County basketball
- Updated: January 17, 2024
Anniston, Oxford, Jacksonville and Piedmont girls through to Calhoun County semifinals. Anniston, Jacksonville will square off in one boys’ semifinal.
Pairings, days, times
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
At Pete Mathews Coliseum
BOYS
Saturday, Jan. 13
No. 11 Faith Christian 71, No. 14 Jacksonville Christian 58
No. 12 Ohatchee 59, No. 13 Wellborn 31
Monday, Jan. 15
No. 7 Weaver 52, No. 10 Pleasant Valley 35
No. 8 Saks 46, No. 9 Donoho 36
No. 6 Piedmont 56, Faith 49
No. 5 White Plains 66, Ohatchee 32
Wednesday, Jan. 17
No. 2 Anniston 95, Weaver 39
No. 3 Jacksonville 63, Piedmont 58
Thursday, Jan. 17
No. 1 Oxford vs. Saks, noon
No. 4 Alexandria vs. White Plains, 1:30 p.m.
Semifinals, Anniston vs. Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m.
Semifinals, 1 vs. 4 bracket, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 19
Championship, 8 p.m.
GIRLS
Saturday Jan. 13
No. 11 Weaver 53, No. 6 Saks 50
Monday, Jan. 15
No. 10 Ohatchee 44, No, 7 White Plains 35
No. 9 Wellborn 64, No. 8 Jacksonville Christian 36
No. 4 Piedmont 48, No. 13 Pleasant Valley 21
No. 5 Alexandria 56, No. 12 Faith Christian 21
Wednesday, Jan. 17
No. 2 Oxford 69, Ohatchee 21
No. 1 Anniston 75, Wellborn 16
No. 3 Jacksonville 57, Weaver 19
Piedmont 60, Alexandria 25
Thursday, Jan. 18
Semifinals, Oxford vs. Jacksonville, 3 p.m.
Semifinals, Anniston vs. Piedmont, 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 19
Championship, 6 p.m.
Game updates
OHATCHEE-OXFORD GIRLS
End 1Q: Ohatchee scores first, but Oxford scores the next 16 and leads 25-8. Xai Whitfield has 11 points and rested the final two minutes of the quarter.
Halftime: Oxford leads Ohatchee 42-10.
End 3Q: Oxford leads Ohatchee 59-18.
Final: Oxford wins, 69-21.
OXFORD 69, OHATCHEE 21: Ava Thomas scored 21 points and Xai Whitfield scored, and two-time defending champion and No. 2 seed Oxford looked the part of a two-time defending champion.
“It took us a while to get going this season, to learn how to play together,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “I think we’re kind of jelling at the right time. We’ve been playing better lately.”
Whitfield scored 11 of her 15 points, including a 3-pointer, in the first quarter and got a lot down time. Thomas scored 15 of her points in the second half, hitting two 3-pointers.
JaMea Gaston added nine points on three three-pointers.
“We just need to keep working,” Thomas said. “Some people don’t think we have the talent we did before, but we just have to show it.”
Kiana Garber led Ohatchee with 11 points, including one 3-pointer, and Payten Walker added seven points.
First-year Ohatchee coach Aaron Jackson said playing Oxford can help the Indians come area tournament.
“Any time you go up against a team like Oxford, we get some good reps,” Jackson said. “They played hard, first whistle to the last.”
WEAVER-ANNISTON BOYS
End 1Q: Anniston scores the first 12 points, leads Weaver 26-9. Isaiah Allen has eight points, including a 3-pointer and a breakaway dunk.
Halftime: Anniston leads Weaver 48-14.
End 3Q: Anniston leads Weaver, 71-31. Allen has 28 points, and his four dunks include an alley-oop.
Final: Anniston rolls, 95-39.
ANNISTON 95, WEAVER 39: Anniston is known for defense this season, but the Bulldogs produced by far their best offensive output of the season against Weaver on Wednesday. Their 95 points bested 77 against Donoho.
It came less than a week after Anniston’s 38-36 loss at White Plains and a 52-47 win at Munford on Saturday.
“We came with the mentality that we have to dominate,” Anniston guard Isaiah Allen said. “We haven’t been dominating some games.”
Allen was the biggest of Anniston’s offensive highlights. His 28 points, all in the first three quarters, included four 3-pointers and four dunks. One of his dunks was an alley-oop off of a pass from Jacorrie Lane.
“They caught me in transition a lot, and that (the alley-oop) was a great pass by Jacorrie,” Allen said.
Anniston also got 18 points from Lane, 1 from Delroy Francis and 11 from Devin Coleman. The Bulldogs hit 10 3-pointers.
“This is the first time in a long time that we actually got out on missed shots, and we ran and got some easy buckets,” Anniston coach Torry Brown said.
KeShawn Allen led Weaver with 13 points.
“When you don’t get any shots up, that really hurts us,” Weaver coach Beau Winn said. “There’s no way around that. Nobody’s at fault. We just need to get shots up when we can.”
WELLBORN-ANNISTON GIRLS
End 1Q: Anniston leads Wellborn, 20-4.
Halftime: Anniston leads Wellborn 44-5. Serena Hardy has 12 points.
End 3Q: Anniston leads Wellborn, 61-14. Tykeria Smith has 16 points.
Final: Anniston wins, 75-16.
ANNISTON 75, WELLBORN 16: Tykeria Smith led the Bulldogs (21-3) with 22 points, and the tourney’s top seed began its quest to regain form after Oxford won the tournament the past two years.
“This is a big game for us,” Smith said. “This is my senior year, so we want to take back what’s hours, the county championship.”
Anniston won five county titles in a row and 21 overall before Oxford won the last two. Oxford is the No. 2 seed.
“We’ve just got to come out and play,” Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “Whether you believe it or not, we’re not the best team in the county. Oxford is. They’re the champs. Until you beat them, they’re the best.
“They’ve been the best for two years. Even though we got the number one seed, until we defeat then, we’re number two.”
Serana Hardy added 14 points for Anniston.
Wellborn, which got its first win in the county tournament since 2018 on Saturday, got six points from Anna Odom.
“They played hard. That’s all I can ask for,” first-year Wellborn coach Ashlon Dempsey said. “We had some good moments, and then we had some moments where we were struggling. They’re a totally different caliber from what we see most times, but we fought to the end.”
PIEDMONT-JACKSONVILLE BOYS
End 1Q: Piedmont, Jacksonville tied 13-13.
Halftime: Jacksonville leads Piedmont, 32-21.
End 3Q: Jacksonville leads Piedmont 44-39. Devin Barksdale leads Jax with 12 points, and Ish Bethel has 17 for Piedmont.
Final: Jacksonville beats Piedmont, 63-58. Barksdale and Aaron Nixon lead Jacksonville with 16 points apiece, and Bethel pours in 25 for Piedmont.
JACKSONVILLE 63, PIEDMONT 58: Jacksonville and Piedmont have played three times this season. Each time, the margin grew closer.
No. 3 Jacksonville made it three wins Wednesday and earned a semifinal shot against No. 2 Anniston on Thursday. Anniston won the only meeting between the two teams this season, 48-46.
“We want to play a lot better than we did last time,” Jacksonville junior guard Devin Barksdale said. “We’re determined as a team, and we’re going to get it done.”
Jacksonville got it done Wednesday thanks to 16 points apiece from Barksdale and Aaron Nixon and 11 from Jaquan Ervin. The Golden Eagles overcame 3-for-18 shooting on 3-pointers
“Hats off to Piedmont,” Jacksonville coach Tres Buzan said. “They played really well. I did not think we played well.
“It’s always hard to beat people three times. We all know that. They played a really good game, and we were fortunate enough to pull it out.”
It was just enough to overcome Ishmael Bethel’s 25-point outburst, which included three dunks.
“Ish is an unreal athlete,” Piedmont coach Matt Glover said. “That was the style. They were in Ish’s face, and he’s athletic enough to go by them.”
Colton Procter added 11 points, and Piedmont came back after Jacksonville outscored the Bulldogs 19-8 in the second quarter to take a 32-21 halftime lead.
“In the second quarter, there was a three-minute stretch where we didn’t play hard,” Glover said. “They got every loose ball, and they got every offensive rebound, and I think that really hurt us.
“The other three quarters, we played pretty good.”
JACKSONVILLE-WEAVER GIRLS
End 1Q: Jacksonville leads Weaver, 12-8.
Halftime: Jacksonville leads Weaver, 23-8.
End 3Q: Jacksonville leads Weaver, 53-9.
Final: Jacksonville wins, 57-19.
JACKSONVILLE 57, WEAVER 19: Halaina Lozano changed her hair color from brown to blond Monday. Based on her performance against Weaver on Wednesday, the blond ambition might become blond superstition.
Lozano’s 3-pointers and floaters accounted for a team-high 17 points, and No. 3 Jacksonville advanced to Thursday’s semifinal against No. 2 seed Oxford.
“Two days ago, I kind of went blond,” she said. “I was like, ‘Let’s try it out. We’ll see.’
“It was nothing to do with this (the tournament), really. I just wanted to change my hairstyle, but honestly, I think it changed my game, too. I’m not going to lie. It was really fun.”
Lozano is one of Jacksonville’s three seniors and a leader, Jacksonville coach Corey Mize said. As for hair color, he said, look good, feel good, shoot good.
“I asked her if she’s going to change it, and she, ‘No, I’ve got to stay blond,'” he said.
Mize praised Lozano’s total game, including the offensive part that was so on point Wednesday.
“She was definitely my most consistent player tonight, offensively and defensively,” he said. “She brings energy.
“Every time she’s on the floor, I can pretty much count on her, defensively, to get after it.”
Defense was a story for Jacksonville on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles held Weaver scoreless in the second quarter, and a free throw apiece from Aaliyah Marks and Erionna Richmond accounted for Weaver’s points in the third.
Richmond’s putback at 7:02 of the fourth marked Weaver’s first field goal since the first quarter.
“When I don’t have my first five on the floor, it really puts us in a bind,” Weaver coach Jamie Burns said. “I really have two true guards, and D.J. (Gibbs) got into some foul trouble, so we had to pull her, and there’s just not a lot we can do. We don’t have a lot of depth.”
Weaver got to the quarterfinals thanks to a victory over Saks on Saturday.
“When we came in at the half, I told them I was proud of them,” Burns said. “They play tough. They play hard.
“It kind of is what it is, but they earned their way to be here tonight.”
PIEDMONT-ALEXANDRIA GIRLS
End 1Q: Piedmont leads Alexandria 12-9.
Halftime: Piedmont leads Alexandria 25-15.
End 3Q: Piedmont leads Alexandria 38-19.
Final: Piedmont beats Alexandria, 60-25.
PIEDMONT 60, ALEXANDRIA 25: Ava Pope led three Piedmont players in double figures with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, and No. 4 Piedmont rolled into Thursday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against top seed Anniston.
Carson Young hit two threes en route to 14 points, and Cayla Brothers added 12 points as the Bulldogs improved to 13-7 while avenging a quarterfinal loss to Alexandria in 2023.
Reaching the county semifinals “is something that we haven’t done, like, any of us,” Brothers said. “It hasn’t been done in a long time.”
Subbing two groups of five freely, Piedmont broke out to 25-15 lead by halftime and kept expanding the lead in the second half.
“To go five in, five out was part of our game plan tonight,” Piedmont coach Shane Morrow said. “Normally, it’s not, but tonight it was just to try to wear them down a little bit.
“I don’t see them as the second group. I see them as one through 10. Any of them at any time can start, and a lot of them have started at different times.”
Allyssa Hunt led Alexandria with 13 points, but Alexandria scored 10 points in the second half.
“We didn’t take advantage of their second group,” Alexandria coach Craig Kiker said. “We should’ve taken advantage, offensively.
“It’s the same old story. We don’t score the ball real well. We play pretty good defense. I was disappointed, defensively, in the second half tonight, but we just didn’t score the ball real well.”
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