Taking charge
- Updated: December 8, 2020
Boys roundup: Kite helps Anniston pull away from White Plains; Piedmont, Saks open seasons with big wins, and more
Boys games
Alexandria 61, Moody 40
Anniston 62, White Plains 54
Cherokee County 59, Jacksonville 54
Cleburne County def. Ohatchee
Glencoe 56, Pleasant Valley 37
Handley 60, Heard County (Ga.) 38
Hokes Bluff 58, Gaston 42
Piedmont 86, Weaver 45
Plainview 60, Spring Garden 35
Saks 80, Wellborn 19
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Chris Randall saw that look in the eyes of the best player on the floor and he knew everything was about to change.
Anniston’s Antonio Kite is good any time he’s on the floor and he was from the start Tuesday night in the Bulldogs’ area opener against White Plains. But he was particularly impactful in the second half and was the clear difference in the Bulldogs’ 62-54 win.
The junior guard had 29 points in the game. When it came time for somebody to take charge in a game that was too close too long for the Bulldogs’ liking, he was the one who did it.
He had eight straight points for the Bulldogs that helped them grab a five-point lead late in the third quarter. And then he beat the buzzer by driving the length of the floor to put them up three going into the fourth quarter.
Then he opened the scoring in the fourth with a layup coming from under the basket, and later his spinning layup and two free throws touched off the 13-3 run that gave the Bulldogs a 12-point lead with two minutes to play.
“Antonio had that look in his eye that he’s going to take the game over and we didn’t do a good enough job of getting the ball out of his hands,” Randall said. “We knew what we were supposed to do, but we were a half-a-step late. We didn’t really trust it and it cost us.
“He just made play after play. That’s why he’s a special player. You knew it was coming. It happened last year in the County semifinals. He’s got a different gear. When he kicks it into that gear, he’s hard to stop.”
It didn’t look like it was going to be that close early. White Plains’ Walker Osteen opened the scoring, then Anniston ran off the next 15 points of the quarter. Kite had seven of them.
But the Wildcats rallied to make a game out of it in the middle two quarters by not playing not to lose, beating the Bulldogs’ press and attacking. They actually held the lead briefly and Anniston had to rally to get it tied at halftime.
It remained tied early in the third quarter until Kite scored eight straight points for the Bulldogs to give them a lead they would never lose.
“We started playing better and defense and started getting more steals and that helps with our offense where our game gets fast breaks with a lot of dunks; helps us get our energy up,” Kite said.
All of Kite’s points seemed to come whenever the Wildcats got close.
“He sort of paced us all night long, to tell you the truth,” Anniston coach Torry Brown said. “He was very aggressive getting to the rim. He didn’t settle for jump shots and he actually posted up a lot tonight. In the past we’ve been a three-out, two-in kind of team and even when we had two big guys he was still our best post player, but we’ve just got to have him with the ball.”
Quin Wilson played a big role getting White Plains back in the game. He scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the middle two quarters. Brody Baker and Jacob Wheeler both hit big baskets in the stretch that got the Wildcats’ the lead in the final two minutes of the first half.
“It was a really difficult game no matter who you played coming off a game like we played last Saturday,” Brown said, referring to the Bulldogs’ showcase win over Calhoun and its Alabama signee J.D. Davidson. “But to come out in really a one-day prep to get ready for Coach Randall and all the things that they do it makes it hard, especially tonight.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well and when you don’t shoot it well you have to find other ways to score and fortunately for us we had Antonio Kite tonight.”
Anniston 62, White Plains 54
WHITE PLAINS – Quin Wilson 7 2-2 18, Jaden Chatman 0 4-4 4, Jacob Wheeler 5 0-0 12, Landon Senciboy 0 0-0 0, Brody Baker 3 1-2 8, Walker Osteen 4 0-1 8, Garrett Wilson 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 7-9 54.
ANNISTON – Mark Toyer 1 0-3 2, Antonio Kite 10 7-11 28, Jacques Thomas 0 0-0 0, Malcolm Carlisle 7 1-1 16, Troy Hall 3 0-0 7, Miciah Myles 4 1-2 9, Tayden Jones 0 0-0 0, Kamron Sandlin 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 9-17 62.
White Plains 2 24 12 16 – 54
Anniston 15 11 15 21 – 62
3-point goals: White Plains 5 (Q. Wilson 2, Wheeler 2, Baker); Anniston 3 (Kite, Carlisle, Tr. Hall). Technical fouls: Chatman. Total fouls: White Plains 17, Anniston 17. Officials: Robinson, Stringer, Oden.
Saks 80, Wellborn 19
The Saks Wildcats were excited to get their season started and it showed. They placed four scorers in double figures, converted turnovers into points and scored 52 points in the first half.
Connor Martin led the Wildcats with 15 points; he scored 12 in the first half. Sean Parnell had 13 points, 12 in the Wildcats’ 32-point second quarter. Jordan Cosper had 12 points, 10 in the first half. And Jay Wills had 10 points.
They outscored the Panthers 32-2 in the second quarter.
“We were able to pressure the ball and get some turnovers, which led to easy baskets,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said. “We’re going to have to be an up-tempo team due to our lack of size. Tonight’s game was a chance for us to get out on the floor and establish the way we want to play this season.”
Saks 80, Wellborn 19
WELLBORN – Lewis Patterson 0 0-2 0, Nathan Sanders 1 1-2 3, Keyente Curry 0 0-0 0, Messiah Moore 0 2-2 2, Trey Downs 1 0-2 2, Zayburn Willis 0 0-2 0, Ethan Tidwell 5 0-0 10, Kameron Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals 8 3-10 19.
SAKS (1-0) – Jordan Cosper 6 0-0 12, Patrick Williams 4 0-0 8, Will Mixson 3 0-0 7, Shon Elston 0 1-4 1, Sean Parnell 6 1-2 13, Jalen McCants 2 0-0 4, Connor Martin 5 2-2 13, Braelan Robinson 1 0-0 2, Clavius Gresham 3 0-0 5, Kyree Woods 0 0-0 0, Jamari McBride 1 0-0 2, Jay Wills 4 2-2 10. Totals 35 6-10 80.
Wellborn 6 2 6 5 – 19
Saks 20 32 16 12 – 80
3-point goals: Saks 4 (Mixson, Martin 3). Technical fouls: Sanders. Fouled out: Sanders. Total fouls: Wellborn 11, Saks 11.
Piedmont 86, Weaver 45
WEAVER – Luke Bussey got his season off to a rousing start, scoring a career-high 32 points and leading three Piedmont scorers in double figures as the Bulldogs opened their season in a big way.
Bussey was 11-of-21 from the field, including 7-of-17 from 3-point range. He hit four 3s in the first quarter on the way to 17 of the Bulldogs’ 24 points. The Bulldogs spread 14 3-pointers in the game among six players. They took 40 3-pointers as a team.
Bussey also had seven rebounds and five steals. Alex Odam had 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. Jadon Calhoun had 16 points against his former team, hitting seven of 15 shots from the field, and Jakari Foster had 11 rebounds.
Weaver’s Kyle Knight tried to keep pace with Bussey in the first quarter with nine points and finished as the Bearcats’ leading scorer with 14.
Piedmont 86, Weaver 45
PIEDMONT (1-0) – Alex Odam 5 1-1 13, Omarion Foster 1 0-0 3, Gavin Lawler 1 0-0 2, Luke Bussey 11 3-3 32, Jadon Calhoun 7 1-1 16, Jack Hayes 3 0-0 8, Coleman Reid 2 0-0 4, Cassius Fairs 2 0-1 5, Jakari Foster 0 0-4 0, Sean Smith 1 1-2 3. Totals 33 6-12 86.
WEAVER – Brendyn Knight 3 2-4 8, Kyle Knight 6 0-0 14, Kendarrius McGregor 2 4-5 9, Jackson Williams 0 0-1 0, Kohl Perry 1 1-2 4, Briley Carter 0 0-0 0, Dawson Brooks 0 0-0 0, Jeffrey Miles 1 0-0 2, Trevor Clendenin 0 0-0 0, Tristan Brown 4 0-1 8. Totals 17 7-13 45.
Piedmont 24 26 25 11 – 86
Weaver 16 9 9 11 – 45
3-point goals: Piedmont 14 (Odam 2, O. Foster, Bussey 7, Calhoun, Hayes 2, Fairs); Weaver 4 (K. Knight 2, McGregor, Perry). Total fouls: Piedmont 15, Weaver 9. Officials: Calkins, Burroughs, Barber.
Alexandria 61, Moody 40
Collin Taylor scored seven points off the bench in the first quarter and led four Alexandria scorers in double figures with 16 points as the Valley Cubs won their area opener. Javais McGhee had 15, Landan Williams 14 and Julian Wright 10. Taylor scored his other nine points in the fourth quarter. Wright scored nine in the first half and McGhee scored 10 in the third quarter.
MOODY – Landen Echols 0 0-0 0, Andrew Adams 2 0-0 4, Peyton Ingram 3 4-4 11, Ceione Reaves 6 1-2 13, Davion Dozier 0 0-0 0, Mason Trimm 0 0-0 0, Carson Dillashaw 6 0-3 12, Ethan Hopper 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-9 40.
ALEXANDRIA – Javais McGhee 6 1-2 15, D’Anthony Walton 0 1-2 1, Collin Taylor 5 4-5 16, Antonio Ross 1 1-3 3, Cory Cargel 0 0-0 0, Julian Wright 4 2-6 10, Ronnie Royal 1 0-0 2, Landan Williams 4 6-7 14. Totals 21 15-25 61.
Moody 12 4 11 13 – 40
Alexandria 15 13 15 18 – 61
3-point goals: Moody 1 (Ingram); Alexandria 4 (McGhee 2, Taylor 2). Total fouls: Moody 19, Alexandria 10. Officials: Guyton, Horn, Ware.
Glencoe 56, Pleasant Valley 37
GLENCOE – Pleasant Valley coach Brad Hood coached remotely for the second game in a row, but this time it didn’t go as well for the Raiders.
Dakota Smith scored seven of his 13 points in the first quarter as the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 12-10 lead, then Braylen Smith and Nolan Fairley both hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets pulled away.
Justin Winningham led PV with 13 points. The Raiders were still down two starters and their regular sixth man. Hood has been quarantined due to contact tracing and has spent the first two games of his tenure with the boys team coaching at home via FaceTime. He is due back with the team Wednesday, just in time for a Thursday date at Piedmont.
Glencoe 56, Pleasant Valley 37
PLEASANT VALLEY (1-1) – Oliver Young 2 0-2 5, Nikalus Baggett 1 2-4 4, Garrett Cranmer 2 0-0 5, Johnson 4 0-0 9, Justin Winningham 7 0-4 14. Totals 16 2-10 37.
GLENCOE – Dakota Smith 6 0-0 13, Colby Yocum 0 0-0 0, Braylen Smith 3 0-0 8, Nolan Fairley 4 0-0 12, Cameron Atchley 0 0-0 0, Garrett Gaskin 1 0-2 2, Hayden Smith 1 2-2 3, Reid Drenner 4 3-6 11, Andrew Green 2 1-4 5. Totals 21 6-14 56.
Pleasant Valley 10 13 8 6 – 37
Glencoe 12 20 10 14 – 56
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 3 (Young, Cranmer, Johnson); Glencoe 8 (D. Smith, B. Smith 2, Fairley 4, H. Smith). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 10, Glencoe 11.
Cherokee Co. 59, Jacksonville 54
CENTRE – Connor Elrod hit six 3-pointers and led four Cherokee County scorers in double figures with 18 points. The Warriors hit eight 3-pointers as a team while Jacksonville was just 1-of-14 from behind the arc. Quinn Long led Jacksonville with 20 points. Caden Johnson had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Cherokee County 59, Jacksonville 54
JACKSONVILLE – Quinn Long 9-16 1-1 20, Caden Johnson 6-9 3-4 15, Nathan Barnwell 3-6 2-2 8, Cam Johnson 2-11 1-2 5, Omarion Adams 0-2 2-2 2, Jaylon Prater 1-1 0-0 2, John Broom 1-5 0-0 2, JaeTaj Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Coby Zackery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 9-11 54.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Connor Elrod 6-13 0-0 18, Slade Alexander 6-13 2-4 14, Nas Diamond 4-10 4-5 12, Jackson Amos 3-5 3-4 11, Malachi Horton 2-7 0-3 4, Jaden Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Courtlin Brooks 0-0 0-0 0, Damien Ramsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 9-16 59.
Jacksonville 15 9 17 13 – 54
Cherokee Co. 15 16 15 13 – 59
3-point goals: Jacksonville 1-14 (Long 1-4, Cd. Johnson 0-1, Cm. Johnson 0-8, Broom 0-1); Cherokee Co. 8-21 (Elrod 6-11, Alexander 0-1, Diamond 0-2, Amos 2-4, Horton 0-2, Wilson 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 33 (Cd. Johnson 9, Barnwell 8); Cherokee Co. 31 (Diamond 7, Horton 7). Total fouls: Jacksonville 17, Cherokee Co. 12.
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