E.A. Sports Today




Home / HIGH SCHOOL / BASKETBALL / Cubs come up short

Cubs come up short

Boys holiday roundup: Alexandria falls short in Glencoe Shootout title game; White Plains falls in Florida under barrage of 3-pointers, and more

Cherokee County’s Slade Alexander (10) splits the Winterboro defense in Saturday’s Cleburne County Holiday Classic title game. Tournament MVP Luke Goss (23), who had 24 points in the game, follows the play. Cherokee County won it, 55-49. (Photo by B.J. Franklin)

By East Alabama Sports Today

Fort Payne’s Ty Brooks scored 23 points and the Wildcats pulled away after Alexandria cut a 20-point deficit to five midway through the fourth quarter to win 77-63 and take the Glencoe Holiday Shootout boys championship.

The Wildcats held a 52-32 lead midway through the third quarter, but Alexandria put together a series of mini-runs and knocked its deficit down to 64-59 after Romeo Dye’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:49 to play.

Valley Cubs coach Jason Johnson called timeout immediately after the bucket to get his players some rest in the fast-paced game and set their end game in motion, but the Wildcats had other plans.

When play resumed, Keyshawn Hightower was fouled making a layup. He missed the and-one, but Kevin Hightower raced in for the rebound and converted it into a 3-pointer to make it 69-59. Then after freshman Julian Wright missed a dunk on the other end for the Valley Cubs, Brooks came back down and dropped a 3-pointer to make it 72-59 with 3:11 to play.

“That was very encouraging,” Johnson said of the comeback, “but then, kind of like it was at the beginning of the game to get us in that hole, we start shooting ourselves in the foot.

“Against a dangerous team like this that shoots the 3 and can get up and down the floor it can (turn that quickly). You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities – on missed free throws you’ve got to get the rebound and you’ve got to make the layup. It was just a lot of missed opportunities. That’s what was so frustrating.”

They did get back within nine, with hopes of having one more run in them, but from there Fort Payne closed it out with free throws.

The Valley Cubs were playing in the finals for the third year in a row. They beat Fort Payne for the title in a tight game last year.

The teams had played twice already this season and split with the winner each scoring 100 points and the loser scoring in the 90s. This one wasn’t the shootout that might have been anticipated, but the Valley Cubs did make it interesting after falling behind.

“I guess what was so disappointing is that we didn’t play very well,” Johnson said. “Maybe they had a lot to do with that, but we missed a lot of little easy shots right around the basket that we normally don’t and our defense was not very good. I know we didn’t give up 100 but we gave up too many layups that really, really hurt us.”

In addition to Brooks’ 24, the Wildcats also got 17 from Kevin Hightower and 15 from Keyshawn Hightower.

Dye led Alexandria with 20 points; he hit four 3-pointers. Jared Ponder was the only other Valley Cub scorer in double figures (10). Wright finished with nine points and seven offensive rebounds (eight total). Landan Williams had eight points, 10 boards and two blocked shots.

Fort Payne 77, Alexandria 63
FORT PAYNE – Jacob Hendricks 1 5-10 7, Kevin Hightower 7 2-3 17, Will Cathy 0 0-0 0, Lane White 3 0-0 6, Jordan Corbin 1 0-0 2, Ty Brooks 8 6-8 23, Zach Ridgeway 2 0-0 4, Keyshawn Hightower 6 3-6 15, Micah Simpson 1 0-0 3. Totals 29 16-27 77.
ALEXANDRIA – Seth Slaton 2 0-0 5, Dustin Warren 0 0-0 0, Collin Taylor 0 0-0 0, Julian Wright 4 1-2 9, Joe Tucker 0 2-2 2, Landon Comer 3 1-1 9, Romeo Dye 7 2-2 20, Jared Ponder 4 0-0 10, Khahlil Francis 0 0-0 0, Jalen Borders 0 0-0 0, Landan Williams 3 2-4 8. Totals 23 8-11 63.
Fort Payne 19 18 19 21 – 77
Alexandria 10 14 20 19 – 63
3-point goals: Fort Payne 3 (Kv. Hightower, Brooks, Simpson); Alexandria 9 (Comer 2, Dye 4, Ponder 2, Slaton). Fouled out: Kv. Hightower, Tucker, Ponder. Total fouls: Fort Payne 16, Alexandria 22. Officials: Stringer, Montgomery, Warren.

HOLLY POND 72, OHATCHEE 65
Tournament patrons got the treat of watching three dynamic scorers at work. Evan Keller went for 28 points, 21 in the second half, for Ohatchee, while Kyler Chaney scored 24 points and Isaac Ludwig had 21 for Holly Pond.

Holly Pond 72, Ohatchee 65
HOLLY POND – Ben Jones 0 3-4 3, Isaac Ludwig 8 3-3 21, Devyn Tankersley 2 2-2 7, Tyler Boatright 5 5-6 15, Kyler Chaney 8 7-9 24, Levi Boatright 1 0-0 2, Jordan Allbright 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 20-24 72.
OHATCHEE – Nathan Higgins 4 0-0 8, Trey Pesnell 0 1-3 1, Grayson Alward 4 0-0 8, Cameron Foushee 2 0-0 5, Evan Keller 9 6-9 28, Bayley Tillison 3 0-0 6, Briley Hale 4 1-4 9. Totals 26 8-16 65.
Holly Pond 16 24 13 19 – 72
Ohatchee 17 11 16 21 – 65
3-point goals: Holly Pond 4 (Ludwig 2, Tankersley, Chaney); Ohatchee 5 (Foushee, Keller 4). Fouled out: Foushee. Total fouls: Holly Pond 18, Ohatchee 19. Officials: Dupree, Wright, Stringer.

Hilburn-Patterson Haralson County Invitational

TALLAPOOSA, Ga. – Donoho’s Magnificent 7 lineup was down a man, but the Falcons gave Temple all it could handle before finally falling 65-60 in the tournament’s third-place game.

Injuries and other emergencies has reduced the Falcons’ lineup greatly over the past few weeks, but the Falcons remain competitive.

All-tournament selection Jacob LeCroy led the Falcons with 18 points. Reid Williamon, himself coming back from injuries sustained in an auto accident on the way to practice a couple weeks ago, had 14 points. Seth Ford had 13 with three 3-pointers – two in the fourth quarter – and Rod Elston had 11.

The Tigers got 25 points from Solomon Jacobson and 18 from Phillip Johnson.

Temple (Ga.) 65, Donoho 60
DONOHO – Seth Ford 5 0-0 13, Rod Elston 5 0-2 11, Reid Williamon 6 2-3 14, Jacob LeCroy 7 3-4 18, Dekarri Garrett 0 0-0 0, Chandler Armstrong 2 0-1 4. Totals 25 5-10 60.
TEMPLE – Savion Powell 0 0-0 0, Dakota Lord 3 2-2 9, Reggie Boles 1 2-3 5, Solomon Jacobson 8 6-9 25, Phillip Johnson 7 4-6 18, Baily Kittrell 1 0-0 3, Jourdyn Louissant 1 0-0 2, Ryan Burkhart 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 15-22 65.
Donoho 16 16 10 18 – 60
Temple 21 15 14 15 – 65
3-point goals: Donoho 5 (Ford 3, Elston, LeCroy); Temple 6 (Lord, Boles, Jacobson 3, Kittrell). Fouled out: Armstrong. Total fouls: Donoho 18, Temple 13.

Cleburne County Holiday Classic

HEFLIN – DeAndre McCain nailed six 3-pointers, five in the first half and four in a 31-point second quarter and the Bearcats rallied from an early deficit to take control of the third-place game in the tournament and ultimately down Ranburne, 86-77..

McCain, who had 14 points in his big quarter, finished with 22, one of four Weaver scorers in double figures. Shamar Spinks and Robert Gaines each had 19 and Amardric Elston added 10. Brock Young led Ranburne with 25.

In the tournament’s championship game, MVP Luke Goss poured in 24 points as Cherokee County topped Winterboro 55-49.

To see photos from the tournament visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com

Weaver 86, Ranburne 77
RANBURNE – Devon Chambers 8 0-0 19, Jake Burson 5 0-0 10, Joe Bailey 0 0-0 0, Sammy Green 7 1-1 15, Josh Ralston 0 0-0 0, Jackson Pollard 3 0-0 8, Brock Young 11 2-2 25. Totals 34 3-3 77.
WEAVER – Brandon Heath 3 2-4 8, Robert Gaines 7 3-5 19, Shamar Spinks 8 3-6 19, Gary Wallace 1 1-2 3, DeAndre McCain 7 2-2 22, Amardric Elston 4 1-1 10, Taber Stephens 1 1-2 3. Totals
Ranburne 16 16 20 25 – 77
Weaver 12 31 17 26 – 86
3-point goals: Ranburne 6 (Chambers 3, Pollard 2, Young); Weaver 9 (Gaines 2, McCain 6, Elston). Total fouls: Ranburne 17, Weaver 9. Officials: Burroughs, Barber, Hinkle.

Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout

FREEPORT, Fla. – White Plains had four players score in double figures, but William Blount (Tenn.) had 11 players score and hit 11 3-pointers to hand the Wildcats their second loss of the Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout, 69-52.

Simeon Shadrix scored all 15 of his points in the first half – all on 3-pointers. Jacob Wheeler scored all of his points in the fourth quarter – all of White Plains’ points in the quarter – with three 3-pointers.

Every run the Wildcats made in the game Blount answered. The Governors ultimately pulled away in the third quarter, smothering Shadrix defensively and scoring 23 points behind four 3-pointers from Jordan Tarver.

William Blount (Tenn.) 69, White Plains 52
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 0 0-0 0, Houston Conger 0 0-2 0, Quin Wilson 0 0-0 0, Jaden Chatman 0 0-0 0, Simeon Shadrix 5 0-0 15, Jacob Wheeler 4 0-0 11, Brody Baker 4 2-4 10, Matthew Clay 5 4-6 14, Jaden Harris 0 0-2 0, Kahlil Williams 0 0-0 0, Gavin Burrage 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 6-14 52.
WILLIAM BLOUNT – Isiah Prats 2 0-0 5, Chance Pride 3 3-7 9, Brett Boling 3 0-0 7, Cameron George 4 0-0 10, Grant Reardon 2 3-6 8, Will Combs 1 0-0 2, Caleb Linginfelter 0 2-2 2, Trey Clemmer 0 0-2 0, Marshall Cooper 1 0-0 2, Jared Young 1 0-0 2, Eli Macon 2 0-0 6, Jordan Tarver 6 0-1 16. Totals 25 8-18 69.
White Plains 13 13 15 11 – 52
William Blount 16 13 23 17 – 69
3-point goals: White Plains 8 (Shadrix 5, Wheeler 3); William Blount 11 (Prats, Boling, George 2, Reardon, Macon 2, Tarver 4). Total fouls: White Plains 13, William Blount 12.

Talladega Round Robin

TALLADEGA – Talladega used a big second quarter to take control of the game and then put together a big third quarter to get even more comfortable on the way to an 82-55 win over Talladega County Central to win the Talladega Round-Robin.

Kobe Simmons scored 12 of his 14 points in the Tigers’ 25-point second quarter and Rontavious Barclay scored 12 of his team-high 18 in a 27-point third quarter that extended the lead.

Aaron Green scored only four points in the second quarter, but was a big factor with eight rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals. He finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals.

Munford defeated Wellborn in the other round-robin game of the day.

Talladega 82, Talladega Co. Central 55
TCC – Devin Dates 3 3-7 9, Jafrondric Davis 2 3-5 7, Lakedrick Tuck 2 1-2 5, Jayden Jones 2 4-6 8, Karon Phillips 3 1-2 7, Bakari Taylor 8 2-2 19. Totals 20 14-24 55.
TALLADEGA – Keandre Brand 0 0-0 0, Nigel Scales 2 2-2 6, Chaztin Tanner 2 0-0 4, Jaquon Chatman 1 0-0 2, Aaron Green 6 2-4 16, Rontavious Barclay 8 1-1 18, D’Corian Wilson 5 1-1 11, Roderrius Montgomery 1 0-0 2, J.Q. Wilson 2 0-0 5, Kobe Simmons 6 0-0 14, Brocker Simmons 2 0-0 4. Totals 35 6-8 82.
TCC 13 16 17 9 – 55
Talladega 18 25 27 12 – 82
3-point goals: TCC 1 (Taylor); Talladega 6 (Green 2, Barclay, J.Q. Wilson, K. Simmons 2). Technical fouls: TCC bench. Fouled out: Montgomery. Total fouls: TCC 9, Talladega 19. Officials: Evans, Oden, Morris.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login