Tipton 9, White Plains 12. Officials: Wynn, Johnson, Simmons.
Talladega 60, Talladega Co. Central 28
TCC – Deandre Edison 0 1-2 1, Laderian Benjamin 2 1-4 7, Chris Burrell 1 4-8 7, Darell Maple 0 1-2 1, Roderick Wells 0 0-0 0, Travell Stockdale 0 0-0 0, Devilin Keller 3 2-6 11, Kentrell Duncan 0 1-3 1. Totals 6 10-25 28.
TALLADEGA (12-5) – Fred Dickerson 2 0-0 5, Tyrese Scales 0 0-0 0, Jay Smoot 9 3-4 22, Jarvis McKenzie 4 1-2 9, Ashton Duncan 1 2-2 4, Jamont Twymon 1 0-2 2, Damarco Truss 0 0-0 0, Wadderius Tuck 4 1-2 9, Robert Houston 2 0-0 4, Jaelyn Russ 2 1-4 5. Totals 25 8-16 60.
TCC 7 7 10 4 — 28
Talladega 12 23 18 7 — 60
3-point goals: TCC 6 (Benjamin 2, Burrell, Keller 3); Talladega 2 (Dickerson, Smoot). Total fouls: TCC 12, Talladega 18. Officials: Warren, E. Stringer, J. Stringer.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login