Great start
- Updated: December 7, 2019
Two days after winning another Class 3A football championship, Piedmont opens hoops season with 83-62 win over Mt. Zion; Odam 29, Thompson 23
BOYS GAMES
Donoho at ASD
Sacred Heart 61, John Carroll 44
Lafayette 71, Handley 52
Piedmont 83, Mt. Zion 62
Oxford 61, White Plains 50
By East Alabama Sports Today
PIEDMONT – It didn’t take the Piedmont Bulldogs long to shift gears and transition into basketball mode.
Just two days after winning their third Class 3A football state championship in five years, the Bulldogs hit the court for the first time Saturday. They may not have looked at midseason form, but they were plenty strong enough to run past Mt. Zion (Ga.), 83-62.
The five football players who played in the championship and saw action against the Eagles combined for 39 points on 15-of-31 shooting from the field, 18 rebounds and eight assists. A sixth football player on the roster, Coleman Reid, is still recovering from knee surgery.
Silas Thompson had 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting with three 3-pointers. Championship game MVP Jack Hayes hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter. Jakari Foster, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass, had five points. Malachi Jackson scored five points and Trey McFarland had three points and seven rebounds.
“The football guys did a good job of transitioning to basketball and played real well especially in the first half,” Bulldogs basketball coach JoJo Odam said. “I was pleasantly surprised because some of these guys’ lack of experience that we played so well.”
Basketball-only Alex Odam went for 29 points (all in the first three quarters), six rebounds, six steals and four assists. Luke Bussey, another basketball-only player, came off the bench and hit four of his five 3-pointers in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs hit seven treys in the first quarter and 13 in the game. Four of the five football players each hit one.
They return to action Tuesday at home against Weaver to start a stretch of eight games in 12 days. They have another stretch of eight games in 14 days in the run-up to the Calhoun County Tournament.
Piedmont 83, Mt. Zion (Ga.) 62
MT. ZION – Darius Hudgins 4 1-4 12, Jayden Perkins 3 1-3 7, J.D. Hindsman 8 0-2 18, Christian Terrell 4 0-0 12, Kendrick Brownlow 5 2-2 12, Maverick Watts 0 0-0 0, Tristian Jordan 0 0-0 0, Cade Webb 0 1-2 1, Preston Denney 0 0-0 0, Anton Thompson 0 0-0 0, Cole Jordan 0 0-0 0, Justin Ware 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 5-13 62.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 10 5-6 29, Omarion Foster 0 0-0 0, Luke Bussey 5 0-0 15, Trey McFarland 1 1-4 3, Silas Thompson 9 4-7 23, Jack Hayes 1 0-0 3, Malachi Jackson 2 0-0 5, Jakari Foster 2 0-0 5. Totals 30 10-17 83.
Mt. Zion 11 14 23 14 – 62
Piedmont 29 28 16 10 – 83
3-point goals: Mt. Zion 9 (Hudgins 3, Hindsman 2, Terrell 4); Piedmont 13 (Odam 4, Bussey 5, Thompson, Hayes, Jackson, Foster). Total fouls: Mt. Zion 14, Piedmont 10. Officials: Batey, Battles, Batey.
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