Wildcats tighten race
- Updated: January 12, 2021
Updated boys roundup: White Plains gets big games from Baker, Wilson to drum Anniston; Weaver edges JCA and more
TUESDAY’S BOYS SCORES
Alexandria 53, St. Clair County 35
Faith Christian 63, Coosa Christian 46
Jacksonville 57, Cherokee County 43
Munford 76, Pleasant Valley 49
Oxford 67, Pell City 25
Ranburne 68, Horseshoe Bend 34
Saks 68, Clay Central 39
Weaver 63, Jacksonville Christian 62
White Plains 70, Anniston 54
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
White Plains started the biggest week of its season with its biggest win of the year, but the Wildcats had little time for celebrating.
The Wildcats throttled Anniston 70-54 to gain a share of the Class 4A Area 9 basketball lead with the Bulldogs. But as much as they’d like to celebrate the accomplishment, the reality is they have just as big a game coming up Thursday when they play at Handley, the third contender in the area that already has lost to Anniston twice but is capable of knocking the Wildcats out of the spot they gained Tuesday night.
“You know when you hit a big play, a big 3 or a dunk, and you take time to celebrate and you don’t back on defense they’ll get a layup on you; well, it’s like that,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “Yes, it was a big win for us, we can force a tie (in the area standings), but we’ve got to go play the next one.
“Handley is just as good as Anniston, and they’re really good down there. When we walk out of this gym we’ve gotta be focused on Handley. Yeah, it’s a big win and we had to have it to stay alive, but basketball is such where you don’t have time to enjoy it. That’s the challenge.”
Funny, that’s the same approach Anniston coach Torry Brown has after his Bulldogs suffered their second straight loss.
The Bulldogs are actually remain in a good position despite the loss. They have one area game remaining (Cleburne County) and if White Plains doesn’t hold serve Thursday they’ll be back on top of the area with a one-game lead over their two closest pursuers.
“I knew the winner of the area would probably have two losses,” Brown said. “We’re fortunate to be where we are at this time and honestly we’re in a very good spot. The worst we can do is tie for first, if White Plains can beat Handley twice. You hate to lose a game, but we feel good about where we are.
“Anytime you get in a five-team area with three good teams you don’t expect to run the table. What you hope to do is win at home and steal one or two on the road. Tonight was the first time, as opposed to the first two losses, where we didn’t giv ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game. You’re not going to win them all and you want to give yourself a chance to win and this was the first night we didn’t do that.”
Brody Baker and Quin Wilson led White Plains with 24 and 22 points, respectively, and their games were truly defined by each half. Wilson had 18 points in the first half on four 3-pointers and two three-point plays. The Bulldogs switched to a trap in the second half and with Wilson the primary ball handler it opened Baker up to 16 in the second half.
Anniston cut the Wildcats’ lead to six 49-43 early in the fourth quarter and Baker answered with a corner 3 to turn back the threat. He hit three 3s in the game, two ini the fourth quarter.
“We felt good going into the game,” Wilson said. “We put up a lot of shots during the day, a lot of shots at practice, a lot of shots after practice, so it’s just all coming together. It’s not a surprise to me. We prepare for games like this. Coach Randall holds us at a high standard. We were prepared. We weren’t shocked.”
Malcolm Carlisle and Tadyn Jones led Anniston with 17 points each. The Bulldogs lost star junior Antonio Kite to an ejection after an altercation with Jaden Chatman early in the fourth quarter with his team down by double digits. Kite finished with 10 points.
It wasn’t immediately certain if the Bulldogs would have Kite for their next game, but with or without him, Brown is confident his team will be ready to shake its current doldrums.
“It may seem a cliche, but (the key) is just to get to practice and better tomorrow,” Brown said. “It’s never as good as it seems and it’s never as bad as it seems.
“They played really, really well and we didn’t play as good as we can play, but you have to give them credit for that. Tonight, they had a very good night shooting the basketball and made a lot of good plays. We just have to go back and practice tomorrow.”
Gregory Kirby contributed to this report.
White Plains 70, Anniston 54
ANNISTON –Mark Toyer 1 0-2 2, Antonio Kite 3 4-6 10, Jacques Thomas 0 0-0 0, Malcolm Carlisle 7 1-2 17, Troy Hall 3 0-0 6, Tadyn Jones 6 2-2 17, Kam Sandlin 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 9-14 54.
WHITE PLAINS –Quin Wilson 7 3-4 22, Jaden Chatman 2 0-0 4, Jacob Wheeler 4 0-0 10, Landon Senciboy 0 0-0 0, Brody Baker 8 5-8 24, Jesse Hubbard 0 0-0 0, Walker Osteen 2 0-0 4, Kahlil Williams 3 0-0 6, Garrett Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 8-12 70.
Anniston 14 15 8 17 – 54
White Plains 25 15 9 21 – 70
3-point goals: Anniston 5 (Carlisle 2, Jones 3). White Plains 10 (Q. Wilson 5, Wheeler 2, Baker 3). Technical fouls: Kite, Carlisle. Total fouls: Anniston 16, White Plains 13.
OXFORD 67, PELL CITY 25: Defense wins games and Oxford completely shut down Pell City, shutting out the Panthers in the fourth quarter and allowing just three second-half field goals.
The Yellow Jackets (16-2) shut out the Panthers in the fourth quarter and the second unit started the second half with 7 turnovers and not allowing Pell City to get off a single shot in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
“We work and work on defense,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “We’ve got 12 guys who can come out and get after it; we have great depth. That is mentally where we try to be and that is what wins us ballgames.”
Eleven Oxford players scored as the Yellow Jackets (16-2) extended their winning streak to 11 games.
Justin Moore came out smoking for the Jackets and scored 18 points in the first quarter. He buried a 3-pointer and six field goals as Oxford rolled to a 25-13 lead. He finished with 20 points in the game.
VanMeter turned the start of the second quarter over to the second team and they pitched a shutout, outscoring the Panthers 7- 0 to open up a 32-13 lead. The first team came back in and extended the lead to 40-17 at the half. – Brant Locklier
Cover photo of Rylan Houck’s first-quarter dunk by B.J. Franklin.
Oxford 67, Pell City 25
PELL CITY –Evan Watson 1 3-4 5, David Keith 1 0-0 2, Baylor Smith 2 0-1 5, Taro Shelton 1 0-1 2, Emanual McCluney 2 0-0 4, Monquez Sanders 0 0-0 0, Jack Lowe 0 0-0 0, Blake Anderson 1 0-0 2, Jaden Coleman 1 0-0 2, Braylin Hathorn 0 0-0 0, Treshawn Hines 0 0-0 0, Braden Brewis 0 0-0 0, Michael Snow 1 1-1 3. Totals 10 4-7 25
OXFORD (16-2) –Avelon Bush 1 0-1 2, Cordell Chatman 2 0-0 4, Rylan Houck 3 2-7 8, Peyton Watts 3 0-1 9, Mike McGraw 2 0-0 5, Roc Taylor 2 2-2 6, Bakari Dailey 0 2-4 2, Justin Moore 8 3-4 20, Josh Johnson 2 1-1 5, Josh Patton 2 0-0 4, Zurrell Garrett 1 0-0 2, Jarek Burroughs 0 0-0 0, Aaron McFarland 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 10-20 67.
Pell City 13 4 8 0 – 25
Oxford 25 15 15 12 – 67
3-point goals: Pell City 1 (Watson); Oxford 5 (Watts 3, Moore, McGraw).
WEAVER 63, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 62: Tristan Brown’s free throw with 20 seconds left put Weaver up by three and the Bearcats survived a wild closing exchange to win back-to-back games for the first time this season and deny JCA’s Tommy Miller his 400thcareer boys basketball coaching victory.
After Brown’s free throw made it 63-60, the Thunder found Landon Wills twice for 3-pointers. Wills’ first shot rimmed out, JCA got the rebound and kicked it out to Wills again at the top of the key for a shot that looked even better than the first. That shot also rimmed out but this time Weaver’s Jeffrey Miles and JCA’s Tavian Alexander battled underneath for the rebound and Miles accidentally tipped it in with less than a second to play.
“These boys are really starting to come together,” Weaver coach Beau Winn said. “It’s a testament to them. When they were going back and forth, they stayed calm. We were up maybe 10 in the fourth quarter and they kept clawing back, but we held them off just enough to keep that lead.”
Wills led all scorers with 29 points, including four 3-pointers. Alexander had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brown led Weaver with 19 points and Kyle Knight had 17.
Weaver 63, Jacksonville Christian 62
WEAVER –Brendyn Knight 2 2-5 6, Kyle Knight 7 0-0 17, Kendarrius McGregor 1 0-0 3, Williams 0 0-0 0, Kohl Perry 2 0-0 4, Dawson Brooks 3 0-0 6, Jeffrey Miles 4 0-1 8, Tristan Brown 6 7-8 19. Totals 23 9-13 63.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN (9-4) –Tanner Wilson 1 3-4 5, Ethan Burrage 2 0-0 4, Tyler Doggrell 0 0-0 0, Tavian Alexander 7 1-2 15, Landon Wills 10 5-9 29, Drake Shew 1 1-4 3, Mason Johnson 0 0-0 0, Braxton Brown 0 1-2 1, Cam Moses 2 1-3 5. Totals 23 12-24 62
Weaver 17 22 8 16 – 63
JCA 15 14 12 21 – 62
3-point goals: Weaver 4 (K. Knight 3, McGregor); JCA 4 (Wills 4). Technical fouls: B. Knight, Wills. Fouled out: Wilson. Total fouls: Weaver 14, JCA 14. Officials: Howell, Wise, Dickeson.
JACKSONVILLE 57, CHEROKEE COUNTY 43: Quinn Long led three Jacksonville scorers in double figures with 14 points. Long was 6-of-12 from the floor, had five rebounds and three steals. John Broom had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Caden Johnson had 10 points and eight rebounds. Slade Alexander led the Warriors with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Jacksonville 57, Cherokee County 43
CHEROKEE COUNTY –Slade Alexander 6-12 0-0 12, Connor Elrod 4-14 0-0 10, Nas Diamond 3-10 0-0 6, Cade Hopper 2-3 0-0 6, Jaden Wilson 2-3 0-0 4, Braden Chandler 1-2 1-2 3, Malachi Horton 1-2 0-0 2, Jackson Amos 0-5 0-0 0, Courtlin Brooks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 1-2 43.
JACKSONVILLE –Quinn Long 6-12 1-1 14, John Broom 5-10 0-2 12, Caden Johnson 4-9 2-2 10, Cam Johnson 3-7 2-4 9, Nathan Barnwell 2-2 0-3 4, Omaraion Adams 2-10 0-0 4, Jaylon Prater 1-2 0-0 2, JaeTaj Morris 0-0 2-2 2, Julian Hill 0-2 0-0 0, Coby Zackery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 7-14 57.
Cherokee County 7 12 13 11 – 43
Jacksonville 11 10 17 19 – 57
3-point goals: Cherokee County 4-20 (Alexander 0-3, Elrod 2-8, Hopper 2-3, Chandler 0-1, Amos 0-4, Brooks 0-1); Jacksonville 4-14 (Long 1-2, Broom 2-3, Cd. Johnson 0-2, Cm. Johnson 1-4, Adams 0-2, Hill 0-1). Rebounds: Cherokee County 32 (Alexander 6, Diamond 6); Jacksonville 38 (Prater 9, Cd. Johnson 8, Cm. Johnson 7). Total fouls: Cherokee County 13, Jacksonville 5.
SAKS 68, CLAY CENTRAL 39: Jordan Cosper scored 15 points in a 32-point second quarter that gave the Wildcats control of the game. Cosper scored 22 points in the game, 20 in the first half. It was Connor Martin’s turn in the second half. He hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 of his 18 points in the third quarter.
Saks 68, Clay Central 39
CLAY CENTRAL –Davion Thomas 0 2-4 2, Jamieon Hunter 1 0-0 2, Clay Yates 0 2-4 2, Tanner Higgins 2 1-2 6, Elisha McNeil 3 4-6 10, Kane Smith 0 1-2 1, Carter Young 1 0-0 3, Boyd Ogles 2 1-2 5, Isaiah Denny 4 0-0 8. Totals 13 11-20 39.
SAKS –Jordan Cosper 6 9-13 22, Patrick Williams 0 0-0 0, Will Mixson 2 0-0 4, Shon Elston 0 0-0 0, Sean Parnell 3 1-3 7, Jalen McCants 4 1-2 9, Connor Martin 7 0-0 18, Kelvin Belding 1 0-0 2, Braelan Robinson 0 1-2 1, Jacob Wills 1 0-0 3, C.J. Gresham 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 12-20 68.
Clay Central 7 15 11 6 – 39
Saks 10 32 20 6 – 68
3-point goals: Clay Central 2 (Higgins, Young); Saks 6 (Cosper, Martin 4, Wills). Fouled out: Yates. Total fouls: Clay Central 17, Saks 18. Officials: Tillery, Strong.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 63, COOSA CHRISTIAN 46: Thomas Curlee capped a 20-point game with a 5-for-5 fourth quarter to lead four Lions in double figures. Nick Goodgame hit seven free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points. Andrew Folsom had 11 and Ethan Richerzhagen had 10.
Faith Christian 63, Coosa Christian 46
FAITH CHRISTIAN –Nic Goodgame 3 8-16 14, Jacque Prater 3 1-2 8, Thomas Curlee 9 2-3 20, Ethan Richerzhagen 3 3-3 10, Eli Robinson 0 0-0 0, Andrew Folsom 4 3-5 11, Seth Abston 0 0-2 0. Totals 22 17-31 63.
COOSA CHRISTIAN – Isiah Cole 2 0-0 6, Caddon Moore 1 2-4 4, Deontae Ford 8 5-8 23, Drake Albury 1 0-0 3, Zack Elrod 1 2-2 4, Koby Roberts 0 1-2 1, Hunter Millirons 0 0-0 0, Hunter Price 0 1-2 1, Thomas Skaggs 0 1-4 1, Kris Ash 1 0-0 3, J.D. Justus 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-22 46.
Faith Christian 14 12 12 25 – 63
Coosa Christian 9 9 10 18 – 46
3-point goals: Faith Christian 2 (Prater, Richerzhagen); Coosa Christian 6 (Cole 2, Ford 2, Albury, Ash). Fouled out: Abston, Cole, Moore. Total fouls: Faith Christian 19, Coosa Christian 25. Officials: Childs, Starr, Allen.
RANBURNE 68, HORSESHOE BEND 34: Colby Hanson scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half to get the Bulldogs off to a good start. Cade Mitchell scored nine of his 14 points in the first half and Trace McMahan scored 12 in the game on the strength of three second half 3-pointers.
Ranburne 68, Horseshoe Bend 34
RANBURNE –Will Hewitt 3 0-0 6, Austin Olds 0 0-0 0, Ben Jackson 1 2-2 4, Kaleb Benefield 0 0-0 0, Tyler Craft 2 1-3 5, Colby Hanson 5 4-4 16, Cody Jackson 0 0-1 0, Trace McMahan 4 1-1 12, Carson Riddle 1 0-0 2, Isaac Walker 0 0-0 0, Mason Jackson 1 0-0 2, Cade Mitchell 6 2-4 14, Bo Young 3 0-0 7. Totals 26 10-15 68.
HORSESHOE BEND –David Johnson 1 3-4 5, Chandler McMath 2 1-2 6, Klark James 1 0-0 2, Gavin Brazzell 2 1-2 5, Jacob Turner 1 0-2 2, Cully Sharpe 0 0-2 0, Trent Cotney 1 1-2 3, Lupe Mancillas 1 1-2 3, Hix 2 1-2 5, Jeremiah Golden 0 0-0 0, Rylan Sharpe 0 0-0 0, Devon Bowen 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 8-18 34.
Ranburne 17 19 9 23 – 68
Horseshoe Bend 6 8 11 9 – 34
3-point goals: Ranburne 6 (Hanson 2, McMahan 3, Young); Horseshoe Bend 2 (McMath, Bowen). Total fouls: Ranburne 15, Horseshoe Bend 14. Officials: Parks, Hardnett, Williams.
MUNFORD 78, PLEASANT VALLEY 49: Munford’s Dwight Moore and Pleasant Valley’s Josh Ballew staged a classic scoring battle, but the Lions had three more scorers with at least 14 points make the difference on Senior Night.
Moore finished with 25 points, mostly around the basket, while Jay Tuck had 16, Jaquan Anderson 15 and Rashard Russell 14. Moore had 18 points in the middle two quarters and Anderson and Russell 10 when the Lions pulled away. Ballew had 26 for PV with five 3-pointers.
“We played much better defensively in the second half and attacked the boards much better,” Munford coach Michael Easley said. “It was Senior Night and all three seniors (Moore, Tuck and Russell) played good for us, mainly in the second half.”
Munford 78, Pleasant Valley 49
PLEASANT VALLEY – Garrett Cranmer 3 4-4 11, Josh Ballew 10 1-5 26, Oliver Young 0 0-0 0, Kolby Battles 1 1-3 4, Zeke Johnson 1 0-0 3, Damon Parr 1 0-0 2, Justin Winningham 1 2-4 4. Totals 17 8-16 49.
MUNFORD – Jaquan Anderson 5 2-2 15, Dwight Moore 11 1-3 25, Rashard Russell 4 5-6 14, Jay Tuck 8 0-3 16, Ron Ervin 0 0-0 0, Caderio Holland 0 0-0 0, Connor Morgan 4 0-0 8. Totals 32 8-14 78.
Pleasant Valley 13 18 11 7 – 49
Munford 13 24 24 17 – 78
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Cranmer, Ballew 5, Johnson); Munford 6 (Anderson 3, Moore 2, Russell). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 15, Munford 13. Officials: Askew, Brown, Elston.
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