Sporting Clay
- Updated: November 23, 2017
White Plains’ Matthew Clay fires from long range to help Wildcats win the Lincoln tournament that title that escaped them the previous two years
Pell City’s Jacob Allbritton (2) keeps a tight defensive rein on White Plains shooter Matthew Clay Wednesday. Clay hit several 3-pointers in the second and third quarters to give the Wildcats control of the game. (Photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)
Wednesday’s scores
White Plains 57, Pell City 51
Westbrook Christian 57, Faith Christian 46
Etowah 91, Lincoln 79
Horseshoe Bend 70, Pleasant Valley 56
Albertville 71, Talladega 58
Vincent 55, Jacksonville 45
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
LINCOLN – There’s nothing like the threat of a seat next to the coach to get a player’s attention.
It certainly got Matthew Clay’s attention.
White Plains basketball coach Chris Randall got on the junior forward for, of all things, being too much of a team player early in the championship game of the Lincoln Thanksgiving Tournament Wednesday afternoon.
It’s not like the Wildcats have to encourage him to shoot, but he was just giving up the ball to his teammates instead of taking the shot he’s in the game to do.
“Next time you do that,” Randall shouted after seeing his gunner give it up one too many times, “you’re coming out. Shoot the basketball.”
They didn’t have to tell him twice. From there, Clay lived long at the top of the key and prospered.
He promptly hit a 3-pointer the next time White Plains to the ball and threw in four more in the third quarter – several of the rainbow variety that hit nothing but net – and carried the Wildcats to a 57-51 victory over Pell City for the elusive tournament title.
“He drives me crazy,” Randall said. “He’s either going to make a big play for us or a big play for them and tonight he made a few more big plays for us.
“That’s our problem, we pass the ball too much, but Matthew figured it out for us to have a chance to win he’s really going to really have to assert himself on offense and he did. There’s no such thing as 4s, but he would’ve made a couple of 4s tonight because they were deep.”
The deepest ones came in the third quarter to keep Pell City at bay. Every time the Panthers got within a point or two, Clay was there to hit a 3 to turn them away. He did it at 20-19, 25-23 and 25-33 (after the Panthers cut into a nine-point deficit).
“When Coach told me to start shooting — even if I’m guarded, really — it gave me more confidence,” Clay said. “When I made my first one in the third quarter Gavin (Burrage) and Chase (Helms) started realizing and they just kept getting me the ball.”
Clay finished with 23 points.
His range helped the Wildcats open a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers weren’t going away. Pell City, behind Andrew Pender’s 20 points in the second half tied it at 47 with 2:12 to play, but White Plains never lost the lead.
Drake Preston’s basket put the Wildcats back on top and they stayed ahead through the finish. Helms’ basket down low with 1:02 to play was one of the biggest of the game in Randall’s mind. It gave them a 52-48 lead and forced the Panthers to foul in hopes of stopping the clock and getting the ball.
It didn’t work. Clay and Helms made five of six free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.
The Wildcats (3-1) have played in the tournament finals three years in a row now and this was the first time they’ve won it. They beat a 5A (Etowah) and 6A (Pell City) on the road to the title.
“We fought every year and never got the win and we finally got it,” Clay said. “Nobody really thought we’d win this, especially this year.”
To see a gallery of photos from the championship game, visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com
LINCOLN THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
Championship Game
White Plains 57, Pell City 51
WHITE PLAINS (3-1) – Coleman Messer 2 0-1 4, Houston Conger 0 0-0 0, Chase Helms 3 2-4 10, Pierson Branham 0 0-0 0, Austin Bussey 0 1-2 1, Drake Preston 3 2-5 8, Matthew Clay 6 6-8 23, Jaden Harris 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bozarth 0 0-0 0, Gavin Burrage 3 5-8 11. Totals 17 16-28 57.
PELL CITY (3-1) – Jacob Allbritton 3 0-0 8, Tyler Dowdy 0 0-0 0, Trey Evans 1 2-6 3, Andrew Pender 8 1-2 20, Jake Hall 1 2-2 4, Logan Esten 0 0-0 0, Jay Beckett 1 1-5 3, Cordell O’Neal 0 2-4 2, Jackson Burkhalter 3 1-1 7, Tyler Locklar 1 0-1 2. Totals 18 9-21 51.
White Plains 13 7 18 19 — 57
Pell City 8 11 14 18 — 51
3-point goals: White Plains 7 (Helms 2, Clay 5); Pell City 6 (Allbritton 2, Evans, Pender). Fouled out: Allbritton, Evans. Total fouls: White Plains 18, Pell City 28. Officials: Kelly, Burroughs, Howell.
Fifth-place game
Westbrook Christian 57, Faith Christian 46
FAITH CHRISTIAN (1-3) – Malcolm Carlisle 10 6-8 29, Michael McGraw 2 3-5 7, Seth Cravens 2 0-0 5, Stone Huie 0 0-0 0, Bailey Thomas 0 0-0 0, Jacob Cleckler 0 0-0 0, Dalton Rogers 0 0-0 0, Jacques Prater 0 2-4 2, Beau Conley 1 0-0 3, Banks Cotton 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 11-17 46.
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN (4-1) – Andrew Lockridge 1 4-6 7, Cullen Stafford 3 5-6 11, Joseph Gilcrest 1 0-0 3, P.J. Wells 4 3-6 11, Alex Burnett 1 0-0 2, Jackson Cox 1 0-0 2, Grant Martin 1 0-0 3, Braden Beecham 7 3-4 17, Jackson Luttrell 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 16-24 57.
Faith Christian 10 18 9 9 — 46
Westbrook Christian 10 16 10 21 — 57
3-point goals: Faith 5 (Carlisle 3, Cravens, Conley); Westbrook 3 (Lockridge, Gilcrest, Martin). Fouled out: Carlisle, Cravens, Cleckler. Total fouls: Faith 26, Westbrook 16. Officials: Killingsworth, Pratt, Boyd.
NORTH SHELBY COUNTY TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Championship game
Albertville 71, Talladega 58
TALLADEGA – Fred Dickerson 4 3-4 14, Champ Beavers 2 0-0 6, Chaztin Tanner 4 0-0 11, Tyrese Scales 2 1-2 5, Ashton Duncan 3 2-2 10, Jay Patterson 3 0-0 6, J.Q. Wilson 0 0-2 0, Kobe Simmons 0 0-0 0, TraShaundez Bolden 2 2-6 4. Totals 20 8-14 58.
ALBERTVILLE (4-0) – Tristan Jordan 1 1-2 3, Dane Harding 4 6-9 14, Carlos Merino 3 1-2 7, Brodi Canterberry 0 1-2 1, Dillon Harding 6 4-5 18, Jerry Cervantes 1 1-1 3, Trinity Bell 7 3-3 17. Totals 25 18-25 71.
Talladega 10 12 19 17 — 58
Albertville 18 17 18 18 — 71
3-point goals: Talladega 10 (Dickerson 3, Beavers 2, Tanner 3, Duncan 2); Albertville 3 (Allen, Di. Harding 2). Total fouls: Talladega 20, Albertville 12.
ASHVILLE THANKSGIVING TOURNAMENT
Championship game
Vincent 55, Jacksonville 45
VINCENT – Chris Hardie 7-9 10-11 24, Zavien Kelley 5-15 2-5 14, Jackson McGinnis 3-3 1-2 7, Malik Hamilton 2-7 2-4 6, Tyler Hayes 1-2 0-0 2, Stanley Cooper 0-0 2-2 2, Kaleb Wilson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 17-24 55.
JACKSONVILLE – Donovan McCain 5-9 3-5 13, DeDarien Savage 5-12 2-7 12, DeMarien Stewart 3-4 0-2 8, Alex Gilbert 2-6 1-4 5, DeAndre McCain 1-5 2-2 2, Jacob Tucker 0-1 2-2 2, Jay Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Rico Aguirre 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob McCarley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-38 10-22 45.
Vincent 9 19 8 19 — 55
Jacksonville 13 15 8 9 — 45
3-point goals: Vincent 2-7 (Kelley 2-4, Hamilton 0-2, Wilson 0-1); Jacksonville 3-10 (Stewart 2-2, Gilbert 0-1, McCain 1-5, Tucker 0-1, Aguirre 0-1). Rebounds: Vincent 29 (Hardie 17); Jacksonville 30 (McCain 10). Total fouls: Vincent 15, Jacksonville 11.
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