Mighty Warriors

Cherokee County wins inaugural Champions Sports Academy Christmas Classic, edging Saks 66-61; Moore named MVP

Friday’s Games
Boys Games
Champions Sports Academy Christmas Classic
Lincoln 47, Ohatchee 34
Springville 58, Westbrook 57
Alexandria 54, Boaz 31
Cherokee County 66, Saks 61

Girls Games
Spain Park Lady Jag Christmas Classic
Cullman 45, Jacksonville 44

By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today

It had all the earmarks of a Class 4A Regional final at JSU and after the show Saks and Cherokee County put on in the finals of the Champions Sports Academy Boys Christmas Classic Friday night, it sure seems these two teams will meet again down the road.

In an instant classic, Cherokee County broke away from a tied game with seven straight points in the final four minutes, then hung on to take a gritty 66-61 victory over the Wildcats.

Quartez Henderson had six huge points during that seven-point run. Alfonza Ward drilled a pair of 3-pointers to chop the lead to three, but Kyle Burgess sank four free throws in the last 30 seconds to seal the game. Burgess was 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter.

“Kyle was huge for us down the stretch,” Warriors coach Neal Wester said.

The lead changed hands four times in a furious first quarter. Guards Burgess and Colin Edwards were drilling 3-pointers for Cherokee County, while Tray Huguley and DeVaughn Beason were pounding the boards inside for Saks. Beason’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Saks a 20-16 lead.

The Warriors started strong in the second quarter as Marcus Barrington buried two 3s to cap a nine-point run that gave them a 25-20 lead. Jamal Stone answered back for Saks with two long high-arching 3s, then Beason buried a 3 to give Saks back the lead and it held on to go up 35-34 at the half.

The intensity picked up even more in the third quarter as the lead changed hands four times. Tournament MVP Ivory Moore scored six for the Warriors, while Ward had seven for the Wildcats. Ward’s three pointer gave Saks a 49-47 lead entering the final quarter.

The win was their third straight over teams with three different styles, which is something Wester said the Warriors can build on.

“Ohatchee got us playing at their pace in the first game, then there was the furious pace of Alexandria and then the great athleticism of the Saks kids,” Wester said. “I thought we did a better job rebounding tonight as Riley Russell (six rebounds) and Quartez Henderson (six) were terrific on the boards and Colin Edwards fought on the boards despite his size.

“Jacob Graves was big tonight also. He does not get many points, but he does all the little things that our team needs to win. Ivory Moore was great as he just got better as the week went on. He started the year on the JV. I guess that shows you what kind of coach I am.”

Moore scored 38 points against three Calhoun County teams in the tournament (11 vs. Saks, 16 vs. Alexandria, 11 vs. Ohatchee). He was joined on the all-tournament team by Saks’ Beason, Westbrook’s Will Jones, Ohatchee’s Austin Tucker and Jacksonville’s Rivan Hill.

Alexandria 54, Boaz 31

They looked a little tired early, but the Alexandria Valley Cubs got their feet back underneath them midway through the second quarter and used a 15-point run to run away with the consolation game.

“We came out with some tired legs; this was our 13th game in 23 days,” Alexandria coach Jason Johnson said. “I thought our second guys came in and gave us some energy in the first half and then when the starters came back in they had some energy also. We have been trying to develop our bench and they did a good job this week.”

The long double-overtime loss to eventual champion Cherokee County in Thursday night’s semifinals took its toll on Alexandria early as Boaz jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead.

Chase Smitherman then took over with seven points with some nice work underneath the basket as the Valley Cubs pounded the ball down low to take a 13-10 lead by quarter’s end.

Boaz was hot from the 3-point line and after its fourth 3-pointer made port, the Pirates were within 17-16 with five minutes left in the second quarter. That was the last good news of the half for the Pirates as the Valley Cubs scored the last 15 points of the half.

Eighth-grader Landon Williams scored seven points and was the beneficiary of some excellent passes from the Valley Cub guards. Devan Grant put down a couple of driving layups as Alexandria opened a 32-16 halftime lead.

The Valley Cubs never let up in the second half as Williams added seven more points to end the game with 14 points and seven rebounds.

“We have had to bring Landon up due to injuries and I have been trying to bring him along and not give him more than he can handle,” Johnson said. “Tonight he stepped up to the challenge and played well.”

Smitherman added 10 points and Devan Grant gave some spark off the bench with four rebounds and four points. ”Devan played some real good basketball this week and did a good job pushing the ball up the court,” Johnson said.

BOYS BOX SCORES

Champions Sports Academy Christmas Classic
Championship Game
Cherokee County 66, Saks 61
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Jacob Graves 0 0-0 0, Kyle Burgess 1 6-6 9, Colin Edwards 5 1-2 13, Ivory Moore 5 1-2 11, Marcus Barrington 2 0-0 6, Jy Lockridge 1 1-2 3, Will Hawkins 0 2-2 2, Quartez Henderson 7 1-4 15, Riley Russell 3 1-2 7. Totals 24 13-20 66.

SAKS – Darien Briskey 2 2-2 6, Devaughn Beason 8 2-2 21, Laderrick Bell 0 0-0 0, Alfonza Ward 6 1-7 17, Tray Huguley 3 3-4 9, Jamal Stone 2 0-1 6, Jakorius Watkins 0 0-0 0, Jalen Borders 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 8-16 61.

Cherokee County 16 18 13 19 — 66
Saks 20 15 14 12 — 61

3-point goals: Cherokee County 5 (Burgess, Edwards 2, Barrington 2); Saks 9 (Beason 3, Ward 4, Stone 2). Fouled out: Briskey, Beason. Total fouls: Cherokee County 17, Saks 19. Officials: Holmes, Robinson, Montgomery.

Lincoln 47, Ohatchee 34
LINCOLN – Malik Weed 0 0-0 0, Donte Rivers 3 3-5 9, Christyan Prince 5 0-0 12, Cody Williams 1 0-0 3, Brikeal Truss 3 3-4 10, Roderick Wells 3 1-3 7, Shamar Hampton 2 0-0 4, Timothy Davis 0 0-0 0, P.J. Gaddis 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 7-12 44.

OHATCHEE – Blake Buckelew 0 0-0 0, Ben Glass 4 3-5 12, Grayson Alward 1 0-0 2, Carson Stone 1 0-0 2, Kevin Williamson 0 0-0 0, Domonique Thomas 0 0-0 0, Austin Tucker 4 1-2 10, Bayley Tillison 0 2-2 2, Jordan Lowe 0 0-0 0, C.J. Ray 3 0-1 6. Totals 13 6-10 34.

Lincoln 15 11 11 10 — 47
Ohatchee 13 7 11 3 — 34

3-point goals: Lincoln 4 (Prince 2, Williams, Truss); Ohatchee 2 (Tucker, Glass)
Total fouls: Lincoln 12, Ohatchee 14. Officials: Evans, Smith, Oden.

Consolation Game
Alexandria 54, Boaz 31
ALEXANDRIA – Devan Grant 2 0-0 4, Chase Smitherman 4 2-3 10, Austin Taylor 2 0-0 6, Joe Tucker 0 0-0 0, Jake Heathington 1 0-0 2, Dru Davis 1 1-1 3, Jayden Cunningham 0 1-2 1, Romeo Dye 1 2-2 5, Thorne Thornton 1 3-3 5, Jamal Tucker 1 1-1 3, Jared Ponder 0 1-2 1, Landon Williams 6 2-3 14. Totals 19 13-17 54.

BOAZ – Brody Segler 1 0-0 3, Brian Montgomery 1 0-0 3, Jacob Smith 3 2-2 9, Tyler Ray 0 0-0 0, Luke Strawn 1 0-0 2, Jace Ferguson 1 2-2 5, Carson Gillaspie 1 0-0 2, Ty Kirkland 1 0-0 3, Lucas Smith 0 2-2 2, Eduardo Vazquez 0 0-0 0, Cade Pierce 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 6-6 31.

Alexandria 13 19 8 14 — 54
Boaz 10 6 6 9 — 31

3-point goals: Alexandria 3 (Taylor 2, Dye); Boaz 5 (Segler, Montgomery, J. Smith, Ferguson, Kirkland). Fouled out: Vazquez. Total fouls: Alexandria 15, Boaz 16.

GIRLS BOX SCORES

Spain Park Lady Jag Christmas Classic
Cullman 45, Jacksonville 44
CULLMAN – Sierra Easterwood 6-9 1-2 13, Anna Evans 4-9 0-0 9, Victoria Barker 3-5 0-2 6, Anna Katherine Eastman 2-2 1-1 6, Chloe Ray 2-2 2-2 6, Olivia Neal 1-3 1-2 3, Anna Grace Murphy 1-2 0-0 2, Anna Bowden 0-5 0-0 0, Lexi Marks 0-0 0-0 0, Kennedy Wren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-37 5-9 45.

JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams 5-13 3-6 15, Kayla Broom 5-10 0-0 10, Aniya Jefferson 4-10 1-2 10, Aniyah Robinson 4-12 1-2 9, Essence Hutchinson 0-1 0-0 0, Tatiyana Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 5-10 44.

Cullman 6 13 13 13 — 45
Jacksonville 14 11 10 9 — 44

3-point goals: Cullman 2-9 (Easterwood 0-1, Evans 1-2, Eastman 1-1, Neal 0-1, Bowden 0-4); Jacksonville 3-9 (Williams 2-5, Broom 0-1, Jefferson 1-1, Robinson 0-1, Hutchinson 0-1). Rebounds: Cullman 21 (Barker 9); Jacksonville 32 (Broom 12). Total fouls: Cullman 11, Jacksonville 8. Notes: Jacksonville had the ball and called time with 11 seconds left to set up a final shot; Williams missed a shot to win it. The Lady Golden Eagles outrebounded Cullman and had 15 offensive rebounds, which produced 16 second-chance points, but they also were charged with 22 turnovers.

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