Jackets start fast
- Updated: November 20, 2018
Boys roundup: Oxford opens season with ‘encouraging’ win; Alexandria overcomes slow start to beat Glencoe, Jacksonville falls in OT
Monday’s results
Alexandria 72, Glencoe 49
Ashville 55, Jacksonville 54 (OT)
Oxford 70, Ramsay 57
Sacred Heart 61, Demopolis 55
By East Alabama Sports Today
RAINSVILLE – Expectations are high for the Oxford High School basketball team this season and on opening night the Yellow Jackets didn’t disappoint.
Zondrick Garrett went for 27 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots and three other players scored in double figures as the Yellow Jackets took down Ramsay 70-57 at the DeKalb Civic Center.
Kobe Warren and Mont McClendon both added 12 points and Justin Moore had 10 off the bench.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Jackets coach Joel VanMeter said. “Obviously you don’t ever know what the first game is going to be like. It was encouraging.”
And the Jackets won so handily despite going 9-of-29 from the free throw line. They made up the difference by hitting nine 3-pointers; McClendon was 3-of-7.
“To do that and shoot it that bad from the free throw line, you’ve got to be excited a little bit,” VanMeter said.
Garrett, who returned to the Jackets after a brief stay at an Atlanta-area prep school, was monstrous early. He scored 16 points in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, doubling the Rams’ total. He had 20 in the first half.
“That tells me he’s going to be pretty good,” VanMeter said.
VanMeter was particularly impressed with Warren, who along with his points dished nine assists.
“Coach D (Larry Davidson) told me tonight he’s never seen a kid improve so much in a year,” VanMeter said. “I’ve been at Jax State, I’ve been at Chipola (Junior College), I’ve never seen a guy from last April ‘til now, like a six-month period, improve that much.
“He’s spent a lot of time in the gym. He’s a later bloomer. They pressed all night and I bet he didn’t turn it over but one time. And he makes it so much easier for Eugene (Leonard).”
Ashville 55, Jacksonville 54 – Donavon McCain opened his season with 29 points and 19 rebounds, but the Golden Eagles fell in overtime in the Coy Smith Memorial Tournament. The Golden Eagles led by 10 after the first quarter and six at halftime, but needed a free throw at the end of regulation to force overtime, where they were outscored 5-4. Jacksonville will play Ragland in Tuesday’s 5 p.m. consolation game.
Alexandria 72, Glencoe 49: Landan Williams dominated the post with 16 points and Landon Comer hit six 3-pointers for all 18 of his points as the Valley Cubs came from behind to beat Glencoe. The Cubs trailed by five after the first quarter, then outscored the Yellow Jackets 49-26 on either side of halftime. Williams had 14 of his points in the middle two quarters. Comer hit three of his 3s in the fourth quarter.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Oxford 70, Ramsay 57
OXFORD (1-0) – Rylan Houck 1 0-0 2, Zondrick Garrett 12 1-8 27, Eugene Leonard 3 1-1 7, Mont McClendon 3 2-9 12, Kobe Warren 4 1-7 12, Cordell Chatman 0 0-0 0, Justin Moore 3 3-4 10, Milas Jackson 0 0-0 0, Traften Houck 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 9-29 70.
RAMSAY – White 0 2-2 2, Keeshawn Murphy 4 0-0 9, R.J. Harrington 5 3-4 14, Corey Crosby 1 0-0 2, Christian Lee 3 0-0 6, C.J. Burns 3 1-2 7, Gabriel Allman 0 0-3 0, Brandon Nixon 1 0-0 2, Cameron Scott 5 4-4 15. Totals 21 10-15 57.
Oxford 19 12 24 15 – 70
Ramsay 8 10 19 20 – 57
3-point goals: Oxford 9 (Garrett 2, McClendon 3, Warren 3, Moore); Ramsay 5 (Scott, Lee 2, Harrington, Murphy. Fouled out: Garrett, Leonard, Murphy, Burns. Total fouls: Ramsay 20, Oxford 19.
Alexandria 72, Glencoe 49
GLENCOE – Bryan Benefield 2 0-0 5, Christopher Lang 1 0-0 2, Landon McCarver 1 2-4 4, Colton Stone 0 3-6 3, Ethan Wells 6 2-4 17, Daniel Maye 0 0-0 0, Camden Harris 2 3-4 8, Collin Hardy 1 0-1 2, Brock Ondo 1 0-0 2, Collin Roberts 0 1-2 1, L Bone 1 3-6 5. Totals 15 14-27 55.
ALEXANDRIA (1-0) – Seth Slaton 1 0-0 3, Adam Young 3 1-2 10, Dustin Warren 0 0-0 0, Collin Taylor 1 1-3 4, Julian Wright 2 1-2 5, Landon Comer 6 0-0 18, Romeo Dye 1 1-2 3, Jared Ponder 0 0-0 0, Khalil Francis 2 0-0 4, Jalen Borders 4 1-2 9, Landan Williams 6 4-5 16. Totals 26 9-16 72.
Glencoe 13 14 12 10 – 49
Alexandria 8 24 25 15 – 72
3-point goals: Glencoe 5 (Benefield, Wells 3, Harris); Alexandria 11 (Comer 6, Taylor, Young 3, Slaton). Fouled out: Wright. Total fouls: Glencoe 16, Alexandria 24.
Coy Smith Memorial Tournament
Ashville 55, Jacksonville 54 (OT)
JACKSONVILLE (0-1) – Donavon McCain 12-24 5-8 29, Jay Davis 3-12 5-5 11, Nathan Barnwell 3-5 0-1 6, J. Hill 2-10 0-0 6, Isaac Joiner 1-3 0-0 2, Oliver Young 0-2 0-0 0, H. Harvey 0-1 0-0 0, J. McCarley 0-1 0-0 0, J. Zapata 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 10-14 54.
ASHVILLE – Christopher Sanders 7-13 0-0 16, Dalton Cone 4-10 1-3 13, John Phillips 3-9 0-0 8, Perkins Carden 2-6 0-0 4, DeAndre Woods 2-4 0-1 4, Cesar Segura 1-8 1-2 3, Landon Vann 1-3 0-0 3, Adam Lopano 1-2 0-0 2, Daniel Welch 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 2-6 55.
Jacksonville 17 9 11 13 4 – 54
Ashville 7 13 17 13 5 – 55
3-point goals: Jacksonville 2-16 (McCain 0-3, Davis 0-4, Hill 2-6, Young 0-1); Ashville 11-31 (Sanders 4-6, Cone 4-9, Phillips 2-5, Carden 0-2, Woods 0-2, Segura 0-3, Vann 1-3, Welch 0-2). Rebounds: Jacksonville 54 (McCain 19). Ashville 31 (Sanders 6, Cone 6, Phillips 6). Total fouls: Jacksonville 10, Ashville 16.
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