Anniston scores with more
- Updated: December 1, 2020
Boys roundup: Balanced Bulldogs get Brown’s message, JCA stays unbeaten, White Plains holds off Lincoln
Monday’s boys scores
Anniston 95, Munford 47
Jacksonville Christian 68, Weaver 44
White Plains 59, Lincoln 53
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Torry Brown saw something he didn’t like in the way his undefeated Anniston basketball team practiced over the weekend, so he did something to get his players’ attention.
He had them dress in the cramped weight room across the hall from their spacious locker room and he put them in old home jerseys that had been handed down to the B team. They were so old, single-digit-wearing leading scorers Malcolm Carlisle and Antonio Kite wore the unfamiliar numbers of 35 and 51.
The Bulldogs got the message. The state championship contenders spread the wealth Monday night and nearly broke the scoreboard with a running clock in beating Munford 95-47 in their area opener.
“I don’t know if it quite got their attention,” Brown said. “Sometimes when a lot of guys haven’t been through the grind and haven’t been through it all they know just what they see now.
“It took a lot of sacrifice by a lot of guys to get where we are now. Guys have to take responsibility. Sometimes you’ve got to remind the guys what it took to get here.”
The Bulldogs won their fifth in a row by showing for the first time they’re a team of more than just two scorers. Carlisle and Kite have been averaging 50 points a game between them, but scored only 12 and five points, respectively, against the Lions (3-1), playing just the first half.
Three of their teammates, however, scored in double figures. Tadyn Jones scored a career-high 19 points, Troy Hall had 15 (and 10 rebounds) and Taishun Hall, showing his speed in transition, had 12.
All 10 Bulldogs had scored by halftime and eight of the 10 scored in a 30-point second quarter that produced a 59-22 halftime lead.
“It was good to get a lead to let some other guys get out there and play, but even guys who have played getting opportunities,” Brown said. “It was good to be able to see that. We’d like to spread the wealth more each and every game, but opportunities don’t always present themselves.”
Brown has been waiting for Jones to get more involved. The 5-foot-10 junior guard has been “solid” in practice, the coach said, but just hadn’t gotten a lot of opportunities.
That changed against the Lions and he took advantage of it. Jones was 7-of-9 from the floor with a couple 3-pointers. He had scored only 13 points all season before Monday night, and none in his last game, but had nine in the second quarter and 10 in the first half.
“It feels good,” Jones said. “Everybody has their night; some nights others are going to be hot. It just so happened to be my night tonight so I took the opportunity as I could and I produced.
“Of course, you want to show the people that you’re a good basketball player as well; it’s just not two people on the team. Of course, they’re great players but we have other players who are good players too and we like to take on the challenge to score as many points as we can and play in the game.”
Later this week, the Bulldogs take on reigning 2A state champion Calhoun in the final game of Saturday’s BeElite Showcase at Hazel Green. It’s the much-anticipated matchup between Kite, the state’s best junior, and 6-3 Calhoun point guard J.D. Davidson, the state’s best player.
“It’s going to be a fun game because they’re a really good team,” Brown said. “You’d think that we’re a good team; we don’t know yet. We’ve got three teams, so it depends on which one of our teams show up.”
But people are going to turn out to see the Kite and Davidson Show.
“You know what, sometimes people don’t always get what they want to see,” Brown said. “They’re showing up to see that and we’re going for Anniston versus Calhoun. I think those two will have their opportunities against each other, but for the most part we just want to go and play good basketball and come away with a win.”
It’s expected that Carlisle will draw the early defensive assignment against Davidson, the 2020 Alabama Mr. Basketball and recent Alabama signee. But he won’t have to go it alone and it’ll help that the Bulldogs have shown – at least on Monday they did – they have more than two ways to get the ball in the basket.
“We’re probably going to have to triple team him. I don’t see any way we’re going to hold him under 35; I just don’t,” Brown said. “He’s too good to hold him under 35, but we have a lot more room for error offensively than what we’ve had because we can score the ball a lot more and a lot easier than we have in the past.
“I think we’re going to score the ball, but I don’t know how much we’re going to be able to stop him from scoring the ball. He can get his in a sense, but we’ve got to not let everybody get theirs.”
Anniston 95, Munford 47
MUNFORD (3-1) – Jaquan Anderson 3 1-2 10, Dwight Moore 4 1-2 9, Rashard Russell 2 0-0 4, Jay Tuck 1 0-0 2, Ron Ervin 3 0-0 8, Conner Morgan 2 0-0 6, Alex Petty 0 2-2 2, Kyler Gibson 2 2-3 6. Totals 17 6-9 47.
ANNISTON (5-0) – Mark Toyer 4 0-0 9, Antonio Kite 2 1-2 5, Jacques Thomas 3 0-0 6, Alex Teague 2 0-0 4, Malcolm Carlisle 5 1-2 12, Troy Hall 6 3-7 15, Miciah Myles 3 0-0 6, Tadyn Jones 7 3-4 19, Taishun Hall 5 1-2 12, Jakobe Collins 3 0-0 7. Totals 40 9-17 95.
Munford 8 14 15 10 – 47
Anniston 29 30 21 15 – 95
3-point goals: Munford 7 (Anderson 3, Ervin 2, Morgan 2); Anniston 6 (Toyer, Carlisle, Jones 2, Ta. Hall, Collins). Total fouls: Munford 17, Anniston 12. Officials: Caldwell, Allen, Gamble.
White Plains 59, Lincoln 53
Walker Osteen and Brody Baker combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats held off the Golden Bears.
Quin Wilson scored seven of his nine points in the third quarter as the Wildcats rallied from a 29-22 halftime deficit to take a 38-37 lead into the fourth quarter. From there, Osteen scored 10 points and Baker went 7-of-10 from the free throw line to keep them in front.
Baker finished with 23 points, including an 8-0 run in the first quarter that brought the Wildcats back from an early deficit. Osteen finished with 14.
“What we talked to the guys about at halftime was we were down seven and we couldn’t play any worse offensively,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “The tempo changed in the second half. We ran more. We got some buckets in transition. We won the first four minutes of the third quarter, which kind of changed the momentum and were able to take a lead into the fourth.
“I think us playing faster was a big key. Also, Quin suggested that we press them back and I think that helped us get a couple buckets and forced them into some quick shots. That’s a senior point guard who has bought in and made a suggestion and I thought his call made a big difference.”
The Wildcats did a masterful job keeping Lincoln leading scorer in check. Brian Garrett went for 33 in his last start against Anniston, but the Wildcats held him to seven points. Tre Hines and Korry Davis were the Golden Bears’ leading scorers with 14 and 12, respectively. Davis had nine in the fourth quarter. – Gregory Kirby
White Plains 59, Lincoln 53
LINCOLN – Brian Garrett 3 0-0 7, Korry Davis 4 3-4 12, Chris Curry 2 0-0 5, Camare Hampton 2 0-0 4, Siete Garrett 1 0-0 3, J.D. Davis 3 2-2 8, Tripp Ward 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Ashley 0 0-0 0, Tre Hines 6 2-5 14. Totals 21 7-11 53.
WHITE PLAINS – Carson Wright 0 0-0 0, Quin Wilson 2 4-4 9, Jaden Chatman 2 2-3 6, Jacob Wheeler 1 0-0 3, Landon Senciboy 0 0-0 0, Brody Baker 6 9-13 23, Jesse Hubbard 0 0-0 0, Walker Osteen 6 2-2 14, Garrett Wilson 1 2-2 4. Totals 18 19-24 59.
Lincoln 14 15 8 16 – 53
White Plains 11 11 16 21 – 59
3-point goals: Lincoln 4 (B. Garrett, K. Davis, Curry, S. Garrett); White Plains 4 (Q. Wilson, Wheeler, Baker 2). Fouled out: Hines. Total fouls: Lincoln 20, White Plains 11.
JCA 68, Weaver 44
JACKSONVILLE – The Thunder came out after halftime and outscored Weaver 26-4 in the third quarter to pull away and remain undefeated.
Tanner Wilson scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the middle two quarters as the Thunder (4-0) pulled away from a 17-16 lead. They led by six at halftime, then Wilson, Tavian Alexander and Landon Wills combined for 22 points in the third quarter when JCA took total control of the game.
The Bearcats managed only two field goals in the fateful quarter. Tristan Brown was their leading scorer with 12 points.
Wills finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for JCA, while Alexander had 12 points and seven boards. Wilson also recorded four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Jacksonville Christian 68, Weaver 44
WEAVER – Brendyn Knight 4 0-4 8, Kyle Knight 1 0-0 2, Kendarrius McGregor 2 0-0 4, Kohl Perry 3 0-0 6, Zack Garner 0 1-2 1, Jeffrey Miles 3 0-0 6, Trevor Clendenin 2 0-0 5, Tristan Brown 6 0-1 12. Totals 21 1-7 44.
JCA – Tanner Wilson 5 5-6 16, Ethan Fair 1 2-2 4, Ethan Burrage 2 0-0 6, Tyler Doggrell 2 0-0 4, Tavian Alexander 5 1-4 12, Landon Wills 4 4-4 14, Drake Shew 1 0-0 2, Mason Johnson 0 0-0 0, Cam Moses 1 0-0 2, Brodie Clay 4 0-0 8. Totals 26 12-16 68.
Weaver 16 9 4 15 – 44
JCA 17 14 26 11 – 68
3-point goals: Weaver 1 (Clendenin); JCA 4 (Wilson, Alexander, Wills 2). Total fouls: Weaver 11, JCA 8. Officials: Burroughs, Howell.
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