The hottest hand
- Updated: February 3, 2022
Piedmont’s Odam puts up 40 for second straight game as Bulldogs win seventh in a row; roundup includes highlights, box scores and more
THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Clay Central 54, Saks 30
Cleburne County 75, Woodland 49
Piedmont 72, Glencoe 52
Scottsboro 79, Oxford 60
Southside 54, Hokes Bluff 46
Spring Garden 76, Weaver 40
Valley 71, Handley 70
By East Alabama Sports Today
GLENCOE – It would be hard to find a hotter player in this corner of the state than Piedmont’s Alex Odam.
The junior guard had another monster game Thursday night, scoring 44 points in the Bulldogs’ seventh straight victory, 72-52 victory over Glencoe in their regular-season finale.
The big night came on the heels of a career-high 48 points against Cleburne County Tuesday night and was the third time he has a scored 40 or more this season. He put 43 on the Yellow Jackets on Dec. 16.
He is averaging 33.0 over his last eight games, taking his season average to 26.3. His 2,374 career points sits No. 27 on the current AHSAA all-time list.
And he missed five games in the middle of the season with a foot injury..
“I’m feeling pretty good lately, been shooting really well,” he said. “I think it’s been in there the whole time, but once you get a little bit of confidence …
“This is like the most unselfish group of guys I’ve ever played with. In the past I felt mad taking a bunch of shots and nervous if I missed, but they trust me and I trust them. It’s easy to have big games when you have guys around you like that.”
Odam wasn’t the other Piedmont scorer in double figures. Cassius Fairs tossed in 14, 12 in the first half.
The Bulldogs (18-7) took control of this one early. They scored the first 11 points of the game but Odam had only four of them. He had 12 in the second quarter, eight in the third and 18 in the fourth.
He’s averaging 10.0 in the fourth quarter this season, but 15 in the fourth quarter of his last seven games.
“I guess I like the fourth quarter,” he said. “More pressure.”
Piedmont 72, Glencoe 52
PIEDMONT (18-7) – Alex Odam 16 7-11 44, Omarion Foster 2 0-1 4, Gavin Lawler 0 1-2 1, Cassius Fairs 6 0-0 14, Cole Wilson 0 0-0 0, Ridge Fagan 0 0-0 0, Ish Bethel 1 0-0 3, Jake Rhinehart 1 0-0 2, Chance Murphy 1 0-0 2, Coleman Reid 1 0-0 2, Rhett Alford 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 8-14 72.
GLENCOE – Wade Segrest 1 0-0 3, Garrett Morgan 5 1-2 13, Kade Kueny 1 1-2 3, Cameron Atchley 0 0-0 0, Levi Long 1 3-4 5, Braylen Smith 3 0-0 9, Andrew Greene 1 1-3 3, Aiden Cornutt 3 0-0 9, Cooper Horton 1 0-2 2, Luke Ondo 0 1-2 1, Nolan Fairley 1 1-2 4. Totals 17 8-17 52.
Piedmont 16 19 12 25 – 72
Glencoe 10 12 15 15 – 52
3-point goals: Piedmont 8 (Odam 5, Fairs 2, Bethel); Glencoe 10 (Segrest, Morgan 2, Smith 3, Cornutt 3, Fairley). Total fouls: Piedmont 16, Glencoe 9.
SCOTTSBORO 79, OXFORD 60: Tyson Sexton reached the 1,000-point plateau with a 30-point game and the Wildcats came out hot against an Oxford team known for its defense to take control of the game.
The Wildcats hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter on the way to a 28-13 lead. They led by 14 at halftime.
“We did not play well the first half,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “They came out to punch us and we came out and stepped back, and that was the frustrating part.”
Sexton got off to a fast start. The 6-4 junior scored 11 in the first quarter and 17 in the first half.
“He’s a very good player, but we gave him no resistance,” VanMeter said.
But Sexton wasn’t the Wildcats’ only threat. They also got 17 from Blake Jones and 15 from Parker Bell. Oxford was led by Rylan Houck’s 19 and Mike McGraw’s 14.
“We played Scottsboro last year in this same game and it kind of unfolded similar to this one,” VanMeter said. “We won the game last year that way and they won the game this year that way. I hope what they did after that game (last year) we do the same (this year), because they played in the Final Four.”
Scottsboro 79, Oxford 60
OXFORD – Jaylen Alexander 3 0-0 8, Zurrell Garrett 2 0-0 4, Rylan Houck 7 5-6 19, Kyler Wright 3 2-2 9, Aaron McFarland 0 0-0 0, J.D. Jones 1 0-2 2, Mike McGraw 5 3-3 14, Jayden Lewis 1 0-3 2, Ashton Mitchell 1 0-1 2, Christian Gibson 0 0-0 0, Brock Reaves 0 0-0 0, T.J. Allen 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-17 60.
SCOTTSBORO – Cordell Worthy 2 2-2 6, Karsten Wininger 0 0-0 0, Tyson Sexton 12 4-6 30, Parker Bell 6 0-0 15, Ethan Roberts 1 0-0 3, Blake Jones 5 5-8 17, Tyler Shelton 0 1-2 1, Seth Whitmire 0 0-0 0, Kyle Wright 0 1-2 1, Trey Cooper 0 0-0 0, Jameson Gray 2 1-2 6. Totals 28 14-22 79.
Oxford 13 19 16 12 – 60
Scottsboro 28 18 14 19 – 79
3-point goals: Oxford 4 (Alexander 2, Wright, McGraw); Scottsboro 9 (Sexton 2, Bell 3, Roberts, Jones 2, Gray). Technical fouls: VanMeter, Lewis. Fouled out: Lewis, Worthy. Total fouls: Oxford 19, Scottsboro 16. Officials: George, Gifford, Bailey.
CLAY CENTRAL 54, SAKS 30: The Volunteers took control of the game by outscoring their hosts 19-1 in the second quarter. The Wildcats held Clay Central’s two leading scorers, Elisha McNeil and Tanner Higgins, scoreless until late in the second quarter, but Ejay Simmons and Isaiah Denny picked up the slack, scoring 16 of the Vols’ first 17 points, until they got going.
SPRING GARDEN 76, WEAVER 40: Jacob Welsh scored 34 points to lead the Panthers.
Spring Garden 76, Weaver 40
SPRING GARDEN – John Welsh 3 1-2 7, Andrew Floyd 3 0-0 9, Andrew Bates 2 0-0 5, Chapel Pope 2 0-0 4, Chaz Pope 3 1-2 8, Cam Welsh 4 1-2 9, Jacob Welsh 15 4-6 34. Totals 32 7-12 76.
WEAVER – Jeffrey Miles 4 0-0 8, Kohl Perry 5 3-4 14, Elijah Smith 0 0-0 0, Dawson Brooks 4 1-5 9, Buck McGregor 2 0-0 6, Armane Burton 1 0-0 3, Peyton Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-9 40.
Spring Garden 24 19 21 12 – 76
Weaver 8 6 12 14 – 40
3-point goals: Spring Garden 5 (Floyd 3, Bates, Pope); Weaver 4 (Perry, McGregor 2, Burton). Total fouls: Spring Garden 8, Weaver 11.
.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login