Overtime winner
- Updated: December 23, 2020
Ranburne edges Piedmont in OT to win Gaston girls title; Piedmont wins boys consolation final, Boaz hands Springville first loss in boys title game
Gaston Christmas Classic
Girls Bracket
Ashville 53, West End 42
Talladega Co. Central 48, Southeastern 38
Championship game: Ranburne 58, Piedmont 56 (OT)
Boys Bracket
Moody 88, Gaston 47
Scottsboro 82, Ashville 44
Piedmont 53, Southeastern 45
Championship game: Boaz 58, Springville 55
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
GASTON – It’ll probably take until next year before anyone knows for sure, but the Ranburne girls basketball team just might have started a new Christmas tradition within their program Wednesday night.
The Lady Bulldogs won their first holiday tournament title in coach Daniel Chambers’ three seasons when they held off Piedmont 58-56 in overtime to win the Gaston Christmas Classic. They celebrated by pulling into the nearest Jefferson’s for a chicken wing feast.
“I hope to God it is,” Chambers said when asked if the wings reward was indeed the start of a holiday tradition.
Tournament MVP Briley Merrill scored 21 points to lead three Ranburne scorers in double figures. Julianna Merrill had 15 points – 10 in the fourth quarter – and Kayli Olds had 11. Olds also grabbed 15 rebounds and had four points in overtime.
The champions fell behind 18-11 early, but caught up by halftime behind nine points from the MVP and the game remained close the rest of the way. It was a 15-point game when the teams played earlier in the season.
Piedmont’s Lele Ridley tied the game 52-52 with six seconds left on a layup off an inbounds play. The Lady Dawgs had a chance to win it in regulation, forcing a held ball with 2.2 seconds left and having the possession arrow, but couldn’t get a good shot and the and the game went into overtime.
Ranburne opened a five-point lead in the extra session. Ava Pope hit a 3-pointer to draw Piedmont within two, but then Ranburne threw it over the Piedmont press and held on to seal the victory.
“This is what we envisioned doing,” Chambers said. “We had a mission-minded goal and that was to win this tournament, win three games and go into Christmas tournament champions.”
MVP Merrill scored 46 points in Ranburne’s three tournament games. She had 18 in the opener against West End.
Pope led Piedmont with 20 points. Ridley had 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals. And Z’Hayla Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Farmer hit two 3-pointers for six points, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and dealt eight assists.
Their only shortfall came at the free throw line, where they were only six of 18. Ranburne was 10-of-17, with Briley Merrill hitting eight of 12.
“I was so pleased with the way we played tonight,” Piedmont coach Terrace Ridley said. “We did a lot more good things than bad things and that‘s what we’ve been trying to get them to do.
“We have finally started to jell and read each other and know where the open man is all the time. We did a lot of things we have not done and you could tell the difference. We got more out of it than we thought we’d get out of it and it will help us down the road.”
Gaston Christmas Classic
Girls Championship Game
Ranburne 58, Piedmont 56 (OT)
RANBURNE – Autumn Phillips 0 0-0 0, Briley Merrill 6 8-12 21, Julianna Merrill 7 1-1 15, Kayli Olds 5 1-4 11, Abigail Howle 2 0-0 4, Natalie Merrill 3 0-0 7, Auburn Rollins 0 0-0 0, Crimson Rollins 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-17 58.
PIEDMONT – Ava Pope 7 3-7 20, Jaycee Glover 0 1-4 1, Lele Ridley 6 2-7 15, Armoni Perry 0 0-0 0, Gracie Naugher 0 0-0 0, Z’Hayla Walker 7 0-0 14, Emily Farmer 2 0-0 6. Totals 22 6-18 56.
Ranburne 11 19 9 13 6 – 58
Piedmont 18 9 12 13 4 – 56
3-point goals: Ranburne 2 (B. Merrill, N. Merrill); Piedmont 6 (Pope 3, Ridley, Farmer 2). Rebounds: Ranburne 35 (Olds 13, N. Merrill 7); Piedmont 35 (Walker 10, Farmer 11, Ridley 9). Total fouls: Ranburne 16, Piedmont 13. Officials: Hall, Dupree, Childs.
Boys Bracket
Piedmont 53, Southeastern 45
Alex Odam scored 28 points and the Brothers Foster dominated the boards to lead the Bulldogs to the consolation bracket championship.
Odam scored 11 points in the first quarter and 17 in the first half as the Bulldogs (5-3) opened a 25-19 halftime lead. He also had five assists and three steals in the game. He scored 73 points in the three games of the tournament and went 18-of-19 from the free throw line, including making his last 11 in a row.
Omarion Foster, a junior, scored four points, but grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Older brother Jakari also scored four points, but grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots.
Boaz handed Springville its first loss of the season in the championship game, 58-55. Springville’s Ben Bianchi was voted tournament MVP.
Boys Consolation Finals
Piedmont 53, Southeastern 45
SOUTHEASTERN – Trent Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Daniel Dobbins 5 1-2 13, Austin Arriaga 2 0-1 5, Logan Young 0 0-0 0, Chandler Ziegenbein 0 0-0 0, Micah Smith 4 4-4 13, Michael Melvin 4 2-4 10, Walter Readus 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 7-11 45.
PIEDMONT (5-3) – Alex Odam 8 9-9 28, Omarion Foster 1 2-5 4, Gavin Lawler 0 0-0 0, Luke Bussey 2 0-1 6, Jadon Calhoun 0 2-2 2, Coleman Reid 2 0-1 4, Cassius Fairs 1 0-0 3, Jakari Foster 2 0-0 4, Sean Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 13-18 53.
Piedmont 12 13 14 14 – 53
Southeastern 14 5 16 10 – 45
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Odam 3, Bussey 2, Fairs); Southeastern 4 (Dobbins 2, Arriaga, Smith). Rebounds: Piedmont 35 (O. Foster 11, J. Foster 8); Southeastern 37. Total fouls: Southeastern 16, Piedmont 13. Officials: Guyton, Ware, Starr.
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