Living dangerously
- Updated: December 27, 2019
Boys roundup: Lincoln’s comeback kids end Piedmont’s season-starting winning streak in thriller; Oxford splits in Huntsville and more
Friday’s boys scores
Big Orange Classic, Hoover
B bracket
Handley 57, Central Gwinnett 54
Cleburne County Christmas Classic
Munford 51, Ohatchee 43
Cherokee County 59, Ranburne 34
Winterboro 75, Donoho 42
Vincent 65, Cleburne County 35
Don Webb Classic, Scottsboro
Madison Academy 55, Pope John Paul II 51
Randolph 49, Westminster 38
Talladega 51, Auburn 50
Fyffe 62, Scottsboro 36
Dwight Madison Roundball Classic
Jeff Davis 75, Sacred Heart 65
Gadsden Area Christmas Classic
At Gadsden City HS
Coosa Christian 56, Hokes Bluff 50
Sardis 61, Gaston 36
Etowah 52, Westbrook Christian 45
Gadsden City 52, Southside 38
Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Faith Christian 63, Cedar Bluff 46
Alexandria 91, Casey County (Ky.) 59
Fort Payne 76, Jacksonville 70
Lincoln 65, Piedmont 64
Hilburn-Patterson Invitational, Tallapoosa, Ga.
Bowdon (Ga.) 65, Clay Central 56
Spring Garden 61, Randolph County 48
Haralson County (Ga.) 60, Weaver 51
Hilton Sandestin (Fla.) Beach Blowout
White Plains 51, Fontainbleau (La.) 48 (OT)
Helena 68, William Blount (Tenn.) 63
Oneonta def. Montgomery Catholic
Wayne County (Ky.) 58, Sand Rock 55
Huntsville City Classic
Oxford 57, Huntsville 41
Decatur Heritage 67, Anniston 60 (OT)
Mae Jemison 52, Oxford 46
JCA Holiday Classic
Consolation game
Victory Christian vs. Gaylesville
Championship game
Ragland 73, Jacksonville Christian 68
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
GLENCOE –Lincoln coach Doug Ward admits what his Golden Bears have done the last two nights on the basketball court here is no way to guarantee a long and happy life.
But it sure beats the alternative.
The Golden Bears came back from a double-digit second-half deficit for the second night in a row Friday and stopped Piedmont’s undefeated start, 65-64 on Javion Surles’ runner at the buzzer to reach the boys championship game of the Glencoe Holiday Shootout.
They came from 24 down in the third quarter to beat Alexandria in the opening round Thursday night. This time the deficit was 15 points with five minutes to play.
“It’s not a way to live,” Ward said. “They’re special. They’re aging me, but they’re special.”
The Bears trailed 59-44 with 5:02 left after Piedmont’s Alex Odam hit both ends of a technical foul Ward got on purpose to try to shake his team out of its funk. The technical spurred the Golden Bears to action. They whittled it down behind an aggressive press and some tough shooting by Brian Garrett and J.D. Davis and eventually got within one on Davis’ driving layup against Silas Thompson with 7.7 seconds to go.
Piedmont wasn’t going to put the ball in anyone’s hands other than Odam down the stretch and the strategy worked as the Bears sent the Bulldogs’ sharp-shooter to the line for a one-and-one with 6.7 seconds left.
Odam missed the front end, Tre Hines got the rebound and fed it to Surles, who raced down the floor and threw up a runner that went through the hoop as the horn sounded. The Bears rushed him under the basket in celebration.
“It came down to crunch time, for real,” Surles said. “The coaches told us if he missed somebody just take off and go, and that’s what I did. I want thank God for the shot, though. When I took off I really didn’t know how much time we had left. Once he jumped I looked up at the score and then I went around and just shot. I saw one second on the clock.”
Surles finished with 18 points; he had 40 and 42 in his previous two games. Garrett had 21, including six 3-pointers. Odam led Piedmont with 28; he was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Thompson had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Both Piedmont players were 10-of-16 from the floor.
“When you’ve got guys who can shoot it like (Surles and Gararett) and a couple other of our guys you always feel like you’re in it at some point,” Ward said. “Because when they decide to press and run and fly around, I mean, it’s fun to watch.”
Ward couldn’t take the credit for the end-game strategy. He was willing to go for the go-ahead 3 on the possession that produced Davis’ layup, but assistant coach Jamie Linderman convinced him to go for the two and then foul in hopes of getting it back. Linderman also convinced him to press in the comeback against Alexandria.
The Bulldogs had several leads in the game. They led 11-2 out of the gate and by 12 early in the second quarter, but Lincoln had it back to a one-point game at halftime. The Bears actually led briefly in the third quarter, but Thompson and Odam got on track and put Piedmont up seven with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
“They did the same thing to Alexandria last night; they’re never out of it the way they shoot it,” Piedmont coach JoJo Odam said. “They don’t think they’re ever out of it. We knew when it was whatever it was it was never over the way they shoot it. We knew it was going to be a battle and it was going to come down to the end the way 11 (Garrett) and zero (Surles) can shoot it.”
The loss ended Piedmont’s season-opening winning streak at 10 games, an amazing feat considering their relative lack of practice time coming off a state championship football season that ended in early December. It’s still the best start in school history.
“Nobody thought we were going to go whatever-and-oh,” Odam said. “Sometimes a loss is good for you. It’s something we can learn from.”
Lincoln will play Fort Payne in Saturday’s title game. Piedmont will play Jacksonville in the consolation game.
Alexandria 91, Casey County (Ky.) 59: The Valley Cubs bounced back from letting the previous night’s game get away with one of their best offensive games of the season. They shot 61 percent from the floor (33-of-54) in the first three quarters to open an 84-43 lead. Julian Wright scored 28 points, hitting 12 of 13 shots from the floor, including all seven in the third quarter. Landan Williams had 20 points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and five assists. Collin Taylor had seven assists to go with his 14 points.
Fort Payne 76, Jacksonville 60: Jacob Hendricks was hot early and Micah Simpson was hot late as the Wildcats earned a spot in the championship game. Hendricks scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the first half, hitting five 3-pointers. Simpson scored 13 straight points for his team in a stretch over the third and fourth quarters stretching the lead to 14.
Fort Payne held a 37-32 halftime lead. Jacksonville closed to within 39-38 early in the third quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump. The Wildcats scored the next seven points and the Golden Eagles never got closer than three the rest of the game.
Faith Christian 63, Cedar Bluff 46: C.J. Gomez led four Lions scorers in double figures with 20 points. Ethan Richerzhagen had 15, Jacques Prater 12 and Thomas Curlee 10.
Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Lincoln 65, Piedmont 64
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 10 5-6 28, Omarion Foster 2 0-1 4, Luke Bussey 0 0-0 0, Trey McFarland 3 0-0 6, Silas Thompson 10 1-2 24, Jack Hayes 1 0-0 2, Malachi Jackson 0 0-0 0, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 6-9 64.
LINCOLN – Javion Surles 6 3-8 18, Cam Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Kye Patterson 1 1-2 4, Steven White 2 0-0 4, Brian Garrett 7 1-2 21, J.D. Davis 6 2-2 14, Tre Hines 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 7-14 65.
Piedmont 19 11 17 17 – 64
Lincoln 11 18 12 24 – 65
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Odam 3, Thompson 3); Lincoln 10 (Surles 3, Patterson, B. Garrett 6). Technical fouls: Lincoln coach Ward. Fouled out: J. Foster. Total fouls: Piedmont 13, Lincoln 15. Officials: Smith, Wood, Stringer.
Fort Payne 76, Jacksonville 60
JACKSONVILLE – Kyrie Maynor 8-18 0-1 17, Donavon McCain 8-10 0-2 16, Ron Wiggins 4-12 0-1 10, Jaden Barksdale 2-4 1-2 6, Yessman Green 1-7 0-2 3, Radanis Kirksey 1-5 0-0 2, Nathan Barnwell 1-3 0-0 2, Omarion Adams 1-3 0-0 2, Hudson Harvey 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob McCarley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 1-8 60.
FORT PAYNE – Jacob Hendricks 10-13 2-3 27, Micah Simpson 6-12 0-0 16, Kevin Hightower 5-10 3-5 13, Bryson Richey 3-5 2-2 10, Lane White 1-4 2-2 4, Will Abbott 1-1 0-0 2, Robbie Graham 1-1 0-1 2, Jayden Dubose 1-1 0-0 2, Kyler Rogers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-48 9-13 76.
Jacksonville 16 16 19 9 – 60
Fort Payne 23 14 20 19 – 76
3-point goals: Jacksonville 5-16 (Maynor 1-5, McCain 0-1, Wiggins 2-2, Barksdale 1-2, Green 1-4, Kirksey 0-1, Adams 0-1); Fort Payne 11-24 (Hendricks 5-6, Simpson 4-8, Hightower 0-2, Richey 2-4, White 0-3, Rogers 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 39 (McCain 8, Green 7, Maynor 6); Fort Payne 33 (Hendricks 14). Total fouls: Jacksonville 13, Fort Payne 12.
Alexandria 91, Casey County (Ky.) 59
ALEXANDRIA – Javais McGhee 0 4-4 4, Collin Taylor 5 0-0 14, D’Anthony Walton 2 0-0 6, Ivonte Davis 0 0-0 0, Seth Slaton 6 0-0 17, Julian Wright 12 4-4 28, Dustin Warren 0 0-0 0, Javarious Williams 0 2-2 2, Landan Williams 9 2-3 20. Totals 34 12-13 91.
CASEY COUNTY – Keegan Daniel 0 0-0 0, Ramsey 1 0-0 3, Blake Caudill 3 0-0 7, Ethan Willoughby 8 1-3 20, Goode 4 0-0 11, Rousey 0 0-0 0, Spence Baird 5 6-9 16, Price 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 7-12 59.
Alexandria 28 22 34 7 – 91
Casey County 12 12 19 16 – 59
3-point goals: Alexandria 11 (Taylor 4, Walton 2, Slaton 5); Casey County 8 (Ramsey, Caudill, Willoughby 3, Goode 3). Total fouls: Alexandria 11, Casey County 14. Officials: Roberts, Horne, Davis.
Huntsville City Classic
HUNTSVILLE – Mae Jemison outscored Oxford 12-0 over the final 2:03 to take a 52-46 victory in the semifinals of the Huntsville City Classic. The Jaguars will play Bob Jones in the title game, while Oxford will play Sparkman for third place.
“They took it,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said.
The Jackets led 46-40 before the Jags made their run to the title game. Toney Tony’s steal and three-point play put Mae Jemison ahead and the Jags closed it out with three more free throws.
Tony led all scorers with 24 points. Oxford’s Rock Taylor had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Zondrick Grarett had 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots. VanMeter calls them “the bookends.”
The Yellow Jackets reached the semifinals with a 57-41 win over Huntsville behind a big game from sophomore Rylan Houck and another double-double by Garrett. Houck had 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, while Garrett had 14 points and 15 boards.
“I think over the last two weeks Rylan has become more comfortable against the competition we’re playing, which led him to be more aggressive and when he’s aggressive he shows the level of player he’s become,” VanMeter said. “Mont (McClendon) has been out with a turned ankle and he’s our second ballhandler. With Mont in, he probably backs away from that. You put him in the forefront and he has to make the plays he’s supposed to he has success … The biggest key for Justin Moore and Rylan Houck is to play games, get more experience.”
Decatur Heritage 67, Anniston 60 (OT): The Eagles tied the game with a 3-pointer at the buzzer and then won it in overtime. Daveon Dukes and Demarien Stewart led Anniston with 13 points apiece. Bulldogs star guard Antonio (Spoodie) Kite was held scoreless in only six minutes of action. Anniston coach Torry Brown said it was his decision to sit him.
Mae Jemison 52, Oxford 46
OXFORD – Zondrick Garrett 6-10 2-4 14, Rylan Houck 1-4 4-4 6, Kobe Warren 0-2 0-2 0, Rock Taylor 8-15 5-7 22, Justin Moore 2-11 0-0 4, Mont McClendon 0-2 0-0 0, Milas Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Wtats 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 11-17 46.
MAE JEMISON – Tony Toney 8-23 7-11 24, Jamal Miller 1-2 3-5 6, DaMarcus Thompson 4-9 1-2 10, Nate Jones 3-10 2-2 8, Oscar Hayes 0-1 2-5 2, Darrin Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Cedric Lewis 0-4 0-0 0, Donnavon Jones 1-4 0-1 2, Jacquise Richardson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 15-26 52.
Oxford 10 11 15 10 – 46
Mae Jemison 5 18 11 18 – 52
3-point goals: Oxford 1-12 (Garrett 0-2, Houck 0-2, Warren 0-1, Taylor 1-3, Moore 0-3, McClendon 0-1); Mae Jemison 3-10 (Toney 1-4, Millerr 1-2, Dm Thompson 1-1, N. Jones 0-1, Lewis 0-1, D. Jones 0-1). Rebounds: Oxford 40 (Garrett 11, Taylor 12); Mae Jemison 34 (N. Jones 9). Fouled out: Garrett, Lewis. Totala fouls: Oxford 22, Mae Jemison 13.
Oxford 57, Huntsville 41
HUNTSVILLE – Griffin Wray 4-10 4-4 14, Luke Guyette 3-15 4-6 10, Massiah Morris 4-18 0-0 10, Duncan Gibbons 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson West 0-1 1-2 1, Deundre Cawthorn 0-0 0-0 0, Porter Busbee 0-1 0-0 0, Xavier Fuell 1-5 2-2 4, Jamari Tate 1-5 0-0 2, Ryan Kozar 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-55 11-14 57.
OXFORD – Zondrick Garrett 4-7 6-8 14, Rylan Houck 8-13 3-3 22, Kobe Warren 1-2 0-1 3, Rock Taylor 2-5 0-0 4, Justin Moore 4-7 5-8 14, Cordell Chatman 0-0 0-0 0, Milas Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Watts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-34 14-20 57.
Huntsville 8 11 14 8 – 41
Oxford 14 15 12 16 – 57
3-point goals: Huntsville 4-20 (Wray 2-7, Guyette 0-4, Morris 2-8, Busbee 0-1); Oxford 5-7 (Houck 3-5, Warren 1-1, Moore 1-1). Rebounds: Huntsville 21 (Wray 4); Oxford 39 (Garrett 15, Houck 8). Fouled out: West. Total fouls: Huntsville 21, Oxford 12.
Decatur Heritage 67, Anniston 60 (OT)
DECATUR HERITAGE – Kyle Jackson 3-6 0-2 7, GianCarlo Valdez 5-13 12-14 23, Clay Smith 2-7 6-6 11, Jordan Burks 0-6 0-4 0, Brandon Kyle 7-14 3-5 19, Preston Terry 0-1 0-0 0, Bryan Pitts 2-3 0-0 6, Carter Sample 0-0 1-2 1, Alex Malone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 22-33 67.
ANNISTON – Mark Toyer 2-7 0-0 5, Antonio Kite 0-3 0-0 0, Kwame Milton 4-8 0-1 11, Malcolm Harvey 2-2 3-4 7, Daveon Dukes 2-4 8-12 13, Alex Teague 0-0 0-0 0, Demarien Stewart 4-9 1-2 13, Tahj Jones 3-10 0-0 8, Tadyn Jones 1-2 0-0 3, Troy Hall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 12-19 60.
Decatur Heritage 17 3 16 14 17 – 67
Anniston 8 8 29 5 10 – 60
3-point goals: Decatur Heritage 7-20 (Jackson 1-3, Valdez 1-5, Smith 1-6, Kyle 2-3, Pitts 2-3); Anniston 12-27 (Toyer 1-3, Kite 0-1, Milton 3-5, Dukes 1-2, Stewart 4-9, Tj. Jones 2-6, Td. Jones 1-1). Rebounds: Decatur Heritage 35 (Valdez 8); Anniston 25 (Milto 5, Harvey 5, Dukes 5).
Cleburne County Christmas Classic
HEFLIN – L.J. Flint scored eight of his 10 points and Justin Sistunk six of his eight in the fourth quarter as Munford pulled away from Ohatchee for a 51-43 victory. The Lions were leading only 35-34 going into the fourth quarter, then outscored the Indians behind Flint and Sistrunk 16-9.
Munford 51, Ohatchee 43
OHATCHEE – Nathan Higgins 3 0-1 6, Trey Pesnell 2 4-6 9, Tristan Easterwood 0 0-0 0, Cam Foushee 3 0-0 7, Hollis 1 2-2 5, Jared McFall 0 0-0 0, Austin Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Briley Hale 4 6-6 14. Totals 14 12-15 43.
MUNFORD – L.J. Flint 3 4-5 10, Andrew Williams 0 0-0 0, Justin Sistrunk 4 0-2 8, Grady Russell 4 0-0 10, Jay Tuck 3 0-1 8, Moore 0 0-2 0, Caderio Holland 0 0-0 0, Joseph Morgan 3 2-2 11, Jaquan Anderson 0 2-2 2, Kamron Sandlin 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 8-14 51.
Ohatchee 15 8 11 9 – 43
Munford 15 10 10 16 – 51
3-point goals: Ohatchee 3 (Pesnell, Foushee, Hollis); Munford 7 (Russell 2, Tuck 2, Morgan 3). Fouled out: Hale. Total fouls: Ohatchee 16, Munford 16.
Don Webb Classic
SCOTTSBORO – Kobe Simmons hit two free throws with 12 seconds left to give Talladega the lead and Rontavious Barclay blocked a shot on the ensuing possession to preserve the Tigers’ 51-50 victory over 7A Auburn for a spot in the Don Webb Classic title game.
They’ll play Fyffe Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for the championship.
Simmons led the Tigers with 16 points. D’Corian Wilson had 15 points and seven rebounds, Nigel Scales had seven points and Y.D. Montgomery had four steals. Wilson scored seven in the fourth quarter as the Tigers erased a 40-35 deficit.
Talladega 51, Auburn 50
TALLADEGA – Nigel Scales 3 0-0 7, Arron Green 0 3-4 3, Michael McGregor 0 2-2 2, Rontavious Barclay 2 0-0 4, D’Corian Wilson 6 1-1 15, Roderius Montgomery 1 0-0 2, Kobe Simmons 6 3-4 16, Keontae Funderburg 1 0-1 2. Totals 19 9-12 51.
AUBURN – Miles Hunt 4 0-0 8, JaVian Baker 5 0-0 11, Elston 5 2-2 12, Wallace 2 0-0 4, Jayden Buckley 1 0-0 2, Quinnus Fletcher 2 0-0 6, Carter Davis 1 1-2 3, Brayson Clague 2 0-1 4. Totals 22 3-5 50.
Talladega 13 16 6 16 – 51
Auburn 16 10 14 10 – 50
3-point goals: Talladega 4 (Scales, Wilson 2, Simmons); Auburn 3 (Baker, Fletcher). Fouled out: Clague. Total fouls: Talladega 13, Auburn 15. Officials: Wilson, Wilson, Wheeler.
Dwight Madison Classic
MONTGOMERY – Sacred Heart lost its second game of the tournament when it fell to Jeff Davis 75-65. It was the Cardinals’ 10thloss of the season, but only one more than they had at this point in last year’s state runnerup season.
“All of the championship years we had eight losses at this point,” Cardinals coach Ralph Graves said. “It’s sort of like the eighth-grade year with D.J. (Heath) and Kevion (Nolan). The difference is we are playing a tougher schedule with younger players.
“Then, we were playing Munford, Lincoln, Winterboro, Oneonta and teams like that. Now, we are playing youngsters versus Oxford, Anniston, Jeff Davis, Gadsden City, Sylacauga, Carver-Birmingham. There’s been some bumps and bruises a little bit, but we saw some positive things and, of course, bad things. We just have to turn the corner and gel now. Hopefully we didn’t lose our confidence by playing up.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login