Slides snapped
- Updated: January 12, 2017
Faith Christian, Donoho end losing streaks on the road, Machristie steps up for Wellborn
Jacob Lecroy, shown here in a game earlier this season, had a big first quarter that set the tone for Donoho and a big fourth quarter that sealed its victory.
Thursday’s Games
Boys
Donoho 74, Jacksonville Christian 66
Faith Christian 62, Jefferson Christian 37
Piedmont 75, Jacksonville 70
Wellborn 65, Lincoln 46
Girls
Jacksonville 57, Piedmont 55
Jacksonville Christian 41, Donoho 39
Jefferson Christian 43, Faith Christian 39
Lincoln at Wellborn
By East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — The Donoho basketball team was at a crossroad. After losing to Spring Garden by 37 Tuesday night coach Alex Mastin gave his team a choice.
It could either pack it in and ride out the season — with a half-dozen regular season games remaining and the area tournament — or it could “get better and keep trying to build a basketball program.”
Mastin got his answer Thursday night as the Falcons had one of the best games of the season, beating area rival Jacksonville Christian 73-66 to snap a six-game losing streak.
“Tonight was another step in the right direction,” Mastin said. “Our offense was consistent all night. In the first half JCA played a zone and we hit some shots. In the second half they upped their pressure a little bit and Jacob (Lecroy) and Garrett (Steed) did a good job penetrating.”
Lecroy led the Falcons with 25 points. He hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter scored nine points in the fourth. Steed scored 10 points, with eight coming in a 22-point third quarter that gave them the lead.
The Falcons hit nine of their 13 3-pointers in the first half.
“We’ve played a few games (like this) and this was the first day to win,” Lecroy said. “The case has always been we can’t make any shots … and tonight we were all clicking, making shots. We’ve never shot the ball good the whole year, I don’t know what it’s been, but tonight we were just making more shots than normal and we got the dub (W).
“We obviously didn’t like losing that bad to Spring Garden, but I feel like it really opened some eyes. We’ve bene playing hard, we just haven’t been able to get certain things done, and I think tonight is a new beginning for us. We were giving effort all over the court. We were getting after it.”
Faith Christian 62, Jefferson Christian 37
IRONDALE — When Brad Yarbrough saw the way Jefferson Christian was shooting it in pregame Thursday, he thought his Faith Christian Lions might be in for a battle similar to the one they had in the season opener.
But the Lions had a plan.
Taking an all-business approach to the game and an aggressive stance on defense, the Lions never gave their hosts a chance. They scored the first seven points of the game and continued to pour it on in a 62-37 victory for their third consecutive victory.
“I liked the way we attacked this game,” Yarbrough said. “We attacked it with a good focus. We came in with the approach this was a business trip and we never let up. It was fun to watch.”
The early surge lifted the Lions to an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter. They doubled the lead by halftime and took a 30-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Jefferson Christian hit 12 3-pointers in the opener, but had only 14 field goals Thursday.
“We didn’t do anything special, just came out with a bit of a nasty attitude and wanted to control every possession,” Yarbrough said. “I knew they could shoot it very well. We just played a pretty dominant game on the defensive end. Contested every shot and rebounded as a team. It was fun to watch them play together.”
Jordan Griswould led the Lions with 15 points and seven rebounds. Jack Sills had nine points and nine boards. Riley Camp had 13 points.
“(Camp), Michael McGraw (4 points) and Seth Cravens (8 points) have been coming up huge for us lately,” Yarbrough said. “They’re growing up and finding their role.”
Devin Machristie (11) scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lift Wellborn over Lincoln.
Wellborn 65, Lincoln 46
On a night when two of his main weapons were under the weather, Wellborn coach Jordan Angle desparately needed somebody to step up and Devin Machristie answered the call.
Machristie scored 21 points and got 11 of them in a big fourth quarter that lifted the Panthers to their victory.
Blake Hanson and Mitchell Raines both were fighting off illness during the game, but it Machristie who provided the remedy.
The game was tied at 39 after three quarters. Hanson’s impact as a scorer was reduced by his illness, so he decided to give himself up as a decoy and that opened the floor for Machristie.
At one stretch in the fourth quarter, Machristie slid down the left side of the 3-point line and hit one, drained another two trips later and then a third the next time down the floor.
“At that point they (Lincoln) were ready for the game to be over,” said Angle, who has been battling a little bit of a bug himself for the past week.
Ironically, Machristie almost didn’t make the game, either.
Imagine the start Angle got earlier in the day as he leaned back in his classroom chair and Machristie entered the room with the front of his pants covered in blood and the index finger on his shooting hand wrapped in gauze.
“He said, coach I chopped off the tip of my finger in Ag today; I don’t think I can play for a couple of weeks,” Angle said. “He said they were cutting all this wood and had nothing to make it with and he did it with a knife and it slipped.
“We put a single wrap of tape around it and he went out and showed on. Then midway through the third quarter he rolled his ankle; you can’t make this stuff up. So he had a cut-up finger, a rolled ankle and he had the game of the season for himself. He’s a tough nut, man.”
Jordan Montgomery added 12 points and 15 rebounds for Wellborn. The senior is scheduled to go on a football recruiting visit to Samford this weekend, but was hoping he could find a window to make it back for the eighth-seeded Panthers’ Calhoun County Tournament opener against No. 9 Piedmont Saturday night.
GIRLS GAME
Jefferson Christian 43, Faith Christian 39
IRONDALE — Jefferson Christian scored the final eight points of the game to get past the Lady Lions.
Behind Sydnee Johnson the Lady Lions scored the first six points of the game, led by seven at halftime and four with 3:38 to play. She had 10 points in the first quarter and all of her 12 in the first half.
Taylor Mann made the first of two free throws off the play Johnson fouled out to make it a one-point game with 1:19 to play. Mann missed the second shot, but Morgan Wormley converted the offensive rebound to put the Lady Eagles ahead for good with 1:07 left. Mann then converted her steal on the ensuing possession into a layup to make it 42-39 with 52 seconds to play.
THURSDAY’S BOYS BOX SCORES
Faith Christian 62, Jefferson Christian 37
FAITH CHRISTIAN (8-10) – Riley Camp 6 0-0 13, Jordan Griswould 7 0-0 15, Jameson Adams 2 1-1 5, Seth Cravens 3 0-0 8, Jacob Cleckler 1 0-0 2, Jack Sills 4 0-0 9, Michael Kulick 1 0-0 3, Michael McGraw 2 0-0 4, Chandler Armstrong 0 0-0 0, Julien Key 0 2-2 2. Totals 26 3-3 62.
JEFFERSON CHRISTIAN – Austin Calvin 1 0-0 3, Kyle Wilkerson 2 3-4 7, John Williams 0 0-0 0, Steven Gordon 4 0-0 9, Peyton Ryce 5 0-0 12, Braxton Baird 0 0-0 0, Nate Bradley 2 0-0 6. Totals 14 3-4 37.
Faith Christian 16 18 22 6 — 62
Jefferson Christian 5 7 14 11 — 37
3-point goals: Faith 7 (Camp, Griswould, Cravens 2, Sills, Kulick); Jefferson 6 (Calvin, Gordon, Ryce 2, Bradley 2). Total fouls: Faith 8, Jefferson 7. Officials: Loggins, Lynch, Winters.
Wellborn 65, Lincoln 46
WELLBORN – Mitchell Raines 2 0-0 4, Eric Johnson 4 1-1 8, Jordan Montgomery 4 2-3 12, Devin Machristie 7 3-4 21, Ked Harris 1 0-0 3, Kam Goodwin 0 1-2 1, Blake Hanson 3 0-0 7, Kelvin Evans 2 3-4 7. Totals 23 10-14 65.
LINCOLN – L.J. Carmichael 1 4-8 6, Donte Rivers 2 7-7 12, Christyan Prince 4 0-0 10, Cody Williams 0 0-0 0, Roderick Wells 3 0-0 6, Shamar Hampton 0 0-0 0, Patrick Gaddis 2 0-0 4, Tim Davis 0 0-2 0, Brikeal Truss 3 0-1 8. Totals 15 11-18 46.
Lincoln 10 17 12 7 — 46
Wellborn 18 12 9 16 — 65
3-point goals: Lincoln 5 (Rivers, Prince 2, Truss 2); Wellborn 9 (Johnson, Montgomery 2, Machristie 4, Harris, Hanson). Total fouls: Lincoln 15, Wellborn 15. Officials: Calkins, Binion, Allen.
Donoho 74, Jacksonville Christian 66
DONOHO – Dylan Dunaway 1 0-0 3, Jason Howard 0 0-0 0, Jack Svensen 1 2-4 4, Garrett Steed 4 0-2 10, Jacob Lecroy 8 5-7 25, Harrison Hughston 1 0-0 3, Ross Hagan 3 0-0 8, Joseph O’Neill 1 1-3 3, Seth Ford 3 0-0 9, Wilson Russell 1 0-0 2, Will Nelson 3 1-2 7. Totals 26 9-16 74.
JCA – Justin Tignor 2 1-2 5, Elijah McCormack 2 0-3 5, Walker Messer 5 5-5 16, Eli Fair 1 0-0 3, Nash Messer 1 1-2 4, Jayden Mitchell 1 1-4 3, Chase Cobb 0 0-0 0, Kobe Messer 3 1-2 9, Jonathan Carter 0 0-0 0, Reed Murphy 7 7-12 21, Austin Dowdy 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 16-27 66.
Donoho 17 17 22 18 — 74
JCA 17 18 15 16 — 66
3-point goals: Donoho 13 (Dunaway, Steed 2, Lecroy 4, Hughston, Hagan 2, Ford 3); JCA 6 (McCormack, W. Messer, Fair, N. Messer, K. Messer 2). Fouled out: McCormack. Total fouls: Donoho 23, JCA 18. Officials: Burroughs, Wilson, Cadle.
Piedmont 75, Jacksonville 70
PIEDMONT (6-10) – Cardavion Myers 4-7 13-15 21, Taylor Hayes 5-8 4-6 15, Easton Kirk 3-5 3-4 12, Austin Brazier 5-9 0-0 10, Derrick Baer 2-4 0-0 6, A.J. Fairs 2-5 0-0 5, Kaedon Jenkins 1-3 1-2 3, Carl Myers 1-2 0-0 3, T.J. Fairs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-43 21-27 75
JACKSONVILLE (2-16) – Rivan Hill 6-15 10-13 22, Alex Davis 7-9 4-4 18, DeAndre McCain 4-7 4-4 14, Cade Landers 3-5 1-2 7, Jay Davis 1-1 2-2 4, Hunter Vinson 1-1 0-0 2, Josh Glass 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Gilbert 0-5 1-2 1, Tahj Kirkland 0-0 0-2 0, Ron Wiggins 0-0 0-0 0, K.J. Satcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 22-29 70.
Piedmont 20 18 12 25 — 75
Jacksonville 8 19 18 25 — 70
3-point goals: Piedmont 8-17 (Hayes 1-3, Kirk 3-4, Baer 2-4, A Fairs 1-4, Cl. Myers 1-2); Jacksonville 2-11 (McCain 2-4, Hill 0-5, Gilbert 0-2). Rebounds: Piedmont 24 (Brazier 7); Jacksonville 30 (A. Davis 12). Fouled out: Cd. Myers, Brazier. Total fouls: Piedmont 23, Jacksonville 21. Notes: Piedmont was 12-of-14 from the line in the fourth quarter after nearly losing a 20-point lead. Cardavion Myers was 6-for-6 from the line in the quarter. as Piedmont
THURSDAY’S GIRLS BOX SCORE
Jefferson Christian 43, Faith Christian 39
FAITH CHRISTIAN (3-17) – Emily Sills 3 0-0 8, Shelley Phillips 0 0-0 0, Montana Huie 1 0-0 2, Kassidy Nix 0 0-0 0, Kristin Covington 3 0-0 6, Sydnee Johnson 6 0-0 12, C.J. Setters 3 0-0 6, S.K. McVeigh 1 0-0 2, Logan Boyd 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 0-0 39.
JEFFERSON CHRISTIAN (4-9) – Katie Bradley 6 3-4 19, Kamryn Ryce 0 0-2 2, Zoey Williams 1 0-1 2, Taylor Mann 5 6-11 16, Morgan Wormley 3 0-5 6, Cayman Whittington 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-23 49.
Faith Christian 14 11 9 5 — 39
Jefferson Christian 7 11 12 13 — 43
3-point goals: Faith 3 (Sills 2, Boyd); Jefferson Christian 4 (Bradley 4). Fouled out: Johnson. Total fouls: Faith 21, Jefferson Christian 4. Officials: Loggins, Lynch, Winters.
Jacksonville 57, Piedmont 55
PIEDMONT – Sydney Prater 6-13 3-6 16, Lulu Jackson 5-10 1-2 11, Kaitlyn Ridley 4-8 2-2 10, Breanna Brazier 4-9 0-0 10, Rebecca Smart 4-5 0-0 8, Camron Logan 0-0 0-0 0, Ashlin Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 6-10 55.
JACKSONVILLE (11-6) – Kyra Williams 7-13 3-4 19, Aniya Jefferson 4-6 2-2 10, Aniyah Robinson 4-10 2-2 10, Tatiyana Thomas 3-5 3-4 9, Essence Hutchinson 3-7 0-1 7, Maddie Hall 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-43 10-13 57.
Piedmont 16 13 12 14 — 55
Jacksonville 18 8 10 21 — 57
3-point goals: Piedmont 3-8 (Prater 1-3, Brazier 2-5); Jacksonville 3-16 (Williams 2-5, Robinson 0-4, Thomas 0-2, Hutchinson 1-5). Rebounds: Piedmont 28 (Prater 8, Jackson 6); Jacksonville 23 (Williams 5, Jefferson 5). Total fouls: Piedmont 13, Jacksonville 12. Notes: Jacksonville rallied from 10 down with two minutes left. Robinson had eight points in the rally, including a game-tying three-point play with 29 seconds left. A layup by Williams a few seconds later gave the Lady Golden Eagles the lead for good.
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