Finishing touch
- Updated: January 29, 2021
Boys roundup: Jacksonville gets redemption from a week of heartbreak, beats White Plains in OT; Spring Garden’s Kirk goes for 52, and more
Thursday’s boys scores
Anniston 58, Alexandria 52
Faith Christian 70, Donoho 47
Gaston 81, Coosa Christian 68
Glencoe at Pleasant Valley
Jacksonville 60, White Plains 57 (OT)
Jacksonville Christian 65, Valley Head 44
Lafayette 65, Ranburne 54
Pell City 69, Lincoln 53
Munford 57, Wellborn 35
Piedmont 63, Ohatchee 30
Randolph County at Cleburne County
Saks at Clay Central
Spring Garden 93, Cedar Bluff 49
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Cordell Hunt and his Jacksonville boys basketball team have had their heart broken so many times over the last week Hunt said they were “about desperate” to win a close game.
The Golden Eagles finally broke through after three just-crushing defeats Thursday, beating White Plains in overtime 60-57. Caden Johnson hit a free throw with 9.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and Quin Long scored five points in the final 29 seconds of the extra period to produce the victory.
“That was big,” Long said. “It was a bunch of heartbreakers those last two games. It was good to finally get a close one against a good team. You could kind of feel it in the locker room like, man, we keep losing the close ones. It was just finally good to get one.”
White Plains led 57-55 heading into the final minute of overtime. Long hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 29 seconds left to give Jacksonville the lead. He then was fouled rebounding Brody Baker’s missed layup with 3.3 seconds left and hit two free throws to extend the lead.
The Wildcats lost the chance to stick a dagger into the Golden Eagles at the buzzer for a third game in a row when they lost the ball out of bounds near midcourt.
Jacksonville had been 1-5 in games decided by five points or fewer this season and had lost four by three or less. The Golden Eagles’ bad luck this week started in the County Tournament when they lost a 12-point early-fourth-quarter lead in an eventual nine-point loss to Anniston. Alexandria beat them Monday on a buzzer 3 and Piedmont beat them Tuesday when their potential game-tying 3 in the closing seconds missed the mark.
They got their redemption against the Wildcats.
“It speaks about the character of our guys,” Hunt said. “They lost a close one against Anniston; we should win that game. We go to Alexandria and lose by three at the buzzer. We go to Piedmont and lose by three. For us to know it was close and be able to pull through against a good team speaks to the character of those guys in this locker room. I’m proud of them.”
Four of Jacksonville’s five starters scored in double figures. Long had 15 points, Omarion Adams and John Broom had 13 apiece and Caden Johnson had 10. Broom was 9-of-10 from the free throw line and Johnson grabbed 16 rebounds. Adams had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Jacob Wheeler led White Plains with 24 points. He was 7-of-9 from 3-point range, including one with 1:02 left in overtime that put the Wildcats up 56-55.
Jacksonville 60, White Plains 57 (OT)
WHITE PLAINS – Jacob Wheeler 8-11 1-2 24, Brody Baker 5-13 4-9 15, Walker Osteen 3-7 0-2 6, Quin Wilson 2-5 0-1 5, Kahlil Williams 2-2 0-0 4, Jaden Chatman 1-5 1-1 3, Jesse Hubbard 0-1 0-0 0, Landon Senciboy 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-44 6-15 57.
JACKSONVILLE – Quin Long 4-11 5-8 15, Omarion Adams 5-12 0-2 13, John Broom 2-8 9-10 13, Caden Johnson 4-11 2-4 10, Nathan Barnwell 1-3 3-6 5, Julian Hill 1-1 0-0 2, JaeTaj Morris 1-2 0-0 2, Jaylon Prater 0-1 0-0 0, Coby Zackery 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 19-30 60.
White Plains 18 5 12 16 6 – 57
Jacksonville 11 9 13 18 9 – 60
3-point goals: White Plains 9-20 (Wheeler 7-9, Baker 1-5, Q. Wilson 1-3, Chatman 0-2, Hubbard 0-1); Jacksonville 5-18 (Long 2-6, Adams 3-7, Broom 0-2, Johnson 0-2, Morris 0-1). Rebounds: White Plains 22 (Baker 8); Jacksonville 44 (Johnson 16, Adams 7). Fouled out: Chatman. Total fouls: White Plains 16, Jacksonville 12. Officials: Dupree, Childs, Prociuk.
Spring Garden’s Kirk goes for 52
CEDAR BLUFF – There have been numerous record-setting players in Spring Garden’s illustrious basketball history, including several of senior guard/forward Weston Kirk’s family members. On Thursday night, Kirk etched his name alongside of them in a 93-49 victory.
Kirk challenged the Panthers single-game boys scoring record with 52 points. It came up one point short of the mark, set by David “Skillet” Jones in a 1992 game against Donoho.
It did, however, surpass his dad Shane’s 47 points and his grandfather Sam’s 49 points. His cousin, Paige Anderson McDonald, holds the all-time school record with 56 points against Woodland in 2008.
“It’s amazing. I never thought I’d do something like this,” Kirk said. “I never thought I’d outscore my dad. I didn’t even know I had 50 points until they told me. I just go out there and try to play my game every day. I’ve been putting in the work, and I guess it’s paying off just at the right time. Hopefully I can carry this over to the area tournament.”
Kirk connected on eight 3-pointers. He also grabbed 19 rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked two shots and had a steal. He scored 30 of his points in the first half, 26 in the second quarter. He had 17 in the third.
Spring Garden head coach Ricky Austin said he didn’t know until near the end of the third quarter that Kirk had a shot at setting a record.
“They told me he had 43, that’s the first thing I heard,” Austin said. “I told Coach (Jason) Howard ‘I’m going to let him go for it.’ I was about ready to start rotating people out, but then I heard he had 43 in the third, and I said ‘Shoot, he’s worked too hard.’ … That’s the reward he gets.”
Kirk wasn’t the only player to have a big night for Spring Garden (16-7). Cooper Austin connected on four treys in the first half and had 14 points. Chaz Pope collected 10 points, including two 3-pointers. – Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
ANNISTON 58, ALEXANDRIA 52: Malcolm Carlisle scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter when the Bulldogs pulled away after a tight first half. Carlisle hit three of his five 3-pointers in the quarter as Anniston outscored the Valley Cubs 16-6. Antonio Kite had 17 with three treys for Anniston. Landan Williams led Alexandria with 23 points.
Anniston 58, Alexandria 52
ANNISTON – Mark Toyer 3 2-2 9, Antonio Kite 6 2-2 17, Malcolm Carlisle 9 2-2 25, Troy Hall 1 0-0 2, Miciah Miles 1 1-2 3, Tadyn Jones 1 0-0 2 Totals: 21 7-8 58.
ALEXANDRIA – Javais McGhee 3 0-0 8, D’Anthony Walton 3 1-2 7, Collin Taylor 0 0-0 0, Ivonte Davis 0 0-0 0, Kory Cargal 1 0-0 3, Julian Wright 5 1-2 11, Landan Williams 9 5-5 23. Totals 21 7-9 52.
Anniston 10 17 16 15 – 58
Alexandria 16 13 6 17 – 52
3-point goals: Anniston 9 (Toyer, Kite 3, Carlisle 5); Alexandria 3 (McGhee 2, Cargal). Total fouls: Anniston 11, Alexandria 10.
PIEDMONT 63, OHATCHEE 30: Alex Odam scored 23 points and moved within 50 of becoming the Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer. Luke Bussey had 11 points with three 3-pointers and six steals. Omarion Foster scored six points, grabbed five rebounds, dealt six assists and had three steals.
PIEDMONT (11-6) – Alex Odam 8 5-5 23, Omarion Foster 3 0-0 6, Luke Bussey 4 0-0 11, Jadon Calhoun 2 2-2 6, Jack Hayes 1 1-2 3, Coleman Reid 0 0-0 0, Cassius Fairs 0 0-0 0, Jakari Foster 3 0-1 6, Sean Smith 3 0-4 8. Totals 24 8-14 63.
OHATCHEE – Noah Fuller 0 0-0 0, Jacob Buckelew 0 6-7 6, Eli Teem 1 0-1 2, Justin Powell 2 1-3 5, Konnor Baswell 2 0-0 4, Brock England 1 0-0 2, Aiden Simpson 0 1-2 1, David Read 3 0-0 8, Kelbe Crook 0 2-2 2. Totals 9 10-15 30.
Piedmont 23 16 20 4 – 63
Ohatchee 13 3 7 7 – 30
3-point goals: Piedmont 7 (Odam 2, Bussey 3, Smith 2); Ohatchee 2 (Read 2). Total fouls: Piedmont 16, Ohatchee 13.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 70, DONOHO 47: Thomas Curlee led three Lions scorers in double figures with 18 points. Ethan Richezhagen had 15 and Nic Goodgame 14. Goodgame also delivered nine assists. Curlee had eight rebounds. Seth Abston scored six points and had five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Donoho’s Drew Williamson led all scorers with 24 points. He had 10 in the first quarter and 10 in the fourth.
Faith Christian 70, Donoho 47
DONOHO – Spencer Wigley 0 4-4 4, Dean Harrell 0 0-0 0, Conner Goodson 4 0-1 8, Brady Patterson 0 2-2 2, Ethan Miles 1 0-0 2, Richard Goad 1 1-2 3, Eric Tolson 2 0-0 4, Drew Williamson 11 0-0 24. Totals 19 7-9 47.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Nic Goodgame 5 4-9 14, Jacque Prater 0 2-6 2, Thomas Curlee 7 2-4 18, Ethan Richerzhagen 5 5-9 15, Yashua Arevalao 1 2-2 4, Andrew Folsom 3 1-2 7, Seth Abston 3 0-3 6, Damian Arevalo 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 16-25 70.
Donoho 16 8 9 14 – 47
Faith 22 14 12 22 – 70
3-point goals: Donoho 2 (Williamson 2); Faith 4 (Curlee 2, Richerzhagen 2). Fouled out: Wigley, Tolson. Total fouls: Donoho 26, Faith 15. Officials: Brown, Caldwell, Jackson.
MUNFORD 57, WELLBORN 35: In the third quarter, Jaquan Anderson hit all six of his free throws and the Lions were 10-of-11 as a team to pull away from the Panthers. Anderson had eight points in the quarter and 13 in the game. Munford’s Rashard Russell led all scorers with 17 points. Connor Morgan (12) also scored in double figures for the Lions, who evened their record at 10-10.
Munford 57, Wellborn 35
MUNFORD (10-10) – Jaquan Anderson 3 6-8 13, Dwight Moore 4 2-5 10, Rashard Russell 7 1-2 17, Jay Tuck 1 0-0 2, Ron Ervin 0 0-0 0, Caderio Holland 0 2-2 2, Connor Morgan 3 3-6 11, Demetrius Norwood 0 0-1 0, Alex Petty 0 0-0 0, Jaiden Turner 1 0-0 2, Kyler Gibson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-24 57.
WELLBORN –Lewis Patterson 1 2-2 4, Massiah Moore 1 0-0 3, Nathan Sanders 5 0-4 11, Keyonte Curry 1 0-0 2, Jeremiah Scarbrough 0 1-2 1, Trey Downs 0 0-0 0, Ethan Tidwell 3 2-2 8, Kameron Jackson 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 5-10 35.
Munford 13 13 24 7 – 57
Wellborn 10 8 5 12 – 35
3-point goals: Munford 7 (Anderson, Russell 2, Morgan 2); Wellborn 2 (Moore, Sanders). Total fouls: Munford 12, Wellborn 17. Officials: McClendon, Starr, Kelley.
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