Jack it up, Jax
- Updated: January 28, 2023
Boys roundup: Ranburne’s Stewart goes for 48 in ‘most important game I’ve ever played,’ bringing the Bulldogs a No. 1 area seed
FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Alexandria 52, Ohatchee 42
Childersburg 64, B.B. Comer 61
Collinsville 68, Gaylesville 54
Dadeville 69, Randolph County 63
Faith Christian 65, Glencoe 63
Handley 44, Anniston 41
Ider at Spring Garden
Jacksonville Christian 47, Wellborn 41
Oxford 54, Gadsden City 53
Piedmont 66, White Plains 64 (OT)
Ranburne 71, Pleasant Valley 63
Saks 56, Weaver 51
Southside at Lincoln
Talladega 53, Munford 34
Winterboro 72, Wadley 61
Woodland at Cleburne County
St. Clair County Tournament
At Moody
Ragland 81, St. Clair County 63
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Jax Stewart had a feeling he was going to have big night. He was convinced of it when he saw teammate Cody Jackson in the layup line.
Stewart was the living definition of unconscious Friday night. He scored Ranburne’s first 15 points of the game, 18 of its first 20, 27 in the first half and 48 total to lead the Bulldogs past Pleasant Valley 71-63 for the top seed in the Class 2A Area 9 tournament.
“This is my first year back playing varsity and I guess this is my first game that really, really mattered,” said the senior, who spent two years off the court to concentrate on family health matters. “It was probably the most important game I’ve ever played and to deliver at a time like this, it feels amazing.
“When we started warming up, I looked at that man over there (Jackson). He was hyping me up and I told him it was going to be at on night and nobody was going to guard me. I was just feeling that good. I never started a game that hot. I came out of the gate feeling it. Usually in warmups I miss most of them, but today I came out there knocking them all. I felt good. It felt like the best start I’ve ever had.”
Stewart’s heat came in waves. He did it from the inside, he did it from the outside. But after scoring 25 of Ranburne’s first 30 points by the middle of the second quarter, he ran into a bit of a cold front. Luckily, he got the engine refired when the Bulldogs needed him most.
With Hunter Sparks (21 points) and Braxton Williams (15) leading the way, the Raiders climbed all the way back from the hole Stewart dug for them and tied the game at 43 on Jaden Sparks’ layup with 2:26 left in the third quarter. That tie seemed to flip the switch in Stewart. He scored 16 of Ranburne’s next 21 points over a six-minute stretch to put his team comfortably back in front.
Then he sealed the win with six free throws over the final 1:18. He would have scored 50 had he made a few more free throws.
“He’s been clutch for us all year,” Ranburne coach Marcus Harrell said. “Any time we’re in a big-time situation you’ve got to call on big-time players and he’s one of them.”
Stewart had 17 points the last time the Bulldogs played the Raiders, but he had 18 in the first quarter Friday. He added nine in the second, seven in the third and 14 in the fourth. He hit six 3-pointers.
There really wasn’t much the Raiders could do. They face-guarded him with no touch, no help and he still went off. The more he scored, the more the full-throated PV student section gave it to him … and he scored some more. It was only fatigue and having his ankle stepped on in traffic that slowed him down during his lull.
“I’ve been coaching for 20 years, I’ve never had a kid score over 35,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “We pretty much sniff it out and let somebody else beat us. I think the most I’ve ever had scored on me was 35, and that was years back. I don’t even know if I’ve seen a 30-point scorer against us.
“Every time we’d make a run and we thought we had a little headway, he would show up and knock down some big shots.”
Whoever won this game was going to get their three-team area’s No. 1 seed. The Raiders came in looking to host the area tournament for the first time in 10 years and reach the subregion tournament for the first time in more than 20 even before playing a tournament game.
They can still fulfill the second part of that equation, they’ll just have to beat Woodland in the area tournament’s elimination game first.
“I guess we want to do it the hard way,” Hood said. “We had an easy path: Sit here, watch Woodland and Ranburne play, then play one of them for the championship and either way it goes we go to the playoffs, something that’s not happened in 20-some years.
“We still have that in front of us, the only difference is we have to play Woodland and the 7-footer (Christian Beam) for the third time and every game has been a battle. They still have the opportunity, just like the girls, but we’re going to have to do it the hard way.”
RANBURNE – Bryce Cash 0 2-2 2, Isaac Walker 1 0-0 3, Tate Bailey 4 0-1 10, Seth McAdams 0 0-0 0, Joshua Ertzberger 2 0-0 4, Jax Stewart 17 8-13 48, Cody Jackson 1 2-4 4. Totals 25 12-10 71.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Jaden Sparks 2 0-0 4, Jesse Gannaway 7 0-0 17, Hunter Sparks 10 1-2 21
Bryce Freeman 0 0 0-0 0, Kolby Battles 0 0-0 0, Braxton Williams 7 1-1 15, Kyle Smith 2 0-2 6. Totals 28 2-5 63.
Ranburne 20 12 21 18 – 71
Pleasant Valley 10 16 21 16 – 63
3-point goals: Ranburne 9 (Bailey 2, Walker, Stewart 6); Pleasant Valley 5 (Gannaway 3, Smith 2). Fouled out: Walker, J. Sparks. Total fouls: Ranburne 10, Pleasant Valley 19, Officials: McCord, Royster, Batey.
SAKS 56, WEAVER 51: Anthony Bothwell hit two 3-pointers en route to 14 points, and Saks held off Weaver in Class 3A, Area 11 action. Keondre Johnson added 12 points.
Weaver’s Tristan Brown led all scorers with 17 points.
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 5 7-8 17, Harper Williams 2 0-0 4, Keshawn Allen 1 4-4 6, Kaden Gooden 4 2-4 10, Dawson Brooks 3 1-4 7, Jackson Williams 2 0-0 4, Zack Garner 1 1-4 3.. Totals 18 15-24 51.
SAKS – Jakari Streeter 3 3-6 9, Christian Smith 4 1-2 9, Anthony Bothwell 4 4-8 14, Tae Elston 1 0-0 3, Dee Elston 2 2-5 6, Keondre Johnson 6 0-0 12, Christian Hall 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 10-21 56.
Weaver 11 17 8 15 – 51
Saks 14 15 12 15 – 56
3-point goals: Weaver 0; Saks 4 (Bothwell 2, T. Elston, Hall). Total fouls: Weaver 18, Saks 14. Fouled out: H. Williams. Officials: Tillary, McCombs, Wright.
TALLADEGA 53, MUNFORD 34: In Class 4A, Area 8 action, Najeh Swain led Talladega with 16 points, and the Tigers got out to a 24-6 lead after the first quarter to overcome a scoreless third. Munford had two points in the third.
Javion White led Munford with 12 points.
TALLADEGA – Najeh Swain 7 1-2 16, Kendric Wilson 1 0-0 3, Jaquintez Garrett 3 0-0 7, Terrance Swain 3 1-4 7, Lecory Wallace 1 0-1 2, Roderick Jones 0 0-2 0, Xavion Millender 2 0-0 5, Patrick Whitson 1 1-1 3, Jaden Curry 4 1-2 10. Totals 22 4-12 53.
MUNFORD – Alex Petty 1 1-2 3, Lathan Stephens 2 1-2 6, B.J. Anderson 2 2-5 6, Austin Wynn 0 2-3 2, Kelby Tucker 2 1-2 5, Javion White 3 3-4 12. Totals 11 10-18 34.
Talladega 24 11 0 13 – 53
Munford 6 12 2 14 – 34
3-point goals: Talladega 5 (N. Swain, Wilson, Garrett, Millender, Curry), Munford 2 (Stephens, White). Total fouls: Munford 13, Talladega 18. Officials: Pruicek, Smith, McClendon.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 47, WELLBORN 41: Ethan Fair ad Braxton Brown scored 16 points apiece to lead JCA, which improved to 14-7. Fair had five rebounds and four assists with two steals. Noah Lee had a team-high eight rebounds to go with six points, and Cam Moses had seven rebounds and six points.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 65, GLENCOE 63: Thomas Curlee turned in 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Faith. Tyler Bell and Eli Robinson had 10 points apiece. Yashua Arevalo pulled down 10 rebounds to go with five points.
There was high drama at the finish. Glencoe had the ball in the final 20 seconds looking for a game-tying 3. The Jackets’ first two shots were contested and missed the ball. With two seconds to go, Garrett Morgan scooped up a loose ball and raced to 3-point line and launched a 3.
Curlee appeared to make a game-saving block, but was called for a foul with three-tenths of a second left. Morgan missed the first shot, made the second, then purposely missed the third in hopes of a rebound, but the ball missed the rim, giving it to Faith out of bounds and the Lions get it in to run out the clock.
Faith shot 50 percent (23-for-46) from the field and held Glencoe to 18-for-51 shooting. Faith also outrebounded Glencoe 33-19.
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