Saks’ Sweet repeat

Saks, Beason repeat as the big winners in Cleburne County tournament, includes all other games with ties to Calhoun County

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By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

HEFLIN — At the rate he’s going, DeVaunghn Beason might have to start looking for a bigger shelf.

The Saks senior guard scored 26 points Friday night and earned MVP honors in the Heflin Holiday Hoops Classic for the second year in a row after leading the Wildcats to the title for the second year in a row in a 62-54 win over Randolph County.

He plans to put this MVP award right alongside the one he won last year after scoring 19 points in the title game against Wellborn, averaging nearly 18 points in the tournament and hitting 13 3-pointers in three games.

You can find a photo gallery from this game at www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com

Beason was particularly sharp the second half and during the decisive fourth-quarter run in which he hit a 3-pointer and his second four-point play of the game on back-to-back possessions to give the Wildcats the lead for good.

It was part of an overall 18-3 run that took the Wildcats (5-4) from a 43-39 deficit just prior to a strategic timeout with just under seven minutes to play to a 57-46 lead with just over two minutes left.

During the timeout Saks coach Jonathan Miller reinserted his other two senior Killer Bs — Darien Briskey and Dee Bell — into the game after resting them for the stretch run and the Wildcats took off.

Bell got it started with a 3-pointer. Randolph County countered with a 2 from Brody Wortham, then Beason hit his 3-pointer to tie it and four-point play to forge ahead. Briskey then hit two baskets and Jaylen Young made a bucket before the Tigers finally scored again on a free throw.

“It happened just like that,” Briskey said, snapping his fingers for emphasis. “Basketball is a game of runs and that was a good one.”

Beason had four of his six 3-pointers and 18 points in the second half. He scored 68 points in three tournament games. Briskey had 17 points against the Tigers and 47 in the tournament. Bell had 10 points in the final.

“He hit some big shots down the stretch and that’s what he has to do for our team,” Miller said of Beason. “Our three seniors – Beason, Bell and Briskey – played well in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.”

It’s rare to get even one four-point play in a game, but but Beason, who said he never had one before, got two of them. The first opened the scoring in the second half and gave Saks a 25-18 lead. The second one, in the fourth quarter, put the Wildcats ahead for good in a game that had eight ties and six lead changes to that point.

“I don’t know what to say about that,” he said. “I feel great actually, knowing that my team believed I can hit those shots and make big shots like that. Laderrick (Bell) is always making big plays; whenever we need a big play to happen, he’s always there to do it. It feels good to become part of that.

“It actually was kind of weird. Doing a four-point play I felt more pressure than if I had an and-one with a layup. Hitting that four-point play, knowing that ball went through the basket, it felt really good.”

Part of getting Briskey back in the game was to put him on Tigers post Jamarcus Brown, who absolutely killed the Wildcats in the third quarter, and Briskey, their best post defender, held the 6-foot senior scoreless the rest of the game despite giving up at least two inches to him.

“No. 4 (Brown), he was just a trash-bucket kind of person – missed shots, go up and try to get it and put it back up,” Briskey said. “That’s what his role on the team is, so I just stopped him from being able to do that role.”

Even though his team lost, Randolph County Steve Giddens left the gym comforted by what he saw. While Miller thought his Saks team took a step forward in the way it played, Giddens did as well.

The Tigers have had a limited number of practices and games because most of their players played football and enjoyed a run into the state championship game.

“I felt better about our team this game than any other this year,” Giddens said. “We didn’t have that football hangover.”

Winterboro 47, Vincent 45: The Bulldogs knocked off the No. 1 team in Class 2A for the second time this season. Cameron Pointer broke a 45-45 tie with a left-side jumper with 24.6 seconds left. Omar Dobbins partially blocked Stanley Cooper’s shot on the other end with 1.4 seconds left, but Vincent’s Weslan Kelley was fouled on the rebound and missed both free throws or the game would’ve gone to overtime.

Faith Christian 52, Woodland 44: Malcolm Carlisle and Michael McGraw led the Lions with 20 and 18 points, respectively.

Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Alexandria 60, Sardis 52: Dalton Dodd scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half and the Valley Cubs hit 26 of 37 free throws in the game to earn a spot in the tournament finals against a high-powered Fort Payne team. The Cubs were 21 of 28 from the line in the second half.

The Cubs got off to a slow start for the second game in as many days, falling behind 15-6 in the first quarter. That could be a dangerous scenario in the final as Fort Payne has scored 99 points or more four times this year, including a season-high 130 against Dade County.

This will be the Valley Cubs second appearance in a tournament final in as many weeks. They lost a two-point thriller to Etowah in the Champions Christmas Classic.

Albertville Civitans Christmas Classic
Handley 66, Talladega 65: Kadarius Foster scored eight of his team-high 23 points in overtime as Handley handed the Tigers (11-6) their second overtime loss in as many nights in a double-OT thriller. The game was tied at 50 at the end of regulation.

Ashton Duncan led Talladega with 30 points and five steals; he had 20 in the second half and overtimes. The Tigers didn’t shoot very well from the floor, but stayed in it by hitting 15 of 20 free throws. J.Q. Wilson was 6-for-6 from the line in the first overtime.

Tournament of Champions Classic
Sacred Heart 56, Lower Richland (S.C.) 50: The Cardinals scored more points from the free throw line (30) than the field (26) and used a 16-9 fourth quarter to overtake the Diamond Hornets. Diante Wood had a full box score for Sacred Heart – 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and four blocked shots. He was 14-of-20 from the line. Murdock Simmons grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots for the Cardinals.

Battle of the States
Polk County (Tenn.) 83, Piedmont 74 (OT): The Bulldogs got off to a blazing start, but couldn’t finish and lost in overtime. Luke Burrows and Josh Laughlin scored six points apiece in overtime as Polk County outscored the Bulldogs 12-3. Piedmont’s only points in overtime came from a Ryley Kirk 3-pointer.

After getting off to a hot start, the Bulldogs slowed down in the third quarter. They scored only five points and went from leading 48-36 at halftime to trailing 54-53 entering the fourth. Silas Thompson led Piedmont with 20 points; he scored 12 in the second quarter and eight in the fourth. T.J. Fairs hit five 3-pointers in the game and finished with 17 points.

Laughlin led all scorers with 29 points.

Regular season
Jacksonville 65, JCA 62: Donovan McCain had a monster game with 26 points and 20 rebounds as the Golden Eagles needed overtime to beat JCA for the second time this season. The sophomore scored six of his points in the extra session. DeAndre McCain, Donovan’s older cousin, had 18 points and hit 5-of-11 3-pointers. JCA placed three scorers in double figures – Walker Messer (20), Chase Vinson (18) and Kobe Messer (16). Vinson also grabbed 16 rebounds for the Thunder.

FRIDAY BOYS BOX SCORES

Heflin Holiday Hoops Classic
Championship Game
Saks 62, Randolph County 54
RANDOLPH COUNTY (5-3) – Andrew Prestridge 2 5-6 11, Jamarcus Brown 8 1-3 17, Caleb White 6 0-0 12, Brody Wortham 1 0-0 2, Tre Terrell 2 0-0 4, Aaron Knight 3 1-1 8, Billy Turner 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 7-10 54.

SAKS (5-4) – Darien Briskey 7 3-5 18, DeVaunghn Beason 8 4-4 26, Dee Bell 2 4-4 10, C.J. Lauderdale 0 0-0 0, Brent Clark 1 0-0 3, Zay Elston 0 2-2 2, Daveon Dukes 0 0-0 0, Marreo Thomas 1 0-0 2, Jaylon Young 1 0-1 2, Eley Downes 0 0-0 0, Tyler Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-16 62.

Randolph Co. 7 11 17 19 — 54
Saks 7 14 16 25 — 62

3-point goals: Randolph County 3 (Prestridge 2, Knight); Saks 9 (Beason 6, Bell 2, Clark). Total fouls: Randolph County 13, Saks 13. Officials: Kelly, Howell, Barber.

Faith Christian 52, Woodland 44
FAITH CHRISTIAN (6-9) – Malcolm Carlisle 7 3-4 20, Michael McGraw 6 6-10 18, Seth Cravens 0 0-0 0, Jacques Prater 2 0-0 5, Bailey Thomas 0 0-2 0, Chase Gibbons 2 1-2 6, Jacob Cleckler 0 0-0 0, Dalton Rogers 1 0-1 2, Stone Huie 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 11-21 52.

WOODLAND – River Crenshaw 6 0-0 15, James Lovvorn 3 0-0 7, Christain McFarland 7 0-1 14, Tucker Allen 3 0-1 6, Colton Brown 0 2-2 2, Levi Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 2-4 44.

Faith Christian 10 16 15 11 — 52
Woodland 10 11 10 13 — 44

3-point goals: Faith 5 (Carlisle 3, Prater, Gibbons); Woodland 4 (Crenshaw 3, Lovvorn). Fouled out: McFarland. Total fouls: Faith 12, Woodland 16.

Regular season
Jacksonville 65, Jacksonville Christian 62 (OT)
JACKSONVILLE – Donovan McCain 10-13 6-8 26, DeAndre McCain 6-16 1-1 18, DeMarien Stewart 2-6 1-4 7, Cade Landers 2-7 0-0 5, DeDarien Savage 2-7 0-0 4,
Ron Wiggins 1-4 2-4 4, Alex Davis 0-3 1-2 1, Alex Gilbert 0-1 0-1 0, Jay Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Jaden Barksdale 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Laners 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 11-20 65.

JCA – Walker Messer 7-18 5-6 20, Chase Vinson 8-18 2-4 18, Kobe Messer 5-13 1-2 16, Elijah McCormick 1-4 3-4 5, Eli Fair 1-1 0-0 2, Jonathan Carter 0-1 1-3 1, Nash Messer 0-5 0-0 0, Jeremy Cockrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-60 12-19 62.

Jacksonville 15 14 15 11 10 — 65
JCA 14 13 19 9 7 — 62

3-point goals: Jacksonville 8-24 (De. McCain 5-11, Stewart 2-6, Cd. Landers 1-4, Savage 0-1, Wiggins 0-1, Davis 0-1); JCA 6-23 (W. Messer 1-9, Vinson 0-1, K. Messer 5-8, McCormick 0-3, Carter 0-1, N. Messer 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 51 (Do. McCain 20); JCA 38 (Vinson 16, K. Messer 8). Fouled out: W. Messer, Vinson. Total fouls: Jacksonville 14, JCA 21.

Tournament of Champions Classic
Sacred Heart 56, Lower Richland (S.C.) 50
SACRED HEART – Quin Riggins 0-4 3-4 3, Diante Wood 7-19 14-20 28, Victor Wilson 2-5 6-8 12, Murdock Simmons 1-5 4-6 6, Khalil Watkins 1-2 0-0 2, Jack Miller 0-4 0-0 0, Caleb Brown 1-1 3-4 5, Joshua Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Stephen Stansil 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-40 30-42 56.

LOWER RICHLAND – Christian Brown 6-13 3-8 16, Korey Richardson 3-5 0-0 6, TeVaughn Higgins 5-9 2-7 12, Karl Scott 2-4 1-2 5, Quenton Flood 2-5 0-0 4, Shakeer McConner 0-0 0-0 0, Amon Rice 1-1 0-0 2, Stanley Cheeseboro 0-0 0-0 0, Kelvin Hughes 0-2 1-2 1, Jordan Rivers 1-1 0-0 2, Damajae Hicks 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-42 7-19 50.

Sacred Heart 8 14 18 16 — 56
Lower Richland 14 13 14 9 — 50

3-point goals: Sacred Heart 2-17 (Riggins 0-2, Wood 0-2, Wilson 2-5, Simmons 0-4, Watkins 0-1, Miller 0-3); Lower Richland 1-9 (Brown 1-6, Scott 0-1); Quenton Flood 0-2). Rebounds: Sacred Heart 30 (Simmons 11, Wood 8); Lower Richland 35 (Brown 12, Richardson 10). Fouled out: Scott. Total fouls: Sacred Heart 15, Lower Richland 26.

Albertville Civitans Christmas Classic
Handley 66, Talladega 65 (2 OT)
TALLADEGA (11-6) – Chaztin Tanner 5 1-2 12, Tyrese Scales 2 3-4 7, Jaquan Chatman 0 0-0 0, Ashton Duncan 11 5-7 30, Decorvious Wilson 1 0-0 2, Rontavious Barclay 0 0-0 0, Jay Patterson 0 0-0 0, J.Q. Wilson 0 6-6 6, Kobe Simmons 4 0-1 8. Totals 23 15-20 65.

HANDLEY – Daron Zachary 2 0-0 5, Mykierston Trammell 1 0-4 2, Quay Patterson 1 0-0 2, Joseph Smith 0 0-0 0, Cadarious Patillo 7 1-3 15, Jared Sears 0 0-0 0, Devontae Houston 0 1-2 1, Corey Bell 2 0-0 4, Jack Martin 6 1-2 14, Kadarius Foster 10 3-6 23, Armonte Curtis 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-17 66.

Talladega 11 11 11 17 15 — 65
Handley 13 16 10 11 16 — 66

3-point goals: Talladega 4 (Tanner, Duncan 3); Handley 2 (Martin, Zachary). Fouled out: Patillo. Total fouls: Talladega 15, Handley 21. Officials: Alexander, Henry, Osborne.

Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Alexandria 60, Sardis 52
ALEXANDRIA (10-3) – Joe Tucker 1 0-2 3, Adam Young 1 0-0 3, Jake Weathington 2 1-2 6, Dru Davis 0 5-8 5, Grayson Chaffin 0 2-2 2, Dalton Dodd 6 10-12 24, Romeo Dye 2 2-2 7, Jared Ponder 0 0-0 0, Jalen Borders 0 0-0 0, Landan Williams 2 6-7 10. Totals 14 26-31 60.

SARDIS – Braxton Brooks 6 2-3 17, Logan Jackson 0 0-0 0, Mason Golden 0 0-0 0, Noah Cooper 0 0-0 0, Dalton Garmon 1 0-0 2, Landon Haygood 5 1-2 11, Van Owens 0 0-0 0, Evan Johnson 0 0-0 0, Dalton Pratt 0 0-0 0, Javen Smith 1 0-0 3, Patrick Bright 0 0-0 0, Logan Gaskin 2 1-2 7, Michael Cook 4 4-7 12, Anthony James 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-14 52.

Alexandria 6 11 24 19 — 60
Sardis 15 15 10 12 — 52

3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Tucker, Young, Weathington, Dodd 2, Dye); Sardis 6 (Brooks 3, Gaskin 2, Smith). Technical fouls: Weathington, Bright. Fouled out: Cook, Gaskin, Bright, Haygood. Total fouls: Alexandria 19, Sardis 25. Officials: Smith, Caldwell, Douthitt.

Battle of the States
Polk County (Tenn.) 83, Piedmont 74 (OT)
PIEDMONT – Carl Myers 0 0-0 0, Kaedon Jenkins 1 3-4 5, Delo Foster 2 3-5 7, Ryley Kirk 5 1-2 12, Lee Stanley 1 1-2 3, Silas Thompson 8 4-6 20, Alex Odam 3 2-2 10, T.J. Fairs 6 0-0 17. Totals 26 14-21 74.

POLK COUNTY – Dakota Clark 5 0-0 13, Luke Burrows 7 2-2 18, Josh Laughlin 13 2-3 29, Scott Patterson 5 4-5 16, Eli Cross 1 0-0 2, Peyton Dean 1 0-0 2, Dalton Lairmore 1 0-0 3. Totals 33 8-10 83.

Piedmont 23 25 5 18 3 — 74
Polk County 14 22 18 17 12 — 83

3-point goals: Piedmont 8 (TJ Fairs 5, Odam 2, Kirk); Polk County 9 (Clark 3, Burrows 2, Laughlin, Patterson 2, Lairmore). Technical fouls: Thompson. Total fouls: Piedmont 15, Polk County 13.

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