Big man delivers
- Updated: January 17, 2019
Boys roundup: Alexandria’s Williams nearly unstoppable in the paint, Piedmont wins 10th in a row, and more
THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Alexandria 70, Weaver 43
Winterboro 82, ASD 38
Clay Central at Ranburne
Cleburne County 61, Wellborn 54
Jacksonville Christian 62, Coosa Christian 58
Ohatchee 79, Pleasant Valley 47
Piedmont 48, Saks 41
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER – Alexandria’s Landan Williams played with an edge Thursday night Valley Cubs coach Jason Johnson hadn’t seen in a while and it cut Weaver to the quick.
The Valley Cubs beat another team seeded above them in the upcoming Calhoun County Tournament when they took down the Bearcats 70-43.
Williams was definitely the BMOC in this one and not just because at 6-7 he was the biggest guy on the floor. He scored 33 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and hit almost everything he looked at. He hit 12 of the first 13 shots he took and finished 15-of-19 from the floor for the game.
“He played with a little edge on his shoulder,” Johnson said. “He struggled the last couple games. He was still in double figures, but he just didn’t dominate or make a presence like he thought he should have. I was really impressed with his energy, his intensity level, against a quality opponent. It makes our offense a lot more smoother when we get that ball down low and shoot those high percentage shots.”
Williams missed one shot in the first quarter and didn’t miss again until midway through the third when Amardric Elston partially blocked his shot from behind. He missed two shots in the fourth and was fouled following up the second one.
“I was just taking shots, the best ones I could,” he said. “Tonight was my night, I guess. The last couple weeks has not been me, but I’m back.”
The Valley Cubs also got it done on the other end. After trailing 21-16 after the first quarter they held the Bearcats to 22 points the rest of the game. Elston had 16 of them and finished with 20 for the game.
Weaver coach Marcus Herbert said the Valley Cubs played “a flawless game and we were a little sluggish.”
Shamar Spinks kept up with Williams in the first quarter, attacking the basket and scoring 10 for the Bearcats, but he had only one field goal and six points the rest of the game. DeAndre McCain had only one first-quarter field goal. And it didn’t help the Bearcats’ cause at all that Robert Gaines picked up his fourth foul three minutes into the second quarter.
“That’s coach Will Ginn’s stuff right there,” Johnson said. “We tried to do some different things to try to cause some confusion for them.”
A game like this couldn’t have come at a better time for Williams and the Cubs. Next up is the Calhoun County Tournament, where they’re already miffed about a No. 8 seed they consider an insult.
“(Thursday’s game) should give him some confidence,” Johnson said. “But it’s always kind of scary that first game at Jax State because the surroundings are different and the depth perception is different. But hopefully we can get that ball down there around one foot and depth perception won’t be a big factor.”
Alexandria 70, Weaver 43
ALEXANDRIA (10-8) – Seth Slaton 1 1-2 4, Adam Young 1 0-0 3, Dustin Warren 1 0-0 2, Julian Wright 2 1-2 5, Joe Tucker 0 0-0 0, Landon Comer 1 0-0 3, Romeo Dye 3 3-3 11, Jared Ponder 2 0-0 4, Khahlil Francis 0 0-0 0, Jalen Borders 2 0-0 5, Landan Williams 15 3-4 33. Totals 28 8-11 70.
WEAVER (15-6) – Taylor Deck 0 0-0 0, Brandon Heath 0 0-0 0, Robert Gaines 2 0-0 5, Shamar Spinks 6 4-8 16, Gary Wallace 0 0-0 0, DeAndre McCain 1 0-0 2, Amardric Elston 9 2-3 20, Taber Stephens 0 0-0 0, Colby Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-11 43.
Alexandria 16 21 18 15 – 70
Weaver 21 7 9 6 – 43
3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Slaton, Young, Comer, Dye 2, Borders); Weaver 1 (Gaines). Fouled out: Gaines. Total fouls: Alexandria 11, Weaver 14. Officials: Morris, Stringer, Warren.
PIEDMONT 48, SAKS 41
When the Bulldogs first embarked on this odyssey of nine games in 14 days to start the new year coach JoJo Odam wasn’t really sure what kind of success he should reasonably expect. He was hoping for the best, of course, 9-0 may have been a bit ambitious, but as long as his team handled the area games that was the important thing.
The run wrapped Thursday night at Saks and the Bulldogs came out of it winning all nine games, extending their winning streak to 10 games.
“We ultimately wanted to go 9-0, of course, but we wanted those five area games during the stretch most of all,” he said. “We are glad to get them all and continue to be on a roll going into this stretch of the season.”
During the run the Bulldogs (16-2) beat five area opponents, seven in-county schools and averaged a fraction below 60 points a game. They won by as many as 34 and as little as five. Perhaps owing to fatigue, Thursday’s win was their lowest scoring game of the stretch.
Kaedon Jenkins led them in scoring on this night, breaking out with 18 points. He got going early with eight points in the first quarter and 13 in the first half.
Carl Myers had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds); Alex Odam had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists; and Delo Foster had four points, but grabbed seven rebounds and blocked 10 shots.
“We had different people step up in several of the games and help us get the wins,” Odam said. “That means a lot knowing we can count on everybody.”
Zay Elston led Saks with 15 points. He had 11 in the first half.
Piedmont 48, Saks 41
PIEDMONT (16-2) – Carl Myers 4 1-2 10, Kaedon Jenkins 7 1-2 18, Delo Foster 2 0-1 4, Silas Thompson 1 0-0 2, Alex Odam 4 1-2 11, T.J. Fairs 0 1-2 1, Malachi Jackson 0 0-0 0, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0, Sean Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 4-9 48.
SAKS (4-13) – Tyler Smith 2 1-2 6, Zaejuan Johnson 4 1-1 10, Daveon Dukes 2 0-0 5, Connor Martin 0 0-0 0, Zay Elston 7 1-3 15, Kyle Goedde 0 0-0 0, Jordan Cosper 1 3-4 5. Totals 16 6-10 41.
Piedmont 19 9 12 8 – 48
Saks 10 10 11 10 – 41
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Myers, Jenkins 3, Odam 2); Saks 3 (Smith, Johnson, Dukes).
Technical fouls: Foster. Total fouls: Piedmont 11, Saks 11. Officials: Montgomery, Oden, Evans.
OHATCHEE 79, PLEASANT VALLEY 47
OHATCHEE – The Indians continue to crank up the offense, getting scoring from all 10 players and putting four in double figures. They handled the Raiders in a similar fashion on Saturday.
They got off to a fast start this time, jumping out to a 31-14 lead in the first quarter. Cameron Foushee scored 10 of his 12 points in the quarter, Evan Keller had nine of his game-high 19 and Bayley Tillison had six of his nine. Trey Pesnell and Grayson Alward took control of the second quarter scoring six and eight, respectively.
Josh Ballew had 16 of his 18 in the first half for PV, including all four of his 3-pointers.
Ohatchee 79, Pleasant Valley 47
PLEASANT VALLEY (3-14) – Austin Johnson 2 0-2 5, Jake Malsy 2 0-1 5, Brayden Wright 1 0-0 2, Josh Ballew 7 0-0 18, Wyatt Ingram 3 2-3 9, Coleman Haynes 1 1-2 3, Garrett Cranmer 1 0-0 2, Jackson Almaroad 0 0-2 0, Colby Gaines 1 1-4 3. Totals 18 4-14 47.
OHATCHEE (11-9) – Parker Alexander 1 0-1 3, Nathan Higgins 1 0-0 2, Trey Pesnell 3 4-6 10, Grayson Alward 5 0-1 10, Todd Dover 1 0-0 2, Cameron Foushee 5 2-2 12, Evan Keller 5 6-8 19, Bayley Tillison 4 0-0 10, Austin Wyatt 2 0-0 4, Briley Hale 4 0-0 8. Totals 31 12-18 79.
Pleasant Valley 14 19 11 3 – 47
Ohatchee 31 21 16 11 – 79
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Johnson, Malsy, Ballew 4, Ingram)
Ohatchee 5 (Alexander, Keller 3, Tillison). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 18, Ohatchee 18. Officials: Bader, Daffron, Moorehouse.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 62, COOSA CHRISTIAN 58
JACKSONVILLE – After being stifled the game before by area champion Spring Garden, the Thunder (16-5) bounced back behind Chase Vinson’s 19thdouble-double in 21 games. Vinson scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Kobe Messer had 16 points and six boards, while Nash Messer had 11 points. Eli Fair scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
CLEBURNE COUNTY 61, WELLBORN 54
The Panthers came close to snapping their two-year losing streak, leading with 1:20 to play. They haven’t won since the opening round of the 2017 area tournament, but were awarded a forfeit for Faith Christian’s use of an ineligible player in a last-second loss last year. The streak on the floor is at 41.
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