Faith strikes back
- Updated: January 16, 2023
‘Family meeting’ helps Lions rebound from Thursday loss to Donoho, beat Falcons to advance to Tuesday quarterfinal against Oxford; Saks, White Plains, Piedmont also advance
Calhoun County Tournament
Boys Games
No. 7 Faith Christian 65, No. 10 Donoho 50
No. 8 Saks 44, No. 9 Weaver 30
No. 6 White Plains 71, No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 45
No. 5 Piedmont 73, No. 13 Pleasant Valley 50
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — Those who don’t think two Class 1A private schools can drum up a hot rivalry just haven’t seen Faith Christian and Donoho play recently.
Thomas Curlee scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, and Faith’s boys rebounded from Thursday’s area loss to Donoho with a 65-50 victory over the Falcons in Monday’s Calhoun County tournament action at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
No 7 seed Faith (15-6) earned a shot at No. 2 Oxford, the county’s only Class 6A school, in Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
“We played them before the year started in a little scrimmage, and they are crazy athletic,” Faith coach Cory Hughes said. “Joel (Van Meter) coaches defense, and I’m super happy to get to play them, because they’re going to press on us like crazy.
“It’s going to squeeze us, and we’re going to see, are we going to make bad decisions like a 1A school, or are we going to make good decisions.”
If that sounds daunting, then check out recent 1A battles between Faith and Donoho. The two teams split in regular-season Area 8 games. Donoho drew blood in the most recent Battle of the Bypass, 66-63, on Thursday.
“On both sides, it’s extremely competitive,” Donoho coach Korielle Beavers said. “You want to win. It’s a rivalry. It’s an area game. We’re just a hill away from each other.”
How much did last week’s loss fuel Faith’s motivation in Monday’s county tourney game?
“I think it was all of it,” Curlee said. “This rivalry, it’s always been big. It’s always been one of the most intense games in the county.
“Whatever that show of trash was Thursday that we showed, we knew we had to turn it around.”
The turnaround didn’t happen in a vacuum. The loss to Donoho (11-7) on Thursday paired with a recent loss to Winterboro in area play, prompting Hughes to call “a family meeting” on Friday.
“There’s always things going on behind the scenes, and that’s the story for us,” he said. “For the last four games we’ve played leading up to this game, we just had chemistry problems, internal team problems that nobody’s known about. What it ends up producing is a lackluster effort, not trusting each other, not really flowing together. …
“After the Donoho game, finally, something clicked with our guys. We decided that we are not this team.”
The Lions talked “very openly” about chemistry and leadership, Hughes said.
“Those guys owned their own, and we got together and made up, and you get a good product when your team trusts each other and plays well together.”
Curlee had plenty of help Monday. Yashua Arevalo hit three 3-pointers en route to 16 points, and Carson Harris brought 11 points off the bench.
That helped Faith overcome 20 points from Drew Williamson, including 14 in the fourth quarter. He poured in 31 points Thursday.
Isaiah Smith added 13 points.
Donoho went without starter Sean Keel because of what Beavers described as seasonal symptoms. Keel sat on the bench, wearing his No. 10 jersey over street clothes.
The competitiveness of Thursday’s game carried through the first half Monday. Donoho led 17-16 on Smith’s transition bucket in the second quarter, but Harris’ 3-pointer gave Faith the lead for good and started a 14-2 run that carried into the third quarter.
Consecutive Curlee buckets made it 37-21, and Faith led 44-27 after the third.
Curlee’s second-half surge after a cold first half came after encouraging words from Hughes at halftime.
“We played a good half, defensively,” Curlee said. “We were getting looks we wanted, but shots weren’t falling. Shots for me weren’t falling, and I was in my own head, shooting shots short.
“Cory came in the locker room and said, ‘We’re all good, and that touch will come in the second half.’”
DONOHO – Jordan Cameron 1 1-2 1, Isaiah Smith 4 4-8 13, Richard Goad 1 4-6 6, Drew Williamson 7 4-4 20, Sam Johnson 2 3-6 7, Hayes Farell 1 0-0 2, James Benkwith 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 17-28 50.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Conner Richerzhagen 1 0-2 3, Tyler Bell 2 0-1 5, Eli Robinson 0 3-4 3, Yashua Arevalo 5 3-6 16, Thomas Curlee 11 3-4 25, Parker Robertson 1 0-0 2, Carson Harris 3 4-5 11. Totals 23 13-22 65.
| Donoho | 11 | 8 | 8 | 23 — | 50 |
| Faith Christian | 15 | 9 | 20 | 21 — | 65 |
3-point goals: Donoho 3 (Smith 1, Williamson 2), Faith Christian 6 (Richerzhagen 1, Bell 1, Arevalo 3, Harris 1); Total fouls: Donoho 23, Faith 19. Officials: Madsen, Williams, Compton.
Wide-eyed Wildcats
Both teams clam up on big stage, but Saks adjusts most to prevail over Weaver
Ninth-seeded Weaver came into its Calhoun County tournament game with No. 8 Saks with three varsity players who had played in Pete Mathews Coliseum. Saks had two.
Weaver coach Beau Winn put it in basketball terms.
“Between me and (Saks coach Jonathan) Miller, we had us a starting five of players who’ve played in ‘The Pete,’” he said.
It showed as the two teams played to a 26-point first half, but Saks found the mark enough to win 44-30
The Wildcats (6-6) earned a shot at top seed and defending Class 4A state champion Jacksonville in Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
“We’ve got to play loose,” Miller said. “We don’t have anything to lose, anyway. Nobody in the world thinks we’re going to win the game tomorrow, so it don’t matter.
“I just want to see our kids play loose, have fun and be aggressive.”
Weaver (8-14) had more going on than big-court jitters. Two of the Bearcats’ best players, Armani Burton and Jeffrey Miles, were absent because of what Winn called an “internal matter” and “coach’s decision.”
As for when they might return, he also termed that “another coach’s decision.”
It meant that sophomore KeShawn Allen and senior Zack Garner played bigger roles. Sophomores Kaden Gooden and Harper Williams “seen more playing time tonight than they have all season,” Winn said.
“They did a good job defensively tonight,” Winn said.
Absences and big eyes led to a low-scoring first half. Weaver led 14-12 at the break.
Saks did the best job of solving it at halftime. The Wildcats outscored Weaver 19-6 in the third quarter to take control.
“We listened to coach, and he told us to keep playing defense and moving our feet,” said senior Keondre Johnson, who scored 10 points.
Miller also told his team to relax.
“I think our kids were a little bit intimidated by the environment, maybe,” he said. “We just looked a a little bit timid, and we just needed to loosen up.
“You can’t play any sport tense and not aggressively, so the message at halftime was for our kids to be aggressive, fire away and not to go out playing two more quarters of timid basketball.”
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 2 2-5 6, KeShawn Allen 2 0-4 4, Brooks Dawson 6 0-2 13, Jackson Williams 1 0-0 3, Zack Garner 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 2-11 30.
SAKS – Jakari Streeter 3 0-3 7, Christian Smith 2 0-0 4, Jay Weeks 2 0-0 4, Anthony Bothwell 0 4-6 4, Dee Elston 4 0-0 8, Keondre Johnson 5 0-1 10, Christian Hall 3 0-0 7. Totals 19 4-10 44.
| Weaver | 3 | 11 | 6 | 10 — | 30 |
| Saks | 6 | 6 | 19 | 13 — | 44 |
3-point goals: Weaver 2 (Jackson 1, Dawson 1), Saks 2 (Streeter 1, Hall 1); Total fouls: Weaver 12, Saks 14. Officials: Larkins, Brown, Boldan.
White Plains rolls
Wheeler’s shooting touch helps Wildcats break free after early shootout with JCA
Josh Wheeler has a distinction in long-time White Plains’ coach Chris Randall’s coaching career.
“Josh is the only kid I’ve ever taken out for not shooting,” Randall said.
No such worries Monday as Wheeler hit three 3-pointers and scored a handful of fastbreak baskets to help sixth seed White Plains separate for a 71-45 victory over No. 11 Jacksonville Christian.
By running its winning streak to four games, White Plains improved to 11-9 and earned a date with No. 3 Alexandria in Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
“I think we’ve got a chance,” Wheeler said. “We’re prepared. If we play like we played in the second half of this game, we’ll be good.”
Randall pulled Wheeler out of a loss to Pell City and wins over Piedmont and Anniston in recent games for not shooting enough. It’s a bit unexpected for the younger brother of recent White Plains graduate Jacob Wheeler, who was known as a 3-point shooter.
“We never took him out for shooting,” Randall said.
One can never assume about siblings.
Josh Wheeler was White Plains’ top scorer last season, but he has a conscience.
“Josh is very unselfish, but there comes a point in time when you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone,” Randall said. “Whether or not you’re making or missing, you’ve got to keep taking those shots we believe you can make, that we get for you when we run our offense.
“It was much better to see him actually take some shots that were contested.”
White Plains and JCA came out firing Monday.
Cam Moses hit four of his five 3-pointers and scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, and the Thunder led 19-16 after one quarter.
White Plains opened the second quarter with one of Wheeler’s threes and tied the game 19-19. It also started White Plains’ 10-0 run and the beginning of a mix of threes and fast-break baskets.
JCA closed the gap back to 28-25 on threes from Moses and Ethan Fair, but White Plains answered with transition buckets from Dylan Barksdale and Wheeler and a Wheeler three on the way to a 35-29 halftime lead.
The Wildcats outscoed JCA 22-8 in the third quarter.
What Wheeler didn’t get from behind the arc, he got on the run, off of long passes from Z.J. Rosario and Luke Bussey.
“They pitched it ahead, and I was open every time,” Wheeler said. “They aren’t very deep, so when we got into their bench, they were a little tired.”
JCA (12-6) reached Monday’s second-round action with a 70-31 victory over Wellborn on Friday.
“I felt like we had a chance to win,” JCA coach Tommy Miller said. “I knew we had to play hard, and we had to be on, and we had to have some things go our way. …
“To finish out this season, we have seven or eight ballgames left and then the area tournament, and we’re going to have to decide whether we’re going to get after it.”
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN – Ethan Fair 4 2-3 13, Tyler Doggrell 2 2-4 6, Noah Lee 1 0-0 3, Jordan Garner 1 0-0 3, Cam Moses 6 3-7 20. Totals 14 7-14 45.
WHITE PLAINS – Dylan Barksdale 3 0-0 6, Paul Laube 2 0-1 4, Z.J. Rosario 5 0-0 10, Josh Wheeler 8 0-0 19, Coleman Ray 1 0-0 3, Cam Almon 0 0-2 0, Daye Diallo 3 0-0 8, Luke Bussey 4 0-0 12, Carter Johnson 4 1-2 9. Totals 30 1-5 71.
| Jacksonville Christian | 19 | 10 | 8 | 8 — | 45 |
| White Plains | 10 | 19 | 22 | 14 — | 71 |
3-point goals: JCA 10 (Moses 5, Fair 3, Lee 1, Garner 1), White Plains 8 (Bussey 4, Wheeler 3, Ray 1); Total fouls: JCA 9, White Plain 16.
Dunkin’ Dogs
Alley-oop highlights Piedmont victory; Bulldogs earn rematch with Anniston
A walking call wiped out Ishmael Bethel’s first dunk Monday, but fate and Rollie Pinto delivered him a second chance.
And Bethel delivered second-chance thunder.
Their alley-oop collaboration with 2:30 to play put the highlight on a big night for fifth-seeded Piedmont as the Bulldogs rolled to a 73-50 victory over No. 13 Pleasant Valley in the Calhoun County tournament.
Piedmont’s 11th victory in 12 games lifted the Bulldogs to 15-3 on the season earned them a rematch with No. 4 Anniston in Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
Anniston beat Piedmont 68-63 earlier this season at Anniston and beat the Bulldogs 74-68 in last year’s quarterfinals.
“Coach (Torry) Brown does a good job with his guys, and they’ll be ready to play like always,” Piedmont coach Jonathan Odam said. “Hopefully, we’ll give them a good game.”
Four-time all-state guard and Jacksonville State University signee Alex Odam led Piedmont with 24 points on his soon-to-be college home court Monday, but he had lots of help. Pinto added 14 points and Bethel added 13.
“The game plan was, Alex could have 35, but the other guys have to do their job,” Pleasant Valley coach Brad Hood said. “I told Jaden (Sparks), our ninth-grader, ‘Look, you held a D-I college basketball prospect to 24, and the other guys didn’t do their job.’”
For all of Alex Odam’s open-court flare with touch passes, runners, driving floaters and pull-up jumpers, Pinto and Bethel came up with the play of the night.
Pinto dribbled the ball down the court as part of a 3-on-none break. He was about to go in for the layup.
“I was going to fast break, and Alex said, ‘Throw it,’” Pinto said. “Ish was wide-eyed. I just put it up and threw it to him. He dunked it, and we were just going crazy.”
Bethel considered it redemption.
“They called me for walking on the first one,” he said. “I had to get another one, and that was another opportunity.”
The dunk was part of a big second half for Piedmont, which led 32-27 at the break.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Jonathan Odam said. “I didn’t know he saw Ish. I think maybe Alex said something, and Rollie ended up throwing it up to him.
“It’s not something we practice, of course. He just went and got it, but it was pretty sweet, though.”
For Pleasant Valley, the loss ended a four-game winning streak while ending the Raiders’ county-tourney stay. They have big possibilities ahead, however. A victory over Ranburne at home on Jan. 27 positions them to play host to the Class 2A, Area 9 tournament.
It would mark Pleasant Valley’s first chance to host an area tournament since 2012, and the Raiders could win their first area title since 2001.
“That’s what we’re working for,” Hood said. “This was a good step, a good challenge for us.”
PLEASANT VALLEY – Jaden Sparks 3 1-2 7, Jesse Gannaway 3 0-0 9, Hunter Sparks 4 1-2 9, Bryce Freeman 1 0-0 2, Kolby Battles 2 1-7 7, Kyle Smith 6 2-2 16. Totals 20 5-13 50.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 11 2-2 24, Rollie Pinto 5 2-2 14, Ishmael Bethel 5 2-3 13, Colton Proctor 1 0-0 2, Luke Rhinehart 4 0-0 9, Chance Murphy 1 2-2 4, Cole Wilson 2 1-3 7. Totals 30 9-15 73.
| Pleasant Valley | 11 | 16 | 8 | 15 — | 50 |
| Piedmont | 17 | 15 | 24 | 17 — | 73 |
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 5 (Gannaway 3, Smith 2), Piedmont 6 (Pinto 2, Bethel 1, Rhinehart 1, Wilson 2); Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 12, Piedmont 14.
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