Back on track
- Updated: December 14, 2020
Both Anniston teams bounce back from weekend losses with area sweep at Cleburne County; Lady Tigers’ McDaniel hits 1,000
Monday’s scores
Boys games
Anniston 71, Cleburne County 36
Gadsden City 76, Piedmont 58
Girls games
Anniston 74, Cleburne County 33
Gadsden City 66, Piedmont 57
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
HEFLIN — Home team public address announcers don’t usually make a point of recognizing a player on the opposing team who’s not in the starting lineup, but the PA guy at Cleburne County gave a shout-out to a familiar face before reading off the Anniston starters Monday night.
The mention made Taishun Hall smile.
That smile got even broader later in the game when the Bulldogs’ senior guard dunked on the floor he used to play on – for the first time ever – during the Bulldogs’ 71-36 area victory that got them back on track after suffering their first loss of the season in their last start.
Hall played for the Tigers through his ninth-grade year. He moved over to Sacred Heart for the next two seasons, then transferred to Anniston after the Cardinals shut down their athletics program at the end of the last academic year. Monday was his first game back in Cleburne County’s gym snice he left.
The dunk came on a breakaway with 3:30 left in the third quarter and gave the Bulldogs (9-1) a 56-22 lead. He had four points in the second quarter and finished with six in the game.
“I wasn’t able to dunk until my tenth-grade year, so yeah it was my first dunk in this gym,” Hall said. “That was my main set today, to try to dunk today in my old gym. It was exciting.”
The shout-out over the PA was unexpected and appreciated. Even Anniston coach Torry Brown said that was a first for him.
“That made it a little bit special, to show that they still have love for me and all,” Hall said. “It was special to play in front of my old fans, getting to play against some friends. That was special.”
This was a game where the Bulldogs spread the wealth. Brown was hoping to see his starting group shake the funk that’s followed them the last couple games and despite not practicing Sunday they produced a 30-7 lead before retiring for the night.
That left Hall and the other reserves to get their most extensive time of the season and while they didn’t have as impressive the numbers as the starters overall, they did enough to get the game to the fast clock by the time the fourth quarter came around. The Bulldogs now have a chance to go 10-1 for the first time in Brown’s tenure – and, more importantly, 5-0 in the area – Tuesday at Munford.
The Bulldogs certainly have played better than they had in their previous three games and it finally caught up to them in a loss to Thompson on Saturday. They were in a dogfight against White Plains, had to rally in the fourth quarter to escape from Handley and, back on the road less than 24 hours later, lost to Thompson in a showcase game at Mae Jemison that spoiled the players’ hopes of an undefeated regular season.
Brown was looking for his team to break a shooting slump that produced only three 3-pointers in their last two games – one against Thompson. It looked like they were headed that way when Mark Toyer and Malcolm Carlisle hit 3-pointers right out of the gate, but with the exception of one more Carlisle 3, they spent the rest of the quarter converting transition layups and dunks off the turnovers they forced.
Anniston led 8-7 then turned up the defense. The Bulldogs went on a 22-0 run to the end of the quarter with 18 of the 22 points came directly off turnovers. The Bulldogs shot 13-of-17 from the floor in the quarter and scored on 14 of 19 possessions, but with only six non-layups it was hard to say if they had rediscovered their range.
Carlisle led the Anniston starters with 10 points. Antonio Kite had six on three dynamic dunks. Kamron Sandlin was the Bulldogs leading scorer with 11 points off the bench.
“I was looking more trying to find some other guys from that second unit that could go out there and so some things for us,” Brown said. “It was a good day for that. I think Kam did a really good job inside for us and I thought Jacques (Thomas) and Taishun, their speed, was really overwhelming out there.
“We saw some things hopefully we can build on. As the year goes on you’ve got to develop more and more guys who can help you in situations in key games. It was good to see smiles on everybody’s faces.”
GADSDEN CITY 76, PIEDMONT 58: Maleek Kidd scored nine of his 11 points in the first quarter to put the Titans out front early and was one of four GC scorers to finish the game in double figures.
The game was put together at the last minute after Piedmont lost its scheduled date with Saks due to the Calhoun County system’s decision earlier in the day to suspended athletics for its seven high schools until Jan. 1 after the AHSAA recommended continuing winter sports with a 20-percent attendance capacity.
Piedmont’s Alex Odam led all scorers with 24 points on 9-for-19 shooting. Omarion Foster had 10, going 5-for-6 from the floor. Jakari Foster grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday with a home game against Cherokee County.
Boys Box Scores
Anniston 71, Cleburne County 36
ANNISTON (9-1, 4-0) – Mark Toyer 3 0-0 7, Antonio Kite 3 0-0 6, Jacques Thomas 3 3-4 9, Alex Teague 2 3-4 7, Malcolm Carlisle 4 0-0 10, Troy Hall 2 2-2 6, Miciah Myles 2 1-2 5, Taydn Jones 2 0-0 4, Taishun Hall 3 0-0 6, Kamron Sandlin 5 1-2 11. Totals 29 10-14 71.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Rico Jordan 2 2-2 6, Ben Casey 3 0-0 7, Brody Higgins 0 0-0 0, Kyle Downey 5 0-0 11, Manney Rollins 2 0-2 4, Grant Harcrow 0 0-0 0, Trey Brown 1 1-1 3, Dee Prothro 2 0-2 4, Seth Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-7 36.
Anniston 30 15 18 8 – 71
Cleburne County 7 11 11 7 – 36
3-point goals: Anniston 3 (Toyer, Carlisle 2); Cleburne County 3 (Casey 2, Downey). Total fouls: Anniston 4, Cleburne County 12. Officials: Winn, Taylor, Kadle.
Gadsden City 76, Piedmont 58
GADSDEN CITY – Shamar Huff 2 0-0 5, Jayden Lawson 3 6-8 12, Maleek Kidd 4 2-3 11, Khamari Smith 1 0-0 2, DeMarcus Macon 3 5-6 12, Ratavious Hicks 3 0-0 6, Brady Troup 4 0-0 10, Dylan Sawyer 3 0-0 6, Zion Kirby 1 0-0 2, Jahemn Norris 2 0-0 4, Jamari Boston 2 0-0 6, Ade Akisanya 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 13-17 76.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 9 4-7 24, Omarion Foster 5 0-1 10, luke Bussey 3 1-5 9, Jadon Calhoun 2 0-0 4, Jack Hayes 0 0-0 0, Cassius Fairs 0 1-2 1, Jakari Foster 1 1-4 3, Sean Smith 2 3-4 7. Totals 22 10-23 58.
Gadsden City 17 23 15 21 – 76
Piedmont 11 11 21 15 – 58
3-point goals: Gadsden City 7 (Huff, Kidd, Macon, Troup 2, Boston 2); Piedmont 4 (Odam 2, Bussey 2). Total fouls: Gadsden City 21, Piedmont 19. Officials: Kelley, Ramy, Jarrett.
Lady Dawgs bounce back; McDaniel hits 1,000
HEFLIN – The Anniston girls got back to a normal routine on the road and got back to winning.
The Lady Dawgs suffered their first area loss Friday night at Handley on a road trip that was full of distractions and never got comfortable. They bounced back Monday, putting four scorers in double figures and running away from Cleburne County 74-33.
The Lady Dawgs used a 12-1 run midway through the first quarter to take control of the game. They used another 16-0 run in the second quarter to open a 45-22 halftime lead. They held Heflin to 11 points in the second half.
“They played defense and they hustled,” Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “We still made a few mistakes, we got in early foul trouble, but they played hard and that’s what we were trying to get.
“We came in and had a good workout Saturday and Sunday. We said we were coming in to bounce back because (Friday) wasn’t a representation of us, of what we did. We just had to come back and the best thing to cure that is a win.”
Allasha Dudley led Anniston with 19 points. Alisia Person had 16 with four 3-pointers, Asia Barclay 15 and Shiwanna Jackson 12. Barclay also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Cleburne County’s Brooklyn McDaniel became the first girls player in school history to scored 1,000 career points. She needed 14 points entering the game and hit the milestone on the number with a 3-pointer with 1:31 to play.
It was a courageous effort by the Lady Tigers’ junior. She played the whole game on a sore ankle, wanting to play not because of the milestone but because it was an area game the Lady Tigers needed to win. She also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
Hailey Price was Cleburne County’s leading scorer with 15 points.
GADSDEN CITY 66, PIEDMONT 57: Camille Jenkins and Tameah Gaddis combined for 34 points in the second half for the Lady Titans. Jenkins had 20 of her game-high 29 points in the second half, 14 in the fourth quarter, and Gaddis had 14 in the second half, 11 in the third.
Piedmont led by five after the first quarter after a hot start by Ava Pope and by three at halftime. Gadsden City carried a one-point lead into the fourth.
Pope led Piedmont with 23 points, 12 in the first quarter. She hit all four of the Lady Bulldogs’ 3-pointers in the game. Lele Ridley had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Girls Box Scores
Anniston 74, Cleburne County 33
ANNISTON – Allasha Dudley 8 1-1 19, Alisia Person 5 2-2 16, Serena Hardy 3 0-0 7, Charliese Simmons 0 0-0 0, Shiwanna Jackson 4 4-5 12, Jade Richardson 0 0-0 0, Aaliyah Henson 0 0-0 0, Janayzia Oliver 0 0-0 0, Nina Farrow 0 0-0 0, Akayla Perry 1 0-0 3, Tykeria Smith 1 0-0 2, Asia Barclay 7 1-3 15, Tanaja Winsley 0 0-0 0, Eleah McCoy 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 8-11 74.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Makenzie Frames 0 0-0 0, Jacy Littleton 0 0-0 0, Haley Price 5 5-6 15, Micah Pentecost 0 0-2 0, Brooklyn McDaniel 4 5-6 14, Haven Freeman 1 2-2 4, Kaydence Wright 0 0-0 0, Libby Altman 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 12-16 33.
Anniston 24 21 24 5 – 74
Cleburne County 11 11 6 5 – 33
3-point goals: Anniston 8 (Dudley 2, Person 4, Hardy, Perry); Cleburne County 1 (B. McDaniel). Total fouls: Anniston 16, Cleburne County 11. Officials: Winn, Taylor, Kadle.
Gadsden City 66, Piedmont 57
GADSDEN CITY – Camille Jenkins 11 5-6 29, Auburn Dupree 1 0-0 3, Jermila Underwood 1 0-2 2, Monique Curry 0 0-0 0, Karleigh Sheffield 2 0-0 4, Jaedyn Sharp 2 0-3 4, Tameah Gaddis 6 3-3 18, ZyAja Lindsey 2 0-0 6. Totals 25 8-14 66.
PIEDMONT – Ava Pope 8 3-4 23, Jaycee Glover 0 3-6 3, Lele Ridley 7 5-8 19, Armoni Perry 0 0-0 0, Gracie Naugher 0 0-2 0, Z’Hayla Walker 4 0-3 8, Emily Farmer 0 4-4 4. Totals 19 15-27 57.
Gadsden City 10 14 20 22 – 66
Piedmont 15 12 16 14 – 57
3-point goals: Gadsden City 8 (Jenkins 2, Dupree, Gaddis 3, Lindsey 2); Piedmont 4 (Pope 4). Fouled out: Underwood. Total fouls: Gadsden City 23, Piedmont 16. Officials: Kelley, Jarrett, Dyar.
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