Wheeler dynamite
- Updated: January 3, 2019
Boys roundup: White Plains sophomore follows strong finish in Florida with sharp outside shooting, 13 points against Saks; Piedmont opens tough stretch with win, and more
White Plains point guard Quin Wilson (5) drew high marks from coach Chris Randall for the way he ran the point Thursday night. On the cover, Jacob Wheeler (12) fires one of his three first-half 3-pointers. (Photos by B.J. Franklin)
Thursday’s boys games
Faith Christian 56, Woodland 35
Fort Payne 76, Southside 68
JCA 63, Ragland 52
Piedmont 60, Wellborn 38
Sand Rock 91, Pleasant Valley 77
Talladega 91, Cleburne County 53
White Plains 56, Saks 25
Winterboro 66, Munford 53
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Jacob Wheeler had his coming-out party as a varsity basketball player in the fourth quarter of White Plains’ final game in Florida last week and it’s carried over to his first game of the new year.
Wheeler, who has a little Napoleon Dynamite thing going on with his look, scored all 11 of the Wildcats’ points in that fourth quarter against William Blount (Tenn.) in Destin, nailing three 3-pointers.
He followed that up with 3-pointers in the first half Thursday and had 13 points in the game to help the Wildcats get back on the winning track, 56-25 over Saks.
His first 3 of the night beat the first-quarter horn and gave the Wildcats a 14-6 lead. He hit back-to-back 3s at the end of the second quarter to give them a 28-10 halftime lead.
“I was just knocking down shots,” Wheeler said. “(The game in Florida) really got my confidence up, knocking down some shots, seeing it go in. It made me think I can make shots. It let me know I could play with the varsity, I was good enough.”
His ability to hit shots may be a welcome addition to the offensive balance Wildcats coach Chris Randall seeks, but it’s what happens on the other end of the floor that usually gets Randall’s motor going.
He said Wheeler is figuring out the better he plays defense the more he’ll get to play. He said the sophomore’s defensive play was “a lot better” in Florida than it had been previously.
“It’s funny,” Randall said, “when he’s making shots it kind of jacks him up. He kind of guards a little bit getter.”
There was no arguing their defensive effort against Saks. They held the Wildcats to 10 points in the first half and single digits in the three of the four quarters.
Randall also gave high marks to sophomore guard Quin Wilson, who he said had a “really good first three quarters” and was “very clean running the point like he’s supposed to run it.” Wilson scored 11 points and hit a 3-pointer in each of the first three quarters. The Wildcats had only seven turnovers in the game.
“I thought we took some baby steps offensively tonight,” Randall said. “We didn’t turn it over much and the shot selection was good; we’re still not making a lot, but I thought we took good shots.”
White Plains 56, Saks 25
SAKS – Tyler Smith 2 2-8 6, Zaejuan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Daveon Dukes 3 0-3 6, Connor Cartin 1 0-0 2, Zay Elston 1 1-1 4, Pat Williams 0 0-2 0, Jordan Cosper 1 1-2 3, Miles McLaughlin 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 4-16 25.
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 1 0-0 2, Houston Conger 1 0-0 2, Quin Wilson 4 0-0 11, Jaden Chatman 0 0-0 0, Simeon Shadrix 3 1-2 7, Jacob Wheeler 5 0-0 13, Brody Baker 2 0-0 4, Matthew Clay 3 0-0 6, Jaden Harris 2 0-0 5, Kahlil Williams 2 0-0 4, Gavin Burrage 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 1-2 56.
Saks 6 4 10 5 – 25
White Plains 14 14 20 8 – 56
3-point goals: Saks 1 (Elston); White Plains 7 (Wilson 3, Wheeler 3, Harris). Total fouls: Saks 7, White Plains 13.
White Plains’ Brody Baker (15) gets squeezed along the baseline by some tight Saks pressure. (Photo by B.J. Franklin)
Piedmont 60, Wellborn 38
The Bulldogs embarked on a brutal stretch of nine games in 14 days prior to the Calhoun County Tournament with an easy victory over the winless Panthers. Three players scored in double figures as the Bulldogs (8-2) opened a 54-21 lead after three quarters.
“It’s bad for the coach but great for the kids,” Piedmont coach JoJo Odam said of the stretch, knowing his team won’t get in much practice during the stretch.
This game was the first of three in as many days and is followed by home games with Hokes Bluff and Jacksonville, a team they just beat in the final seconds last week in the Glencoe Holiday Shootout semifinals.
The Bulldogs were forced to cram in so many games in a short period because of their long run in football that ran all the way to the state championship game. They were the last team in Calhoun County to play this season.
The stretch includes five area games.
“We’re starting to play in the games that mean something now,” Odam said. “You know it’s coming and battle through it and try to win the ones that count. Ultimately 9-0 would be the goal, but we just want to win those that count, the area games. Those are the big ones, we’re focused on those.
“I haven’t even sat down and thought let’s go 7-2, 6-3 or anything like that. If the goal would be 9-0, the biggest goal would be those area games.”
Carl Myers led the Bulldogs with 13 points, six in the first quarter as the Bulldogs opened a 16-8 lead. Delo Foster and Alex Odam had 12 each. Foster also grabbed five rebounds and had three assists. Silas Thompson grabbed eight rebounds. T.J. Fairs dealt five assists.
Wellborn’s Khavion Wesley led all scorers with 26 points. He had all of the Panthers’ points in the second and third quarters and had 17 in the second half.
Piedmont 60, Wellborn 38
PIEDMONT (8-2) – Carl Myers 4 3-4 13, Kaedon Jenkins 2 0-2 4, Delo Foster 5 2-2 12, Silas Thompson 2 0-0 4, Alex Odam 5 1-2 12, T.J. Fairs 1 3-4 6, Malachi Jackson 2 0-0 4, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0, Sean Smith 2 1-4 5. Totals 23 10-18 60.
WELLBORN – Khavion Wesley 12 2-4 26, Justin Berry 1 0-0 2, Lewis Patterson 2 0-0 6, Max Searcy 0 0-0 0, Glen Oliver 1 0-0 2, Austin Gamble 0 0-0 0, Tae Traylor 1 0-0 2, Rob Broom 0 0-0 0, Harley Kendall 0 0-0 0, Logan Grubbs 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 2-4 38.
Piedmont 16 18 20 6 – 60
Wellborn 8 5 8 17 – 38
3-point goals: Piedmont 4 (Myers 2, Odam, Fairs); Wellborn 2 (Patterson 2). Total fouls: Piedmont 4, Wellborn 13. Officials: Killingsworth, Burroughs, Chambers.
Sand Rock 91, Pleasant Valley 77
SAND ROCK – Pleasant Valley’s offense came to life in the second half and the Raiders staged a strong second-half comeback, scoring many of their points without the clock moving, but their first-half deficit was just too large to overcome.
The Raiders scored 56 points in the second half after falling behind 43-21 at halftime. Josh Ballew scored 18 of his game-high 31 in the half and the Raiders were 18-of-24 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
“The second half we played aggressive man-to-man instead of back on our heels,” Raiders coach Ryan Chambless said.
Ballew was hot all game. He hit five 3-pointers.
“Josh Ballew can play basketball,” Chambless said. “He did a good job handling the offense all night.”
Sand Rock had four scorers in double figures. The Wildcats got scoring from 10 players in forging their halftime lead. They were 12-of-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to stay out front.
Sand Rock 91, Pleasant Valley 77
PLEASANT VALLEY – Austin Johnson 0 5-7 5, Jake Malsy 2 1-2 5, Brandon Wright 2 6-8 10, Josh Ballew 10 6-6 31, Wyatt Ingram 4 0-1 9, Coleman Haynes 0 2-4 2, Garrett Crammer 1 2-2 5, Colby Gaines 3 4-10 10. Totals 22 26-40 77.
SAND ROCK – Garyn Sharp 5 2-2 13, Cade Ballenger 7 5-6 21, Levi Burt 0 1-2 1, John Foster 2 0-1 4, Layne Burt 0 0-0 0, Eli Bates 5 3-3 14, Logan Wood 1 0-0 3, Elijah Parker 3 0-0 6, Xander Bradley 1 0-0 2, Tanner Clanton 5 3-3 13, Jacob St. Clair 2 0-2 5, Kaden Justice 3 1-1 7. Totals 34 15-20 91.
Pleasant Valley 10 11 25 31 – 77
Sand Rock 24 19 19 29 – 91
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Ballew 5, Ingram, Crammer); Sand Rock 8 (Sharp, Ballenger 2, Bates, Wood, St. Clair, Justice 2). Fouled out: Haynes, Ballew, Foster, La. Burt, Wood. Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 19, Sand Rock 24. Officials: Johnson, Jelks, McClellan.
Talladega 91, Cleburne County 53
TALLADEGA – Chaztin Tanner rediscovered his stroke after the holidays and hit five 3-pointers in a 24-point game that lifted the Tigers to their third area victory of the season.
Tanner was one of four Tigers to score in double figures. Rontavious Barclay knocked down 15 points (nine in the first quarter), Kobe Simmons had 13 points and eight assists and Jaquon Chatman added 11 points. D’Corian Wilson dealt nine assists.
Ben Casey led Cleburne County with 21 points, hitting five 3-pointers.
Talladega 91, Cleburne County 53
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Arcavius Brown 5 5-12 15, Noah Lindsey 2 0-0 4, Chase Smith 1 2-8 4, Christian Sears 1 0-0 3, Hudson Miller 0 0-0 0, LaTarrance Mackey 2 0-0 4, Manney Rollins 1 0-0 2, Ben Casey 6 4-5 21. Totals 18 11-25 53.
TALLADEGA – Keandre Brand 2 1-1 5, Nigel Scales 1 0-0 3, Chaztin Tanner 9 1-2 24, Jaquon Chatman 2 4-5 11, Aaron Green 4 0-1 8, Rontavious Barclay 6 3-3 15, D’Corian Wilson 2 0-2 4, Raderrius Montgomery 1 0-0 2, J.Q. Wilson 0 0-0 0, Kobe Simmons 5 2-3 13, Brocker Simmons 2 2-2 6. Totals 35 13-20 91.
Cleburne County 9 17 18 9 – 53
Talladega 27 28 19 17 – 91
3-point goals: Cleburne County 6 (Sears, Casey 5); Talladega 8 (Scales, Tanner 5, Chatman, K. Simmons). Fouled out: Smith. Total fouls: Cleburne County 18, Talladega 21. Officials: Oden, Morris, Wood.
JCA 63, Ragland 52
JACKSONVILLE – Kobe Messer and Chase Vinson both enjoyed a double-double leading Jacksonville Christian to its 11th victory of the season. Messer scored a game-high 25 points and brought down 12 rebounds for the Thunder (11-4). Vinson had 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Nash Messer contributed 13 points and five rebounds. Sloan Phillips led Ragland with 17 points.
Faith Christian 56, Woodland 35
The Lions placed three scorers in double figures for the second game in a row. Jacob Cleckler led the Lions with 12 points, while Michael McGraw and Seth Cravens had 11 apiece.
“I think we’re playing better basketball,” Lions coach Justin Kisor said. “We’re just having trouble getting it in the goal.”
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