Saks says it loud
- Updated: February 17, 2021
Wildcats respond to coach’s loud halftime talk, erupts in third quarter to beat Weaver 79-40, reach regionals for first time since 2017
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES
Boys Sub-regionals
Class 1A: Ragland 78, Sumiton Christian 35
Class 1A: Jacksonville Christian 70, Appalachian 44
Class 2A: Sand Rock 71, Section 64
Class 2A: North Sand Mountain 87, Spring Garden 76
Class 3A: Piedmont 56, Childersburg 45
Class 3A: Saks 79, Weaver 40
Class 4A: Anniston 60, Jacksonville 49
Class 4A: White Plains 83, Etowah 58
Class 5A: Alexandria 54, Parker 51
Class 6A: Oxford 51, Woodlawn 37
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Saks coach Jonathan Miller is starting to believe his Wildcats respond best when he turns up the volume.
The Wildcats were leading Weaver by only 13 at halftime Wednesday night after playing their best game of the year for the area championship last time out.Miller figured they could do better and let them know it.
And as they’ve been known to do, the Wildcats responded.
They opened the second half with a 15-1 run and wound up burying the Bearcats 70-49 in the Class 4A sub-regionals to reach the Northeast Regional for the first time since 2017.
The Wildcats (12-4) will host Plainview (28-5) in the regional semifinals Friday.
“I’ll give our kids a lot of credit,” Miller said. “I don’t pitch a lot of fits. I’m not that way all the time, but when they need it, we’ll get on them a little bit, but they always respond because they’re high-character kids.
“There probably this year hasn’t been one time where they’ve been challenged or I’ve gotten on them a little bit that they haven’t responded. From the County Tournament – that White Plains game at halftime – once we had that talk I feel like our kids have played a lot better throughout the course of the rest of the season.”
It’s just sometimes they need a little reminder.
Sean Parnell and Conor Martin sparked the second-half surge with five points apiece, each hitting a 3 and a 2. Weaver’s Brendyn Knight hit a 3-pointer to end the run, but by then the Saks lead had reached 27 points.
The Wildcats scored 48 points in the second half, eight more than Weave scored in the game.
Bearcats coach Beau Winn agreed the run “knocked the wind out of us.”
Martin hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and was 4-for-5 from behind the arc in the game. Parnell had 17 points and Martin 16.
Both players agreed their coach’s halftime talk touched a nerve.
“He got on to us real bad and told us we needed to step the tempo up,” Parnell said. “We were trying to get better for the next team.”
And that next team is Plainview, the team that knocked them out of the sub-regionals each of the last two years.
“We’re coming to beat them this time,” Martin said. “We’ve had some decent teams in the past, but I think this year it’s our work ethic that’s getting us there. We might goof around in practice, which we do, but once we get yelled at, we start taking it serious and start getting it for real.”
Saks 79, Weaver 40
WEAVER – Quinton Blackerby 1 0-0 2, Brendyn Knight 3 2-3 9, Kyle Knight 2 4-4 8, Jackson Williams 2 1-2 5, Kohl Perry 0 0-0 0, Dawson Brooks 1 0-0 2, Jeffrey Miles 2 1-4 5, Trevor Clendenin 0 0-0 0, Tristan Brown 3 2-2 9. Totals 14 10-15 40.
SAKS – Jordan Cosper 3 0-0 6, Patrick Williams 3 1-2 7, Will Mixson 0 0-0 0, Shon Elston 6 2-2 14, Sean Parnell 7 2-3 17, Jalen McCants 2 1-4 5, Conor Martin 6 0-0 16, Kelvin Bolding 2 0-0 4, Braelan Robinson 2 0-0 4, Jacob Wills 2 0-0 6. Totals 33 6-11 79.
Weaver 6 12 10 12 – 40
Saks 16 15 26 22 – 79
3-point goals: Weaver 2 (B. Knight, Brown); Saks 7 (Parnell, Martin 4, Wills 2). Total fouls: Weaver 7, Saks 18. Officials: Williams, Caldwell, Johns.
Cover photo of Saks’ Conor Martin (12) driving to the basket by Greg Warren.
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