Defense never rests
- Updated: February 8, 2023
Faith Christian back to ‘playing as one’ after midseason swoon, turns to defense to turn back Donoho in area tournament
CLASS 1A AREA 8 TOURNAMENT
Girls games
Wadley 63, Faith Christian 27
Winterboro 75, ASD 16
Boys games
Faith Christian 59, Donoho 43
Winterboro 51, Wadley 48
Thursday’s games
Girls Championship: Wadley vs. Winterboro, 5 p.m.
Boys Championship: Faith Christian vs. Winterboro, 6:30 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
WINTERBORO – All the people who might have questioned why Faith Christian coach Cory Hughes put his Class 1A team through the demanding schedule it played this season got their answer Tuesday afternoon.
It was all about toughening up for the grind going forward that is post-season play.
The Lions put their defensive foot forward in the semifinals of the 1A Area 8 tournament and held shorthanded neighborhood rival Donoho without a field nearly the entire second quarter on the way to a 59-43 victory.
They’ll play top-seeded Winterboro for the area championship here Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Regardless of the outcome, both teams are guaranteed a spot in the subregion round against either Ragland or Appalachian (Area 10).
“That’s one of the reasons we scheduled the people we scheduled late in the season,” Hughes said. “We’re a defensive-first team, so defense is a priority for us. We came out defensively and did what we needed to do.
“We did what we practiced. We practiced defense all day the past few days, played really good defense against White Plains Friday night, so defensively I’m just really proud of us. People ask why are you playing full-court defense on 5A teams, 6A teams. Well, we got to get better.”
The Lions’ gauntlet included Fort Payne, White Plains, Oxford and Jasper. They didn’t win any of those games, and lost badly in some, but in the long run it made them tougher.
“When we played Jasper, they played very similar to us, they’re defense first,” Thomas Curlee said. “It was teams like that who were bigger and better than you in all facets of the game, it helps us a lot.
“We could have scheduled an all-1A schedule, a couple of bad 3A teams, that’s not going to help us get better, that’s not going to help us for these moments coming up to the end of the season.”
Curlee hit the first two baskets of the game and the Lions never trailed in a game that could have ended their season. They held the Falcons to nine points until the final minute of the second quarter and didn’t allow a field goal in the quarter until Cash Worley’s putback with 3.5 seconds left in the half. It was more of the same in the third quarter.
Curlee finished with a game-high 28 points. Conner Richerzhagen scored a career-high 17 and kept the offense running smoothly. And Yashi Arevalo scored 10 points and was a terror blocking shots and rebounding.
“Our guys are really playing as one right now,” Hughes said. “We’re all positive and I love it. We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, so if our shot starts dropping we’ll make some real trouble for teams.”
“We had those issues in the last couple weeks, kind of like it was before the county tournament, when we had that ‘family meeting’,” Curlee said. “We didn’t have any meeting like that, but we were emphasizing in practice the little things – play defense the right way, be aggressive, get good shots, simply playing our game, the game we’re used to playing. There’s nothing we’ve changed with our philosophy. We’re still playing the same, hard-nosed, 110-percent effort basketball and we’re finally turning around.”
Donoho was without suspended starters Jordan Cameron and Sam Johnson, but coach Korielle Beavers was hoping the Falcons could overcome their absences with a stronger mental approach. Drew Williamson was their leading scorer with 19 points, 12 in the fourth quarter to cut into the Falcons’ big lead.
“It wasn’t facing them with what we were facing, it was just seeing a mentality out there you’ve got to change,” Beavers said. “I know it’s a lot to take in losing two starters like that, but you still want to see a little bit more out of them.”
DONOHO – Isaiah Smith 0 2-4 2, Rich Goad 3 0-0 6, Drew Williamson 7 4-8 19, Sean Keel 0 1-2 1, Cash Worley 1 0-1 2, Hayes Farrell 2 0-0 4, Bruce Downey 3 1-2 8, James Benkwith 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 9-19 43.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Conner Richerzhagen 7 0-0 17, Tyler Bell 1 0-0 2, Eli Robinson 1 0-0 2, Yoshua Arevalo 4 2-3 10, Thomas Curlee 13 1-2 28, Parker Robertson 0 0-0 0, Will Smith 0 0-2 0, Carson Limbaugh 0 0-0 0, Kolton Eubanks 0 0-0 0, Tony Ricard 0 0-0 0, Joseph Carroll 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 3-7 59.
Donoho 8 5 9 21 – 43
Faith Christian 15 15 19 10 – 59
3-point goals: Donoho 2 (Williamson, Downey); Faith 4 (Richerzhagen 3, Curlee). Technical fouls: Faith coach Hughes, Bell. Fouled out: Bell, Robinson. Total fouls: Donoho 13, Faith Christian 18, Officials: Caldwell, Simpson, Johns.
GIRLS GAME
WADLEY 63, FAITH CHRISTIAN 27: A tough season ended in a tough game for the shorthanded Lady Lions in the area tournament.
Wadley put three scorers in double figures and held Faith to single digits in each of the four quarters. The Lady Lions had only six players, but they battled all the way to the finish.
“The first half we started a little slow,” Faith coach LaRay Williams said. “I told them at halftime I just want to see effort and your heart. Show me those things, I’m good, and I felt like they gave me that. I feel like they didn’t quit on me, so it’s something to build on for next season.”
Serenity Pace led Faith with eight points. All six Faith players scored, including senior Maya Montgomery, who scored her first field goal of the season with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
“It’s real tough playing with six, but with those six, as long as they give me everything they’ve got when they step on this floor I’m not going to complain about it,” Williams said. “We’ve got to continue to get better, take it into the offseason, continue to grow as a team and we’ll be back.”
Shakerriunna Wilkes, Amya Brown and Celest Angel had 21, 20 and 19, respectively, for the Lady Bulldogs.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Anna Kate Robertson 1 0-4 3, Serenity Pate 4 0-0 8, Emma Shew 2 1-2 6, Cheyenne Rice 1 0-0 2, Joelle Tillery 2 1-2 6, Maya Montgomery 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 2-8 27.
WADLEY – Celest Angel 8 0-0 19, Shakerriunna Wilkes 9 1-2 21, Nevaeh Vigh 0 3-4 3, Bentley Mulkey 0 0-2 0, Vdazjia Cox 0 0-0 0, Madilyn Robertson 0 0-0 0, Payton Calhoun 0 0-0 0, Jamaya Thomas 0 0-0 0, Ella Towler 0 0-0 0, Kaleah Sheppard 0 0-0 0, Amya Brown 5 10-13 20. Totals 22 14-19 63.
Faith Christian 5 9 5 8 – 27
Wadley 20 9 12 22 – 63
3-point goals: Faith 3 (Tillery, Robertson, Shew); Wadley 5 (Angel 3, Wilkes 2). Total fouls: Faith 13, Wadley 13. Officials: Smith, Ware, James.
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