No longer a secret
- Updated: December 21, 2017
Thursday holiday hoops: On a big day of games, Piedmont seventh-grader breaks out with 26 points against Moody
Ohatchee’s Evan Keller (22) tries to drive around Alexandria’s Dalton Dodd during Thursday night’s game in the Champions Christmas Classic. On the cover, Keller goes in for a layup. (Photos by Beverly Wright)
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Patrick Ball Memorial Tournament
Elkmont 49, Wellborn 21
Piedmont 62, Moody 40
Steel City Invitational
Cordova 69, Sacred Heart 63
Champions Boys Christmas Classic
Westbrook Christian 50, Ranburne 37
Glencoe 51, Cleburne County 40
Etowah 90, Weaver 79
Saks 48, Lincoln 46
Jacksonville 52, Randolph County 49
Alexandria 69, Ohatchee 52
Cherokee Invitational
Girls bracket
Collinsville 70, Chattooga 40
Cedar Bluff 52, Glencoe 50
Sand Rock 60, Handley 51
Spring Garden 70, Gaylesville 24
Boys bracket
Chattooga 81, Collinsville 61
Lafayette 66, Cedar Bluff 45
Sand Rock 53, Munford 43
Spring Garden 102, Gaylesville 32
Spain Park Girls Christmas Tournament
Wenonah 58, Jacksonville 24
TCC Girls Christmas Tournament
Munford 70, Sacred Heart 46
TCC def. Munford
By East Alabama Sports Today
HOKES BLUFF — There’s no way Piedmont’s Alex Odam is a secret weapon now. If it wasn’t already, that secret’s out of the bag.
The Bulldogs may have wanted to ease the seventh-grader – yes, seventh-grader — into the varsity experience and maybe even have him sneak up on some people, but Odam won’t be sneaking up on anyone any more after hitting six 3-pointers and scoring 26 points Thursday in a 62-40 victory over Moody in the Patrick Ball Memorial Tournament at Hokes Bluff.
“It’s gonna be out now,” Alex’ father and Bulldogs assistant coach JoJo Odam said. “It’d be nice to keep it quiet. I don’t think that’s an option now.”
Alex, a 6-foot, 150-pound guard described by his father as a genuine gym rat, has gotten a good dose of varsity competition. He has played in six of the Bulldogs’ seven games since Dec. 14 and has scored 51 points. The Bulldogs are 6-1 in that stretch overall, 5-1 in the games Odam has played.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to play this young, but didn’t think I would, not really,” Alex said.
His previous varsity career high was 11 points, which he has hit twice, first against Haralson County (Ga.) and again Wednesday against Springville after being held scoreless in the Bulldogs’ tournament opener.
“You’re kind of worried about the big stage, but it hadn’t bothered him,” his father said. “He’s very mature for his age.”
“He has a very high basketball IQ,” added assistant coach Matt Glover. “He is very smooth with the ball in his hand and makes the game look effortless.”
Odam was 9-of-11 from the field against the Blue Devils, 6-of-7 from 3-point range, with two rebounds, two assists and three steals. He hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter, four in the first half and five through three quarters. He hit three 3s against Springville and has at least one in six of his last seven quarters.
“It felt great getting in rhythm; it felt comfortable out there,” Alex said. “My teammates did a real good job finding me when I was hot.”
He wasn’t the only one on fire. Kaedon Jenkins had nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and blocked shots. Delo Foster had seven points (including a 3-pointer from the top of the key), nine rebounds, an assist and three blocked shots.
The Bulldogs wrap up the tournament Friday with an added game against Gaston.
THURSDAY’S BOX SCORES
Patrick Ball Memorial Tournament
Piedmont 62, Moody 40
PIEDEMONT (7-3) – Carl Myers 2 1-2 5, Kaedon Jenkins 3 2-2 9, Delo Foster 3 0-0 7, Elijah Johnson 1 0-0 2, Ryley Kirk 3 1-1 9, Logan Pruitt 0 0-2 0, Lee Stanley 2 0-0 4, Silas Thompson 0 0-0 0, Alex Odam 9 2-2 26, T.J. Fairs 0 0-0 0, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0, Sean Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-9 62.
MOODY – Braden Carpenetti 1 0-0 2, Cyric Williams 3 1-1 7, Quondarius Meadows 1 0-0 2, Carson Buckner 0 0-0 0, Ceione Reaves 2 1-2 6, Mason Hays 1 0-0 2, Talan Files 5 0-1 12, Gabriel Downing 2 0-2 4, Zachary Mason 1 0-0 2, James Collins 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 2-6 40.
Piedmont 12 15 16 19 — 62
Moody 6 8 8 18 — 40
3-point goals: Piedmont 10 (Jenkins, Foster, Kirk 2, Odam 6); Moody 4 (Reaves, Files 2, Collins). Fouled out: Williams. Total fouls: Piedmont 5, Moody 14. Officials: Macon, Dykes, Graves.
Champions Christmas Classic
Westbrook Christian 50, Ranburne 37
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN – Cullen Stafford 1 1-1 3, Garret Kennedy 3 2-3 11, Stuart Douglas 0 0-0 0, Joseph Gilcrest 1 0-0 3, P.J. Wells 3 1-2 7, Alex Burnett 1 2-2 4, Grant Martin 0 0-2 0, Braden Beecham 8 0-0 16, Jackson Luttrell 3 0-5 6. Totals 20 6-15 50.
RANBURNE – Devon Chambers 1 3-4 5, Jake Burson 0 0-0 0, Sammy Green 3 4-5 10, Dalton Gibbs 0 0-0 0, Brett Maddox 2 2-2 8, Zach Benefield 1 0-0 3, Jackson Pollard 1 0-0 3, Brady Bailey 0 0-0 0, Ireland Morgan 1 0-0 2, Brock Young 3 0-1 6. Totals 12 9-12 37.
Westbrook 14 14 11 11 — 50
Ranburne 12 4 5 16 — 37
3-point goals: Westbrook 4 (Kennedy 3, Gilcrest); Ranburne 4 (Maddox 2, Benefield, Pollard). Fouled out: Wells, Burnett. Total fouls: Westbrook 16, Ranburne 14. Officials: Pass, McCombs, Tillery.
Glencoe 51, Cleburne County 40
CLEBURNE COUNTY – A.J. Brown 4 0-2 8, TaiShun Hall 1 0-0 2, Chase Smith 0 1-2 1, Brad Smith 2 1-2 5, Justin Epps 0 1-2 1, Reese Morrison 3 2-2 11, George Harcrow 0 0-0 0, Ben Casey 1 2-3 5, Rico Jordan 1 0-1 3, A. Thompson 1 0-0 2, Xavier Brown 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 7-14 40.
GLENCOE – Brandon Bishop 1 0-0 2, Noah Huff 4 0-2 8, Cade McCarver 1 4-5 6, Colton Stone 3 3-5 9, Jakeb Amberson 0 4-4 4, Cam Harris 1 3-4 5, Alec Pointer 0 1-2 1, Bryan Benefield 1 2-4 4, Collin Roberts 0 0-0 0, Bradley Scott 1 2-2 4, Braden Lang 3 2-3 8, Reed Holbrooks 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 21-31 51.
Cleburne Co. 7 14 12 7 — 40
Glencoe 11 9 14 17 — 51
3-point goals: Cleburne County (Morrison 3, Casey, Jordan). Technical fouls: Morrison. Fouled out: A.J. Brown. Total fouls: Cleburne County 27, Glencoe 18. Officials: Smith, Deren, Howell.
Etowah 90, Weaver 79
WEAVER – Taylor Deck 0 0-0 0, London Knight 4 8-13 16, Robert Gaines 5 6-8 18, Shamar Spinks 8 2-2 16, Nick Torres 1 2-4 4, Alex Perry 5 0-0 14, Dalton Hamby 1 3-5 5, Amardric Elston 4 0-0 8. Totals 28 20-32 79.
ETOWAH – Taylor Berry 6 1-5 15, Chris Griffin 9 1-1 22, Alec Timmons 2 7-8 11, Jamin Graham 4 0-1 8, Emil Smith 7 5-6 19, Justin Harris 1 0-0 2, Trevon Caldwell 1 0-0 2, Davion Smith 3 0-0 6. Totals 33 14-18 90.
Weaver 23 12 16 28 — 79
Etowah 18 24 24 24 — 90
3-point goals: Etowah 5 (Berry 2, Griffin 3); Weaver 4 (Perry 4). Fouled out: Harris, Knight. Total fouls: Weaver 19, Etowah 24. Officials: Holmes, Morriss, Walker.
Saks 48, Lincoln 46
SAKS – Darien Briskey 8 1-3 17, DeVaughan Beason 5 2-4 14, Laderrick Bell 3 0-0 8, Brent Clark 0 0-0 0, C.J. Lauderdale 0 0-0 0, Zay Elston 1 0-3 2, Daveon Dukes 1 1-3 3, Jaylen Young 0 0-0 0, Eley Downes 0 0-0 0, Tyler Smith 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 4-13 48.
LINCOLN – Javian Surles 7 2-2 15, Joseph Gaston 0 0-0 0, Tre Garrett 1 2-2 4, Earl Walls 3 2-7 8, Teddy Hall 0 0-2 0, Jack Wood 2 1-2 6, Shaun Davis 2 0-0 4, Josh Jackson 1 0-0 2, Brian Garrett 0 0-0 0, Joe Howard 1 2-2 5. Totals 17 9-17 46.
Saks 9 12 11 16 — 48
Lincoln 10 10 15 11 — 46
3-point goals: Saks 4 (Beason 2, Bell 2); Lincoln 3 (Surels, Wood, Howard). Technical fouls: T. Garrett. Total fouls: Saks 15, Lincoln 17. Officials: Oden, Holmes, Lemon. Notes: Beason scored nine points in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats held on. Briskey had 11 in the first half. Surles scored 15 in the second half Lincoln had a final shot to tie/win.
Jacksonville 52, Randolph County 49
JACKSONVILLE (11-2) – Ron Wiggins 5-11 2-3 12, DeAndre McCain 4-11 1-1 10, DeMarien Stewart 3-7 0-0 9, Donovan McCain 3-8 1-2 7, Cade Landers 2-8 2-2 6, DeDarien Savage 2-3 0-0 4, Alex Gilbert 1-2 0-0 2, Alex Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Jaden Barksdale 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Landers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 6-8 42.
RANDOLPH COUNTY – Brody Wortham 6-14 0-1 15, Andrew Prestridge 5-14 2-5 13, Aaron Knight 3-4 0-0 7, Billy Turner 2-2 0-0 4, Demarcus Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Caleb White 0-8 2-2 2, Avian Terrell 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas Ryder 1-2 0-0 2, Jamrcus Brown 0-0 0-2 0, Atario Hester 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 4-10 49.
Jacksonville 14 14 8 16 — 52
Randolph Co. 12 6 18 13 — 49
3-point goals: Jacksonville 4-15 (Wiggins 0-3, De. McCain 1-4, Stewart 3-5, Cd. Landers 0-2, Barksdale 0-1). Randolph Co. 5-21 (Wortham 3-9, Prestridge 1-7, Knight 1-2, White 0-2, Terrell 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 35 (Do. McCain 12, Cd. Landers 7); Randolph Co. 33 (Prestridge 8, White 8). Total fouls: Jacksonville 14, Randolph Co. 14. Officials: Robinson, Stringer, Baker.
Alexandria 69, Ohatchee 52
ALEXANDRIA – Joe Tucker 5 1-2 13, Adam Young 1 0-0 3, Jake Weathington 1 0-0 3, Dru Davis 2 0-0 6, Grayson Chaffin 0 0-0 0, Dalton Dodd 13 1-3 31, Romeo Dye 1 0-0 2, Jared Ponder 0 3-4 3, Jalen Borders 2 0-0 4, Landan Williams 2 0-0 4. Totals 27 5-9 69.
OHATCHEE (3-8) – Blake Buckelew 2 3-4 8, Ben Glass 5 2-2 14, Carson Stone 0 0-0 0, Grayson Alward 0 0-0 0, Kevin Williamson 0 0-0 0, Bayley Tillison 0 0-0 0, Evan Keller 5 0-0 12, Domonique Thomas 3 1-3 8, Aaron Moore 5 0-0 10, Jordan Lowe 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-9 52.
Alexandria 15 27 16 11 — 69
Ohatchee 14 12 15 11 — 52
3-point goals: Alexandria 10 (Tucker 2, Young, Weathington, Davis 2, Dodd 4); Ohatchee 6 (Buckelew, Glass 2, Keller 2, Thomas). Total fouls: Alexandria 12, Ohatchee 13. Notes: Dodd was held scoreless in the first quarter, but made up for it with 16 in the second when the Valley Cubs pulled away from a close game and 11 in the third. The Valley Cubs hit seven of their 10 3-pointers in the first half.
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