Furious finishes
- Updated: December 27, 2016
White Plains’ McGuirk goes for 19 in fourth quarter in Destin win; Nolan goes for 22 in fourth in Sacred Heart loss; Oxford pulls away
Tuesday’s Games
Regular Season
Faith Christian 67, Jacksonville 62
Girls Game
Jacksonville 53, Faith Christian 27
AL.com Classic
Grisson 54, Lavergne (Tenn.) 26
Madison County 60, Columbia 56
Muscle Shoals 69, St. John Paul II 49
Oxford 64, Bob Jones 50
Austin 70, Madison Academy 61
Mountain Brook 59, Sparkman 47
James Clemens 63, Huntsville 57
Jemison 71, Hazel Green 60
Big Orange Classic
Fairfield 67, Anniston 62 (OT)
Anniston vs. Helena
Tournament of Champions, Atlanta
Miller Grove (Ga.) 66, Sacred Heart 60
22nd Annual Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout
First-round games
White Plains 58, Notre Dame 48
Starrs Mill (Ga.) 78, Lakeshore (La.) 55
Cookeville (Tenn.) 80, St. Paul’s 54
Blount (Tenn.) 54, Bayside Academy 41
Hughes (Ohio) 48, St. Benedict (Tenn.) 45
Stewart’s Creek 38, Freeport (Fla.) 36
Paxton (Fla.) 56, Ft. Dale 18
Lexington (S.C.) 58, Maclay (Fla.) 49
Talladega Christmas Round Robin
Coosa Central 67, Shelby County 37
Talladega 84, Talladega Co. Central 74
By East Alabama Sports Today
FREEPORT, Fla. — When White Plains needs somebody to take over a game, guess who gets the call?
Michael McGuirk scored 19 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night to lead the Wildcats over Notre Dame (Tenn.) 58-48 in the opening-round of the 22nd annual Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout. They will play Lexington (S.C.) in a winner’s bracket game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
“He was special in the fourth quarter,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “We struggled offensively in the first three quarters, just sloppy, but it was like at the end of the third the switch went off, we realized we were in a fight and Mike really kicked it into another gear.”
McGuirk had only five points at halftime. The Wildcats were down four in the fourth quarter when he took over. He had 12 in the quarter when he gave the Wildcats a 49-45 lead with 2:25 left.
Macy Carr converted an Irish turnover into another White Plains basket, then McGuirk scored the Wildcats’ last seven points of the game, including a three-point play just inside a minute that gave them their first double-digit lead of the night.
“When they picked it up full court it helped us out,” Randall said. “Putting Mike on the back end of the press is kind of risky for us, but we were patient and got it to him.”
It was the fourth time in seven trips here the Wildcats have won in the first round, but it’s the first time since 2012.
Oxford 64, Bob Jones 50
HUNTSVILLE — The Yellow Jackets used a 13-1 run in the final two minutes to pull away from a close game in the consolation bracket of the AL.com Classic at Mae Jemison High School.
The Yellow Jackets (9-5) advance to the consolation semifinals at the VonBraun Center, where they will play Muscle Shoals Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Jackets beat the Trojans on a late put-back by Ty Davis 56-54 two weeks ago in Hanceville.
The Jackets trailed early in this one, but once they got the lead in the second quarter they never trailed again. The Patriots on numerous occasions pulled within one or two, but each time the Jackets stretched back out the lead.
Oxford led by eight with 7:35 to play. The Patriots cut it back to 51-49 with two minutes to go, then the Jackets pulled away.
“When you’re playing the caliber competition you’re playing and you’ve learned over some games what happens when you don’t close a game, when you let teams back in it, the ability to close it against a quality opponent in that setting spoke that we’re growing up as a team,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “Probably the most exciting thing for me is they were at first disappointed because they didn’t think they played well, so they’re starting to hold themselves to a higher standard and they expected to win.”
Eugene Leonard led Oxford with 17 points. Zondrick Garrett had 13 points and blocked three shots. Markise Davis played what coach Joel VanMeter called a “just dominant” game, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but really creating problems for Bob Jones on the defensive end.
“He’s our best defender, but the way he’s been blocking shots and playing above the rim …,” VanMeter said. “He made a couple shots today, but it wasn’t about that. It was how he dominated the game defensively. If somebody’s going to the rim, he’s going to challenge it.”
Miller Grove 66, Sacred Heart 60
MARIETTA – Sacred Heart returned to full strength for the first time since the Spring Garden game, but the Cardinals couldn’t overcome a tough third quarter despite a furious comeback in the fourth.
All five players disciplined for leaving the bench area during a game with Spring Garden were back in action for the Cardinals. Diante Wood returned with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but the other four – D.J. Heath, Murdock Simmons, Dakota Myers and Stephen Stansil – combined for 17 points.
Kevion Nolan, who kept the offense together during the suspensions, led Sacred Heart with 27 points. He had 22 in the fourth-quarter rally. He made all six of the Cardinals’ 3-pointers in the game.
The Cardinals never led and trailed by seven at halftime. They were outscored 18-4 in the third quarter, falling behind 50-29, but rallied in the fourth with 31 points to make it close.
Faith Christian 67, Jacksonville 62
Riley Camp scored 13 of his career-high 16 points in the second half and Faith Christian hit seven of their eight 3-pointers in the half to pull away.
The Lions (4-6), playing their first game in 11 days, trailed 30-26 at halftime, then outscored the Golden Eagles 20-8 in the third quarter. Camp and Seth Cravens both hit three 3-pointers in the second half.
Camp was 6-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
“He can shoot it well; we were getting him good looks today,” Faith coach Brad Yarbrough said.
Jordan Griswould led the Lions with 23 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs. Rivan Hill had 21 for Jacksonville.
Talladega 84, Talladega County Central 76
TALLADEGA – Ashton Duncan and Fred Dickerson scored their combined 39 points over the first three quarters and the Tigers withstood a 30-point fourth by TCC to play for the championship of the Talladega Christmas Round-Robin.
Behind Duncan and Dickerson, Talladega led 64-46 after three quarters. Javion Surles scored 14 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to help bring TCC back. Devlyn Keller hit five 3-pointers and led TCC with 20 points.
Duncan dealt seven assists to go with his game-high 21 points.
TUESDAY BOX SCORES
AL.com Classic
Oxford 64, Bob Jones 50
OXFORD (9-5) – Markise Davis 5-9 1-2 12, Kendrick Foster 1-8 0-0 2, Eugene Leonard 6-16 4-6 18, Zondrick Garrett 5-10 2-5 13, Braden Mack 3-4 2-2 8, Simeon Shadrix 1-1 0-0 2, Jakolbe McClendon 3-4 0-0 6, Caden Higgins 0-0 2-2 2, Ty Davis 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 24-54 12-19 64.
BOB JONES – Chase Fiddler 4-9 0-0 9, Isaiah Hatchett 1-2 0-0 2, Jaydon Hill 2-4 0-0 5, Demontrez Brown 5-13 5-9 15, Trey Graham 1-4 2-3 4, Sam Barr 0-1 0-0 0, Deonte Gray 0-5 2-2 2, Milkyle Stewart 2-2 0-0 5, Gavin Levins 0-0 2-3 2, T.D. Farris 1-4 3-4 6, Arrington Langford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 14-21 50.
Oxford 7 18 17 22 — 64
Bob Jones 8 13 13 16 — 50
3-point goals: Oxford 4-15 (M. Davis 1-4, Foster 0-2, Leonard 2-4, Garrett 1-4, Mack 0-1); Bob Jones (4-14 (Fiddler 1-5, Hill 1-1, Barr 0-1, Gray 0-3, Stewart 1-1, Farris 1-3). Rebounds: Oxford 39 (M. Davis 9, Mack 6); Bob Jones 29 (Graham 6). Technical fouls: Bob Jones bench. Total fouls: Oxford 15, Bob Jones 17.
Tournament of Champions
Miller Grove 66, Sacred Heart 60
SACRED HEART – Diante Wood 7-15 0-0 14, Murdock Simmons 3-7 0-0 6, D.J. Heath 2-14 2-4 6, Dakota Myers 1-5 1-1 3, Kevion Nolan 8-13 5-6 27, Caleb Lafollette 1-3 0-0 2, Stephen Stansil 1-3 0-0 2, Khalil Watkins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 8-11 60.
MILLER GROVE – Jalen Mason 2-4 4-4 9, Lorenzo Anderson 1-7 1-2 3, Naquante Hardy 6-17 3-5 18, Jermon Clark 6-10 2-2 14, Kevin Paige 1-3 3-4 5, Maurice Harvey 5-8 3-5 13, George Wilson 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 23-53 16-22 66.
Sacred Heart 14 11 4 31 — 60
Miller Grove 18 14 18 16 — 66
3-point goals: Sacred Heart 6-25 (Simmons 0-1, Heath 0-9, Myers 0-1, Nolan 6-10, Lafollette 0-1, Stansil 0-2, Watkins 0-1); Miller Grove 4-11 (Mason 1-1, Anderson 0-3, Hardy 3-5, Harvey 0-1, Wilson 0-1). Rebounds: Sacred Heart 35 (Wood 11, Nolan 6); Miller Grove 39 (Hardy 8, Paige 7). Fouled out: Nolan. Total fouls: Sacred Heart 19, Miller Grove 12.
Talladega Christmas Round Robin
Talladega 84, TCC 76
TALLADEGA – Fred Dickerson 7 1-1 18, Chaztin Tanner 1 4-4 7, Tyrese Scales 1 1-2 3, Jarvius McKenzie 0 0-0 0, Ashton Duncan 9 0-0 21, Chrishawn Williams 2 0-0 6, TraShaundre Bolden 2 0-0 4, Robert Houston 4 1-2 9, Jamontae Twymon 2 3-4 7, Jae-lyn Russ 4 1-1 9. Totals 32 11-14 84.
TALLADEGA COUNTY CENTRAL – Darrell Maple 2 0-0 6, Kentrell Duncan 2 4-5 8, Javion Surles 7 2-2 18, Jaylon Swain 0 0-2 0, Makhail Simmons 2 2-2 6, Devin Wilson 5 2-3 12, Devilyn Keller 6 3-4 20, Kylen Cross 3 0-0 6. Totals 27 13-86 76.
Talladega 14 23 27 20 — 84
TCC 13 9 24 30 — 76
3-point goals: Talladega 9 (Dickerson 3, Tanner, Duncan 3, Williams 2); TCC 9 (Maple 2, Surles 2, Keller 5). Fouled out: Surles, Simmons. Total fouls: Talladega 15, TCC 13. Officials: Holmes, Lemon, Robinson.
Regular Season
Faith Christian 67, Jacksonville 62
JACKSONVILLE – Rivan Hill 7-18 5-8 21, DeAndre McCain 3-10 5-8 11, Hunter Vinson 4-7 1-5 9, Alex Gilbert 3-12 0-2 8, Ron Wiggins 3-5 0-0 6, Cade Landers 2-6 0-0 4, Josh Glass 1-1 0-0 3, Jesse Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 11-23 62.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (4-6) – Jordan Griswould 9-17 5-8 23, Riley Camp 6-11 0-0 16, Jack Sills 7-12 0-1 14, Seth Cravens 3-5 0-0 9, Michael McGraw 2-5 0-0 5, Jameson Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Julien Key 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Kulick 0-4 0-1 0, Jacob Cleckler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 5-10 67.
Jacksonville 14 16 8 24 — 62
Faith Christian 10 16 20 21 — 67
3-point goals: Jacksonville 5-20 (Hill 2-7, McCain 0-3, Gilbert 2-7, Wiggins 0-1, Landers 0-1, Glass 1-1). Faith 8-21 (Griswould 0-2, Camp 4-8, Sills 0-1, Cravens 3-5, McGraw 1-2, Kulick 0-3). Rebounds: Jacksonville 36 (Gilbert 9, Hill 8); Faith 43 (Griswould 13, Sills 9). Fouled out: Landers. Total fouls: Jacksonville 11, Faith 17. Officials: Aaron Kelley, Amado Ortiz, Trey Phillips.
Girls Game
Jacksonville 53, Faith Christian 27
JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams 11-18 1-5 25, Aniya Jefferson 7-11 2-5 16, Tatiyana Thomas 3-8 0-1 6, Kayla Broom 2-5 0-2 4, Essence Hutchinson 1-6 0-1 2, Idea Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Tara Kitrell 0-1 0-0 0, Tavionna McRath 0-1 0-0 0, Sarah Quinn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 3-14 53.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Sydnee Johnson 5-11 0-0 13, C.J. Setters 2-5 0-0 4, Kristie Covington 2-2 0-0 4, Emily Sills 1-6 0-0 3, Montana Huie 1-2 0-1 2, S.K. McVeigh 0-0 1-2 1, Logan Boyd 0-4 0-0 0, Kassidy Nix 0-1 0-0 0, Shelley Phillips 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 11-33 1-3 27.
Jacksonville 19 12 20 2 — 53
Faith Christian 14 2 4 7 — 27
3-point goals: Jacksonville 2-17 (Williams 2-6, Jefferson 0-3, Thomas 0-3, Hutchinson 0-5); Faith 4-17 (Johnson 3-6, Setters 0-2, Sills 1-5, Boyd 0-3, Nix 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 34 (Jefferson 7, Broom 7); Faith 29 (Boyd 5). Total fouls: Jacksonville 9, Faith 11. Notes: Williams also had three steals and three assists. Thomas had six steals and four assists
Wednesday’s Games
Anniston-Helena winner vs. Carver-Saraland winner in Hoover Big Orange Boys Classic, Hoover, 12:30 p.m.
Pleasant Valley girls vs. Happy Valley (Tn.)-Lawrence County (Ky.) winner in Sevier County (Tenn.) Winterfest Shootout, 8 p.m.
AL.com Classic
at VonBraun Center, Huntsville
Grisson vs. Madison County, 2:30 p.m.
Oxford vs. Muscle Shoals, 4 p.m.
Austin vs. Mountain Brook winner, 5:30 p.m.
James Clemens vs. Hazel Green-Jamison winner, 7 p.m.
Albertville Civitans Christmas Classic
Cordova vs. Fairview-Cherokee County winner, 3 p.m.
Decatur vs. Guntersville, 4:30 p.m.
Holy Family vs. Albertville-Moody winner, 6 p.m.
Donoho vs ACA, 7:30 p.m.
23rd Annual Battle of the States
Boys Bracket
Lumpkin County (Ga.) vs. Hokes Bluff, 11:30 a.m.
Polk County (Tenn.) vs. Hayesville (N.C.), 2:30 p.m.
Swain (N.C.) vs. Union County (Ga.), 5:30 p.m.
Piedmont vs. Towns County (Ga.), 8:30 p.m.
Girls Bracket
Lumpkin County (Ga.) vs. Hokes Bluff, 10 a.m.
Polk County (Tenn.) vs. Hayesville (N.C.), 1 p.m.
Swain (N.C.) vs. Union County (Ga.), 4 p.m.
Piedmont vs. Towns County (Ga.), 7 p.m.
Coosa River Boys Classic
Childersburg H.S.
Carver (Ga.) vs. Keith, 5 p.m.
John Paul II (Tenn.) vs. Spring Garden, 6:30 p.m.
Escambia (Fla.) vs. Greensboro, 8 p.m.
Tournament of Champions, Atlanta
Sacred Heart vs. Velma Jackson, 12:45 p.m.
22nd Annual Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout
White Plains vs. Lexington (S.C.), 7:30 p.m.
Cleburne County Holiday Invitational, Heflin
Ohatchee vs. White Plains (girls), 9 a.m.
Saks vs. Ohatchee (boys), 10:30 a.m.
Wellborn vs. Vincent (girls), noon
Faith Christian vs. Vincent (boys), 1:30 p.m.
Munford vs. Ranburne (girls), 3 p.m.
Wellborn vs. Ranburne (boys), 4:30 p.m.
Cleburne County vs. Faith Christian (girls), 6 p.m.
Cleburne County vs. Munford (boys), 7:30 p.m.
Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Girls Bracket
First round
Ft. Payne vs. Cedar Bluff, 9 a.m.
Oneonta vs. St. Clair County, noon
Oxford vs. Boaz, 3 p.m.
Alexandria vs. Glencoe, 6 p.m.
Boys Bracket
First round
Alexandria vs. Oneonta, 10:30 a.m.
Westbrook Christian vs. Sardis, 1:30 p.m.
Cedar Bluff vs. Boaz, 4:30 p.m.
Glencoe vs. Ragland, 7:30 p.m.
Talladega Christmas Round Robin
Talladega Co. Central vs. Shelby County, 6 p.m.
Coosa Central vs. Talladega, 7:30 p.m.
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