A weight lifted
- Updated: January 31, 2023
Tuesday boys roundup: Wellborn uses a big fourth quarter to score its first victory of the season; updates with scores and highlights from games in and around Calhoun County
TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Fort Payne 70, Cherokee County 63
Glencoe 91, Weaver 52
Handley 63, Lanett 50
Jacksonville 76, Plainview 52
Jacksonville Christian 63, ASD 26
Munford at Clay Central
Oxford 51, Villa Rica (Ga.) 48
Pleasant Valley at Ashville
Randolph County at Cleburne County
Saks 48, Donoho 34
Southside 54, Arab 47
Spring Garden 53, Faith Christian 42
Talladega 69, Alexandria 55
Wellborn 53, Woodland 42
White Plains 65, Lincoln 39
Winterboro 55, Shelby County 30
By East Alabama Sports Today
WOODLAND – Wellborn’s struggles on the basketball floor have been so extensive in recent years, first-year head coach Justin Amberson wasn’t sure what the exact number of losses was. And he wasn’t really sure he wanted to know.
Now, he doesn’t have to worry about it.
The Panthers ended several years of frustration and scored their first victory of the season Tuesday night, beating Woodland on its Senior Night, 53-42.
“Aw, man, I love it for the kids,” Amberson said. “You can tell it was such a weight that they had on their shoulders and, man, it was lifted. They did it, they played a four-quarter game, which is what we’ve been trying to get done. We’ve been a little inconsistent, but tonight they did it. It was great.”
The Panthers were 0-16 coming into the game and according to MaxPreps hadn’t won since beating Jacksonville Christian on Jan. 14, 2021 (42 in a row).
Breaking the slide was such a big deal, the players wrote it on the dry erase board before the season. Amberson couldn’t remember what it said and, frankly, “wasn’t obsessed with knowing.”
“It was like one and sixty-something,” he said. “I know it’s been a while.”
The Panthers used a big fourth quarter to end their drought. They hit three 3-pointers in the quarter and outscored the Bobcats 20-10 to pull away from a one-point game.
Ethan Tidwell hit two of the 3s and scored eight points in the quarter. Avery Odom and Jackson Long had five points each.
The players sensed victory was close when Odom made a nifty move around Woodland big man Christian Beam, who had been blocking their shots all night, for a reverse layup and one with about three minutes to play.
“It was like taking their air out,” Amberson said. “That moment, that’s when the weight lifted off the kids.”
Long led the Panthers with 17 points. Tidwell and Raymond Williams had 11 apiece. Woodland’s Beam led all scorers with 25 points.
Amberson figured the Panthers had been in “ four or five” games this year that just didn’t go their way at the end. They lost to Woodland by five back in December.
“It is a lifted weight,” he said. “I think now they can get all the expectations out of their minds and play hard basketball. Too bad it’s late in the season, but at least it’s in the season.
“It was a good feeling for them, but I wanted them to know this needs to be the normal. This is what we want to do. That feeling you feel, we need to feel it a lot.”
The Panthers look to make it two in a row Thursday when they wrapped the regular season against Munford.
WELLBORN – Xavier Parker 0 0-0 0, Avery Odom 3 2-3 8, C.J. Hubbard 0 1-2 1, Ollie Boot 2 0-0 5, Raymond Williams 5 1-2 11, Ethan Tidwell 4 0-0 11, Jackson Long 7 0-0 17, Trey Downs 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-7 53.
WOODLAND – Callen Gay 0 0-0 0, Malakai Drummond 1 0-0 2, Braden Taylor 2 1-3 7, Keyon Moultry 0 0-0 0, Noah Waites 1 0-0 3, Levi Screws 0 1-3 1, Brody Collins 2 0-0 4, Christian Beam 9 7-9 25. Totals 15 9-15 42.
Wellborn 11 13 9 20 – 53
Woodland 11 7 14 10 – 42
3-point goals: Wellborn 7 (Boot, Tidwell 3, Long 3); Woodland 3 (Taylor 2, Waites). Total fouls: Wellborn 11, Woodland 7.
OXFORD 51, VILLA RICA (Ga.) 48: T.J. Allen made one of two free throws to put Oxford up by three, and Jayden Lewis and Cristian Gibson hit free throws down the stretch as the Yellow Jackets beat visiting Villa Rica.
The victory comes on the heels of Oxford’s 54-53 victory over Gadsden City on Friday.
Lewis led Oxford with 16 points, and Jaylen Alexander added 15.
VILLA RICA – Nalley 2 0-0 6, Cooley 3 3-3 9, Dumas 1 1-2 3, Wallace 3 0-0 8, Jordan 2 1-1 6, Shivers 7 2-4 16. Totals 18 7-10 48.
OXFORD – Jaylen Alexander 7 1-1 15, Dashaun Calloway 2 0-0 5, T.J. Allen 2 1-2 7, Jayden Lewis 5 5-7 16, Marcus Perry 1 0-0 3, Cristian Gibson 0 5-6 5. Totals 17 12-16 51.
| Villa Rica | 6 | 7 | 11 | 10 – | 34 |
| Oxford | 14 | 12 | 10 | 15 – | 51 |
3-point goals: Villa Rica 1 (Goad), Oxford 5 (Allen 2, Calloway, Lewis, Perry). Total fouls: Villa Rica 10, Oxford 13. Fouled out: Johnson. Officials: Burroughs, Calkins, Railey.
WHITE PLAINS 65, LINCOLN 39: Carter Johnson and Dylan Barksdale led White Plains with 11 points apiece. Lincoln’s Camare Hampton scored a game-high 19 points.
LINCOLN – Kadarrius Stockdale 1 0-0 2, Camare Hampton 8 3-7 19, Kahlil Smith 1 0-0 2, Brandon Estelle 0 0-1 0, Jaquavious Elston 1 0-1 2, Chad Long 1 0-0 3, Tripp Ward 1 0-0 3, Nicholas Hampton 2 2-2 4, Clenon Groce 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 5-11 39.
WHITE PLAINS – Dylan Barksdale 5 1-2 11, Paul Laube 2 2-4 6, Z.J. Rosario 3 2-4 8, Josh Wheeler 3 2-2 9, Coleman Ray 1 0-0 3, Cam Almon 2 0-0 4, Daniel Williams 1 2-2 4, Luke Bussey 4 0-2 9, Carter Johnson 4 3-5 11. Totals 25 12-21 65.
| Lincoln | 13 | 11 | 10 | 5 – | 39 |
| White Plains | 23 | 8 | 14 | 20 – | 65 |
3-point goals: Lincoln 2 (Long, Ward), White Plains 3 (Ray, Wheeler, Bussey). Total fouls: Lincoln 19, White Plains 13. Fouled out: none. Officials: Kelley, Greg, Jarrett.
SAKS 48, DONOHO 34: Anthony Bothwell led Saks with 17 points, and Christian Smith added 12. Donoho got eight from Drew Williamson and seven from Richard Goad.
DONOHO – Jordan Cameron 2 1-2 5, Isiah Smith 0 4-5 4, Richard Goad 2 2-4 7, Drew Williamson 3 2-3 8, Sean Keel 1 0-0 2, Cash Worley 0 0-2 0, Sam Johnson 3 0-0 6, Bruce Downey 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 9-16 34.
SAKS – Christian Smith 6 0-0 12, Jayveonne Weeks 1 0-0 2, Anthony Bothwell 6 4-6 17, Tae Elston 1 0-0 2, Dee Elston 3 2-2 8, Keondre Johnson 1 0-0 2, Christian Hall 2 1-2 5. Totals 20 7-10 42.
| Donoho | 6 | 7 | 11 | 10 – | 34 |
| Saks | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 – | 48 |
3-point goals: Donoho 1 (Goad), Saks 1 (Bothwell). Total fouls: Donoho 10, Saks 13. Fouled out: Johnson.
GLENCOE 91, WEAVER 52: Glencoe hit eight 3-pointers and raced to a 54-32 halftime lead. Nolan Fairley led the bomb squad with three 2-pointers. Garrett Morgan and Aiden Cornutt hit two apiece.
Tristan Brown and Dawson Brooks led Weaver with 13 points apiece.
GLENCOE – Cooper Horton 4 0-0 8, Garrett Morgan 9 3-8 23, Aiden Cornutt 4 3-3 13, Wade Segrest 2 0-0 4, Braylen Smith 2 1-2 5, Nolan Fairley 3 2-2 11, Andrew Greene 9 0-2 18, Colt Russell 2 0-0 4, Grant Smith 2 0-0 5. Totals 37 9-17 91.
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 4 3-6 13, Harper Williams 3 0-2 6, Keshawn Allen 1 0-0 2, Kaden Gooden 2 0-0 5, Dawson Brooks 4 5-8 13, Jackson Williams 1 0-0 3, Zack Garner 3 0-3 6, Austin Snider 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 8-19 52.
| Glencoe | 28 | 26 | 19 | 18 – | 91 |
| Weaver | 14 | 18 | 9 | 11 – | 52 |
3-point goals: Weaver 4 (Brown 2, Gooden, Williams), Glencoe 8 (Morgan 2, Cornutt 2, Fairley 3, Smith). Total fouls: Weaver 17, Glencoe 17. Fouled out: none. Technical foul: Morgan.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 63, ASD 26: Cam Moses led the Thunder with 15 points to go with three rebound, two assists and two steals, and Braxton Brown added 12 points.
Ethan Fair had 10 steals and six rebounds to go with nine points, and Tyler Doggrell fetched a team-high seven rebounds to go with five assists and six points.
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