Milestone Monday
- Updated: January 18, 2021
JCA’s Miller pockets boys win No. 400; also, box scores and details from all of Monday’s action in the 70th Calhoun County Basketball Tournament
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Monday’s games
Girls: White Plains 47, Saks 18
Boys: Saks 62, Donoho 54
Girls: Pleasant Valley 35, Piedmont 33
Boys: Piedmont def. Weaver, forfeit (COVID)
Girls: Alexandria def. Faith Christian, forfeit (COVID)
Boys: Jacksonville Christian def. Faith Christian (COVID)
Exhibition: Piedmont boys 64, Ohatchee 38
Exhibition: Alexandria girls 70, Jacksonville Christian 34
Exhibition: Jacksonville Christian boys 64, Pleasant Valley 61
Tuesday’s games
Boys: White Plains vs. Saks, 4 p.m.
Girls: Weaver vs. Donoho, 6 p.m.
Boys: Oxford vs. Alexandria, 8 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE —This certainly wasn’t the way Tommy Miller envisioned or wanted his 400th career boys basketball coaching victory to come, but this is the world we live in so you take it as it comes.
The Jacksonville Christian coach did get his 400th career boys victory Monday, but it was more an administrative victory than anything on the scoreboard.
Faith Christian coach Schuessler Ware tested positive for COVID-19 and it forced both of the Lions’ games in the Calhoun County Tournament to be postponed.
That meant Miller officially got No. 400 — and moved a step closer to 1,000 for his entire varsity basketball coaching career — without stepping on the floor.
The Thunder did play a game, however. Pleasant Valley graciously accepted a chance to play when the original game was scrapped. It was tight from start to finish, but JCA pulled it out in the end 64-61.
No. 401 and 997? It’s debatable. Some say if there are officials, two teams and they’re keeping score, it’s a game. Others say it’s like one of those non-counters in football after a scheduled game was already declared a forfeit.
To each his own.
“I’ve been doing this a long, long time so the 400 is important, but the 400 to me is not as big as the 1,000 overall,” Miller said. “No, it’s not the way we wanted to get the 400th win, but there are so many things that happened, this is such an unusual time, the way things are going right now and the last year everything has been unusual.”
Coming into the season Miller, 66, needed 10 wins to reach that boys milestone; he’d been stuck on 399 for about a week. He now needs four for the magical 1,000 in boys and girls basketball combined in a six-decade coaching career that goes back to Ohatchee.
He’s been at JCA since 1988, coaching everything that has a ball connected to it.
He’s now 400-371 with the boys, the 85th coach in state history to win at least 400 boys games; he’s 996-572 overall.
The Thunder was on track to blow the milestone out of the water early. They started the year 8-1 and were on a roll, then they hit with a variety of illness and were never the same. They lost four of their last five and were very much in need of a win when the Raiders volunteered to take Faith’s place.
“We really needed to win because we really are two different ball teams,” Miller said. “We were 8-1, then COVIID hit, stomach virus hit, strep throat hit, we had about seven or eight out, six of them really good players for us, and we just hadn’t been the same team. As long as I’ve been doing this I’ve never coached through a pandemic and I did not know how to come out of this sickness and it’s had an effect.
“We’re beginning to get a little bit of the conditioning back. I’m hoping now that we can come on and get back to where we were headed. I thought the way we were playing we might not ever get it, but we did. We’ll keep going, I hope.”
The game with PV was tight from the start, it was only when Miller plugged in the full-court press against a Raiders team that had a 2½-hour practice earlier in the day not knowing they were going to play did the Thunder start to surge ahead. Luckily, they were ahead by enough to have the lead when the horn sounded.
Tanner Wilson led three JCA scorers in double figures with 17 points. He was 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Tavian Alexander had 14 points and Landon Wills had 12. PV’s Josh Ballew led all scorers with 21 points. Garrett Cranmer had 16.
Exhibition
Jacksonville Christian 64, Pleasant Valley 61
PLEASANT VALLEY (6-6) –Garrett Cranmer 6 2-5 16, Josh Ballew 8 2-2 21, Oliver Young 1 0-0 3, Kolby Batatles 1 2-4 4, Zeke Johnson 2 0-0 5, Pelham Parris 0 0-0 0, Justin Winningham 5 2-5 12. Totals 23 8-16 61.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN (10-5) –Tanner Wilson 3 9-12 17, Ethan Fair 1 6-10 9 9, Ethan Burrage 4 0-0 9, Tavian Alexander 6 1-2 14, Landon Wills 3 5-9 12, Drake Shew 0 0-0 0, Brodie Clay 1 1-2 2. Totals 18 22-25 64.
Pleasant Valley 14 16 13 18 – 61
JCA 13 14 14 23 – 64
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Cranmer 2, Ballew 3, Young, Johnson); JCA 6 (Wlson 2, Fair, Burrage, Alexander, Wills). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 22, JCA 14. Officials: Wood, Bright, Livingston.
SAKS 62, DONOHO 54: Jordan Cosper woke up the sixth-seeded Wildcats with 13 points in the third quarter to spur a 26-6 run that rallied them past upset-minded Donoho.
The 11th-seeded Falcons out-scrapped the Wildcats in the first two quarters and held a 23-20 halftime lead. The Falcons were beating the Saks press and making some lay-ups by driving to the basket.
Saks rallied from a 9-6 deficit after one quarter to pull ahead 17-15, in the second, but the Falcons scored six straight points to go back up by three at the half.
Saks came out playing at a different level in the third quarter as Cosper buried a 3 and Patrick Williams connected from downtown to get the third quarter going.
“We sleep-walked through three quarters in the game; you’ve got to give Donoho credit, though, they played real tough,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said. “We needed somebody to save us and (Cosper) stepped up and got us going.”
Saks pulled out to a 45-29 lead after three quarters, but Donoho would not quit, cutting its deficit to 52-45 with four minutes to go. Richard Goad was carrying the Falcons as he scored 12 points in the quarter.
Sean Purnell took over for Saks in the last four minutes as scored six points to help the Wildcats advance to a 4 p.m. Tuesday matchup with White Plains.
“We need to be playing games, but have only been able to play eight coming into the Tournament,” Miller said. “But that is just the way it is this year. We are working now to get ready for the end of the season and the play-offs.” –Brant Locklier
Saks 62, Donoho 54
DONOHO –Spencer Wigley 6 2-2 14, Dean Harrell 0 0-1 0, Nick Goad 2 0-0 4, Drew Williamson 2 1-4 5, Sam Keel 0 0-0 0, Ethan Miles-Jameson 0 0-0 0, Connor Goodson 1 0-1 2, Brady Patterson 1 0-0 2, Richard Goad 7 5-8 19, Eric Tolson 3 0-0 6. Totals 22 8-15 54.
SAKS –Jordan Cosper 8 6-8 23, Patrick Williams 3 0-0 6, Will Mixson 1 2-6 5, Shon Elston 1 2-3 4, Sean Parnell 7 4-9, Jalen McCants 1 0-4 2, Conor Martin 1 2-4 4, C.J. Greshman 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 16-34 62.
Donoho 6 17 6 25 – 54
Saks 9 11 26 16 – 62
3-point goals: Donoho 2 (R. Goad); Saks 2 (Cosper, Mixson). Fouled out: Miles-Jameson. Total fouls: Donoho 27, Saks 21. Officials: Williams, Kendall, Hodge.
PIEDMONT 64, OHATCHEE 38: The Bulldogs roared to a 46-16 halftime lead and scored their second lopsided win in as many games since returning from COVID quarantine, making easy work of an Ohatchee team that agreed to play after Weaver forfeited the originally scheduled game due to COVID exposure.
“We got word we weren’t playing and we thought we’d just practice at 4 o’clock after the girls play,” Piedmont coach JoJo Odam said. “Then coach (Bryant) Ginn called and asked if we’d be interested in doing it and I said if we can get it approved I’m in. We missed two weeks and if we can play, we’ll play. I know the guys would rather play than practice.”
Alex Odam led the Bulldogs with 21 points and moved within 64 points of second place on Piedmont’s all-time scoring list. He also had four assists and four steals.
Jadon Calhoun had 11 points and Omarion Foster, the player Bulldogs coach JoJo Odam calls “our Swiss Army knife,” had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
Exhibition
Piedmont 64, Ohatchee 38
OHATCHEE –Noah Fuller 2 2-2 6, Jacob Buckelew 2 1-2 6, Jesse Baswell 0 0-0 0, Trey Pesnell 5 1-3 12, Eli Teem 2 0-0 5, Justin Powell 3 0-1 6, Konnor Baswell 0 1-2 1, Brock England 0 0-0 0, Aiden Simpson 1 0-3 2, Kelbe Crook 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-13 38.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 8 2-2 21, Omarion Foster 5 1-2 11, Gavin Lawler 1 0-0 2, Luke Bussey 0 0-0 0, Jadon Calhoun 4 3-4 11, Jack Hayes 3 0-0 7, Coleman Reid 1 0-0 2, Cassius Fairs 2 0-0 4, Jakari Foster 2 0-1 4, San Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 6-9 64.
Ohatchee 5 11 9 13 – 38
Piedmont 19 27 9 9 – 64
3-point goals: Ohatchee 3 (Buckelew, Pesnell, Teem); Piedmont 4 (Odam 3, Hayes). Total fouls: Ohatchee 12, Piedmont 12.
Girls roundup
Lady Raiders keep rolling
Rylee Haynes hit three free throws down the stretch with the game on the line and Macey Roper had some big rebounds as Pleasant Valley hung on to beat Piedmont 35-33. It was the third meeting of the year between the area rivals with Piedmont winning the previous two.
“We have won five in a row now, and things are starting to come together,” PV coach Colton Morris said. “This is my first year and with everything else that has been going on we have had a tough time getting used to each other.”
The Lady Raiders entered the fourth quarter having never trailed in the game, but clinging to a one-point lead 26-25. Lily Henry hit a 3 and Haynes banged home a basket and the lead was five points. Jaycee Glover hit a 3 for Piedmont to chop the lead to 32-31.
Haynes then knocked down her free throws in the final 40 seconds to help PV Leading 32-31 with 30 seconds to go, Haynes made on of two free throws, but Roper battled for and got an offensive rebound off the second shot that allowed the Raiders to keep the ball. Haynes went back to the line and hit two more free throws to make it a 35-31 game.
“The last two games I’ve been really off on my free throws, so I was not looking forward to it,” Haynes said. “I did not have confidence. I just tried to get a rhythm. They were big for me because it felt good to be able to finally shoot free throws again.”
Haynes scored 10 points in the second half and finished with 14. Roper had six points and 11 rebounds. Marlie Wright had nine points on three first-half 3-pointers.
“I think we’ve grown together as a team and our mentality is different,” Roper said. “We are more aggressive and our intensity has gone up a whole lot.”
LeLe Ridley scored all five of Piedmont’s points in the first quarter and finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Z’Hayla Walker had 10 boards and three blocked shots. Emily Farmer had eight rebounds. –Brant Locklier
Pleasant Valley 35, Piedmont 33
PLEASANT VALLEY –Lily Henry 1 0-1 3, Rylee Haynes 5 4-8 14, Gracie Hood 0 1-2 1, Macey Roper 2 2-2 6, Erin Rose 1 0-0 2, Marlie Wright 3 0-0 9. Totals 12 7-13 35.
PIEDMONT –Ava Pope 1 0-2 3, Jaycee Glover 2 0-0 5, Lele Ridley 7 1-4 15, Armoni Perry 1 0-0 2, Z’Hayla Walker 2 0-2 4, Emily Farmer 1 1-2 4. Totals 14 2-10 33.
Pleasant Valley 12 7 8 8 – 35
Piedmont 5 9 12 7 – 33
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 4 (Henry, Wright 3); Piedmont 3 (Pope, Glover, Farmer). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 10, Piedmont 12. Officials: Burns, Larkins, Fair.
WHITE PLAINS 47, SAKS 18: It was the speed and quickness of White Plains against the size and inside game of Saks and it the quickness that ruled the day.
White Plains (8-9) never trailed as that quickness created 35 turnovers in the game.
“We decided to come out and be more aggressive and apply more pressure and it was pretty successful for us,” coach Matt Ford said. “Our guards did a really good job of opening the game up.”
White Plains shut out Saks (3-4) from the last half of the second quarter through the first half of the fourth quarter while scoring 22 straight points for a 38-8 lead.
Ford said it was “good to get a game in here under our belt” with top-seeded Anniston up next for his team.
White Plains came out with a stifling defense that forced Saks well back of the 3-point line and created nine turnovers in the opening quarter. Lily Ponder scored the first six points and White Plains was off and running. Saks did not score until a Miracle Bass basket with 1:35 left in quarter.
Saks looked like it was going to get back in the game, scoring six straight points to chop the lead to 16-8, but White Plains’ pressure defense took hold and the Lady Wildcats scored 11 straight points to end the half with a 19-point lead. Eight different players scored for White Plains in the half. –Brant Locklier
White Plains 47, Saks 18
SAKS –Alayzia Neal 0 1-2 1, Keilynn Williams 1 0-0 3, Matasia Truss 0 0-0 0, Kayleigh Thomas 3 0-1 6, Miracle Bass 2 0-2 4, Alyssa Gooden 1 0-0 3, Kendale Welch 0 0-2 0. Totals 7 1-7 18.
WHITE PLAINS –Callyn Martin 2 0-1 4, Cheyenne Cochran 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 4 0-0 10, Shaniyah Calloway 2 0-0 4, Camden Wilson 1 2-2 4, Lily Ponder 4 2-2 10, Adriana Sotelo 1 0-0 3, Angel Bozarth 2 1-2 5, Kaylee Johnson 2 2-4 7. Totals 18 7-11 47.
Saks 2 6 0 10 – 18
White Plains 15 12 7 13 – 47
3-point goals: Saks 2 (Williams, Gooden); White Plains 4 (Williams 2, Sotelo, Johnson). Total fouls: Saks 9, White Plains 8. Officials: Kendall, Hodge, Williams.
ALEXANDRIA 70, JCA 34: The Lady Cubs already punched their ticket to the next round when Faith forfeited due to COVID exposure, but the JCA put its team back together after suffering a Saturday setback and provided live competition.
Ashley Phiillips led three Alexandria scorers in double figures with 18 points. Sarah Pelham had 15, Jordyn Walker had 10 and Chloe Gattis and TyShica Woodgett each had nine. Pelham hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter and Alexandria was off and running. The Lady Cubs led 42-22 at halftime, then Pelham scored nine in the third quarter and Ashley Phillips had 10
Rebekah Carter kept the Thunder in it early with 10 points in the first quarter. She finished with 16 points and five rebounds.
Exhibition
Alexandria 70, Jacksonville Christian 34
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN –Rebekah Carter 6 4-6 18, Erin Prater 1 0-0 2, Kara Grace 0 0-1 0, Kirsten Walker 2 0-0 4, Mia Morales 1 1-2 3, Karli Barnwell 1 2-3 5, Abbie Stovall 1 0-0 2, Hannah Clayton 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 7-12 34.
ALEXANDRIA –Ashley Phillips 8 2-2 18, Jordyn Walker 3 4-4 10, Maddie Richey 0 0-0 0, Jill Cockrell 1 0-0 3, Kirsten Heathcock 0 2-2 2, Sarah Pelham 6 0-0 15, TyShica Woodgett 4 1-2 9, Aubrey Christian 1 0-0 2, Christian Hess 0 0-2 0, Tylea Hunt 1 0-0 2, Chloe Gattis 4 1-3 9. Totals 28 10-13 70.
JCA 13 9 7 5 – 34
Alexandria 24 18 24 4 – 70
3-point goals: JCA 3 (Carter 2, Barnwell); Alexandria 4 (Cockrell, Pelham 3). Fouled out: Clayton. Total fouls: JCA 13, Alexandria 15. Officials: Bright, Livingston, Woods.
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