Bulldogs fly without Kite
- Updated: January 3, 2020
Boys roundup: Anniston stays in hunt for area top spot with balanced effort against Lincoln; will be updated with scores, boxes and more
Friday’s boys scores
Albertville 57, Oxford 45
Alexandria 69, Etowah 64
Anniston 75, Lincoln 56
Fyffe 75, Cherokee County 44
Glencoe 65, Hanceville 52
Jacksonville 79, Cleburne County 40
Jacksonville Christian 70, Ragland 68
Ohatchee 66, Weaver 55 (OT)
Piedmont 62, Hokes Bluff 23
Sacred Heart 54, Westbrook Christian 37
Saks 57, Randolph County 50
Spring Garden 73, Faith Christian 50
Sylacauga 63, Munford 20
White Plains 78, Pleasant Valley 45
Winterboro 70, Childersburg 63
Woodland at Wellborn
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
ANNISTON – If Anniston was going to stay in the hunt to host the Class 4A Area 9 tournament later this month, which is a really big deal given the overall strength of the league, the Bulldogs had to win Friday night’s game with Lincoln. And they were going to have to do it without their best player, one of the best players in the state.
The Bulldogs kept their hopes for the No. 1 seed alive with a 75-56 mashing of the Golden Bears. It sets them up for an even more meaningful game Tuesday against Talladega in which they can pull into a virtual tie for the lead with the Tigers (or Talladega can clinch the top seed with a win).
They pulled it off without Antonio Kite. The star guard they call Spoodie was dressed and warmed up but held out of the game after getting back to town earlier in the day from a post-Christmas visit with family in Tuscaloosa. The scratch comes on the heels of playing only six minutes with no points or shots in the Bulldogs’ last game, a loss to Decatur Heritage in the Huntsville City Classic, but coach Torry Brown insists there are no underlying issues to preclude any further DNPs.
Kite is expected to be back in the lineup for the Talladega game “if he doesn’t miss any practices” Brown said, although Kite isn’t certain since he’s also said he’s caught the flu. Kite scored 42 against the Tigers when the teams played in Talladega earlier this season.
The Bulldogs had plenty of others to pick up the slack on this night.
Guard Mark Toyer usually handled the point anyway when Kite is in the lineup, but he had more responsibility in this game and contributed nine points, eight rebounds and blocked a couple shots. Kwame Milton hit four 3-pointers, scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Malcolm Harvey had 12 points, eight rebounds and blocked eight shots (nine if you count the one he helped pin between the rim and the glass in the first half).
“I had to play good defense and believe in my teammates, and I did and they came through,” a tired Toyer said. “We’re a team, we’ve got to play as a team. With or without him we’re going to try to do our best. It was hard, but without him I had to do it or it wasn’t going to be done.”
The Bulldogs, who are probably looking at the No. 2 seed in Sunday’s Calhoun County Tournament seeding meeting, started a little slow, but took control with a 17-4 run that gave them a 15-point halftime lead. The Golden Bears have been known for coming back from big second-half deficits in recent games and got back within 10 points a couple times in the second half, but each time the Bulldogs turned them away.
Anniston held Lincoln’s big scorers, Javion Surles and Brian Garrett to 17 and 12, respectively. They had been averaging 22.7 and 19.8 a game.
“We scored 75 and that’s probably the second or third most we’ve scored all year,” Brown said. “To put it in the hole like that is huge within itself, but we scored a lot tonight off of our defense. And then we hit enough shots to keep them honest.”
LINCOLN – Javion Surles 3 8-15 17, Cam Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Kye Patterson 3 0-0 6, Stephen White 2 2-2 6, Siete Garrett 0 0-0 0, Brian Garrett 6 0-0 12, Tre Hines 1 1-4 3, J.D. Davis 6 0-1 12. Totals 21 11-22 56.
ANNISTON – Mark Toyer 4 1-1 9, Kwame Milton 5 2-3 16, Alex Teague 1 0-0 2, Demarien Stewart 2 0-0 6, Tyree Carmichael 0 1-2 1, Tahj Jones 4 3-6 13, Tadyn Jones 0 0-0 0, Malcolm Harvey 6 0-2 12, Daveon Dukes 3 3-7 9, A.J. Brown 2 3-6 7, Jakobe Collins 0 0-0 0, Troy Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 13-27 75.
Lincoln 14 9 18 15 – 56
Anniston 16 22 20 17 – 75
3-point goals: Lincoln 3 (Surles 3); Anniston 8 (Milton 4, Stewart 2, Tj. Jones 2). Fouled out: Surles. Total fouls: Lincoln 24, Anniston 17. Officials: Stringer, Stringer, Oden.
Alexandria 69, Etowah 64: Landan Williams and Julian Wright combined for 15 points in the fourth quarater as the Valley Cubs (10-3) rallied to get their first area win. Williams scored 22 points – 18 in the second half – and grabbed 10 rebounds. Wright had 10. D’Anthony Walton got the Valley Cubs off to a good start with seven in the first quarter, including both of his 3-pointers.
ALEXANDRIA – Javais McGhee 4 3-5 11, Collin Taylor 0 2-2 2, D’Anthony Walton 4 1-2 11, Seth Slaton 2 2-3 7, Julian Wright 4 2-4 10, Dustin Warren 1 2-2 4, Landan Williams 8 5-7 22. Totalas 23 17-25 69
ETOWAH – Trenton Davis 10 1-2 26, Ethan Foster 2 2-4 7, Martavious Davis 3 2-4 8, Quintavious Wright 1 1-2 4, Payton Horton 0 0-0 0, Devan Grear 0 0-0 0 Brady Troup 2 0-0 6, Jeremy Williams 0 0-0 0, Ollie Finch 4 0-0 9. Totals 22 6-12 64.
Alexandria 17 10 18 24 – 69
Etowah 17 15 17 15 – 64
3-point goals: Alexandria 4 (Williams, Slaton, Walton 2); Etowah 10 (T. Davis 5, Foster, Wright, Troup 2, Finch). Fouled out: Finch. Total fouls: Alexandria 12, Etowah 22. Officials: Battles, Ingram, Dykes.
Albertville 57, Oxford 45: Trinity Bell scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half and Tristan Jordan scored six of his seven in the third quarter when the Aggies pulled away. Zondrick Garrett led Oxford with 12 points.
OXFORD – Cordell Chatmaan 0 0-0 0, Zondrick Garrett 5 1-2 12, Rylan Houck 3 0-0 7, Kobe Warren 4 0-0 10, Rock Taylor 4 0-0 8, Bakari Dailey 0 0-0 0, Justin Moore 4 0-0 8, Milas Jackson 0 0-0 0, Avelon Bush 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 1-2 45.
ALBERTVILLE – Timothy Bearden 5 1-2 12, Tristan Jordan 3 1-2 7, Ben Allen 2 0-1 6, Dane Harding 3 2-3 8, Michael Kitchens 0 0-0 0, Kobe Atchley 0 0-0 0, James Moss 0 1-2 1, Trinity Bell 9 5-7 23, John Baker 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-20 57.
Oxford 7 11 13 14 – 45
Albertville 10 10 20 17 – 57
3-point goals: Oxford 4 (Garrett, Houck, Warren 2); Albertville 3 (Bearden, Allen 2). Total fouls; Oxford 17, Albertville 4. Officials: Busby, Nye, McAlboy.
Jacksonville 79, Cleburne County 40: Jacksonville coach Cordell Hunt said his team was going to have a different look come the start of the new year. Two of the callups, Caden Johnson and Q Long, were two of the Golden Eagles’ leading scorers, going for 16 and 12, respectively. Long was called up for the Piedmont game in the Glencoe Holiday Classic when two regulars missed the bus and stayed; Johnson hasn’t played with the varsity since the football players returned to basketball. Donavon McCain had 13 points, six rebounds and four steals.
JACKSONVILLE – Caden Johnson 4-5 6-6 16, Donavon McCain 6-7 1-1 13, Q Long 4-6 2-4 12, Cam Johnson 3-4 2-4 9, Kyrie Maynor 0-1 6-8 6, Jaden Barksdale 2-2 0-0 6, Hudson Harvey 1-5 3-3 5, Yessman Green 2-4 0-0 4, John Broom 1-4 0-0 3, Jalen Morton 1-1 1-1 3, Jacob McCarley 1-1 0-0 2, Ron Wiggins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-42 21-27 79.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Ben Casaey 7-11 5-5 21, Daleon Brown 2-6 2-2 6, Reese Morrison 2-2 0-2 6, Josh Miller 1-3 0-0 2, Manney Rollins 0-0 2-4 2, Jalen Mormon 1-1 0-0 2, Hudson Miller 0-1 1-2 1, K. Jordan 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Harcrow 0-2 0-1 0, Brody Higgins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-28 10-15 40.
Jacksonville 26 12 24 17 – 79
Cleburne Co. 6 11 15 8 – 40
3-point goals: Jacksonville 8-17 (Cd. Johnson 2-3, Long 2-4, Cm. Johnson 1-2, Barksdale 2-2, Green 0-1, Broom 1-4, Jackson 0-1); Cleburne Co. 4-12 (Casey 2-4, Brown 0-4, Morrison 2-2, Jordan 0-1, Harcrow 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 28 (McCain 6); Cleburne Co. 14 (Brown 5). Total fouls: Jacksonville 15, Cleburne Co. 12.
Ohatchee 66, Weaver 55 (OT): Briley Hale scored six of his 19 points in overtime and Cam Foushee scored four of his 18 in the extra period as the Indians picked up some ground in the conversation towards the county tournament seeding meeting. Trey Presnell scored a career-high 16 points for the second game in a row, hitting four more 3-pointers. Brendyn Knight led Weaver with 19, including 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
OHATCHEE – Blake Hollins 0 1-2, Trey Pesnell 5 2-6 16, Cam Foushee 5 6-7 18, Jacob Bowers 3 0-0 6, Drake Hollis 2 1-2 6, Austin Wyatt 0 0-2 0, Briley Hale 6 7-12 19. Totals 21 17-31 66.
WEAVER – Quinton Blackerby 1 0-0 3, Brendyn Knight 6 7-7 19, Kohl Perry 1 0-0 2, Buck McGregor 0 0-0 0, Jackson Williams 0 0-0 0, Kyle Knight 6 1-4 16, Armane Burton 2 0-0 5, Taylor Thompson 2 0-2 4, Tristian Brown 3 0-1 6. Totals 21 8-14 55.
Ohatchee 13 17 15 8 13 – 66
Weaver 18 8 17 10 2 – 55
3-point goals: Ohatchee 7 (Pesnell 4, Foushee 2, D. Hollis); Weaver 5 (Blackerby, K. Knight 3, Burton). Technical fouls: Burton. Fouled out: K. Knight, Burton, Thompson. Total fouls: Ohatchee 12, Weaver 26.
White Plains 78, Pleasant Valley 45: Brody Baker scored 22 points – 10 each in the first and third quarters – to lead the Wildcats. His fast start helped White Plains open a 39-23 halftime lead. Jaden Chatman (14) and Garrett Wilson (11) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats. PV was led Josh Ballew’s 11.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Jake Upton 0 0-0 0, Jake Malsy 2 1-2 5, Brayden Wright 0 2-2 2, Trent Findley 0 0-1 0, Josh Ballew 4 2-2 11, Brody Phillips 1 2-2 4, Wyatt Ingram 3 0-0 6, Coleman Haynes 2 5-8 10, Garrett Cranmar 0 1-2 1, Damon Parr 1 0-0 2, Justin Winningham 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 13-19 45.
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 1 0-0 2, Rico Aguirre 1 0-0 3, Quin Wilson 2 1-1 6, Jalen Chatman 5 2-5 14, Jacob Wheeler 1 0-0 3, Landon Senciboy 1 0-0 3, Brody Baker 8 6-6 22, Carson Wright 1 1-2 3, Walker O’Steen 3 2-2 8, Kahlil Williams 1 1-3 3, Garrett Wilson 4 1-2 11. Totals 28 14-21 78.
Pleasant Valley 11 12 11 11 – 45
White Plains 22 17 25 14 – 78
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 2 (Ballew, Haynes); White Plains 8 (Aguirre, Q. Wilson, Chatman 2, Wheeler, Senciboy, G. Wilson 2). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 15, White Plains 17. Officials: Hughes, Ned, Watson.
Piedmont 62, Hokes Bluff 23: Alex Odam scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting and Silas Thompson was 6-of-10 for 16 points to lead the Bulldogs (11-2). Odam also had four steals, three assists and a couple blocked shots. Omarion Foster grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.from the floor.
HOKES BLUFF – Payton Lemons 1 0-0 3, Mikell Mooneyham 0 1-2 1, J.P. Farrell 0 0-0 0, Caleb McGinnis 4 0-0 10, Drake Rainey 1 0-0 3, Conner Faulkner 0 0-0 0, Coby Latham 0 0-0 0, Jordan Presley 2 0-0 6, Tucker Marsh 0 0-0 0, Jackson Millander 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 1-2 23.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 9 2-3 23, Omarion Foster 2 0-0 4, Luke Bussey 2 0-0 5, Trey McFarland 1 0-2 3, Silas Thompson 6 2-2 16, Jack Hayes 0 0-0 0, Malachi Jacakson 1 0-0 3, Jakari Foster 3 1-3 8. Totals 24 5-10 62.
Hokes Bluff 6 9 5 3 – 23
Piedmont 17 25 15 5 – 62
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 6 (Lemons, McGinnis 2, Rainey, Presley 2); Piedmont 9 (Odam 3, Bussey, McFarland, Thompson 2, Jackson, J. Foster). Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 8, Piedmont 7. Officials: Batey, Chambers, Holloway.
JCA 70, Ragland 68: Chase Vinson had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead Jacksonville Christian (12-4), which will looking for a favorable seed at Sunday’s county tournament meeting. Kobe Messer added 17 points and six rebounds, while Brady Shaddix had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Spring Garden 73, Faith Christian 50: The Panthers picked up their defensive intensity to pull away from an eight-point game after three quarters. C.J. Gomez seemed little worse for the injury he suffered the night before, going for 25 points to lead Faith.
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