‘Born to score’
- Updated: February 20, 2025
Barksdale comes up biggest late to spark Gadsden City comeback, and Titans down Oxford 54-52 to clinch Final Four berth.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — A sign in Gadsden City High School’s student section Thursday touted Devin Barksdale “born to score.”
The former Jacksonville High standout scored a game-high 23 points, including several big shots as Gadsden City erased an eight-point deficit in the final three minutes, and the Titans stunned Oxford 54-52 in the Northeast Regional final in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The victory clinched a Final Four spot for Gadsden City (22-11), which will play Paul W. Bryant on Feb. 26 at 1:30 p.m. in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena.
Despite 14-point performances from Jaylen Alexander and Jayden Lewis, Oxford (24-7) suffered another disappointment in the Northeast Regional, just missing their first modern-era Final Four berth.
The AHSAA went to the regional format starting in 1994. Oxford’s boys just finished their 12th Northeast Regional appearance and played in their fifth regional final.
Gadsden City’s, which opened in 2006, will make its first Final Four appearance after coming up short in eight previous tries at the Northeast Regional. Second-year Gadsden City coach Ralpheal Graves, an Anniston High graduate, will make his seventh Final Four appearance with his second team,
Graves coached the late Sacred Heart to six Final Fours between 2014-19. The Cardinals won four consecutive Class 1A state titles and finished as runner up in 2019.
Graves’ final Sacred Heart team lost in the Class 2A regional final to LaFayette, in 2020. Sacred Heart dropped sports and eventually closed.
Graves coached a year at Mae Jemison then took two years off from coaching before resurfacing at Gadsden City before the 2023–24 season.
“I woke up this morning about 4 o’clock, not much sleep,” Graves said. “It’s been haunting me.
“The last few times I was coaching in the regionals and lost in a regional game, so it’s like the pressure is on you. I was like, ‘Man, we’ve got to get it done,’ and everybody wants to see you get it done. When I was getting hired at Gadsden City, there was this expectation. He did it in 1A. Can he do it in 6A?”
Barksdale, who helped Jacksonville win Class 4A state titles in 2022 and 2023 and transferred before this season, finished as the tournament’s most valuable player.
“I’m just thankful, and all glory goes to God,” he said. “I can’t even explain, for real. I’m just happy.”
Barksdale hit three 3-pointers between the 2:25 and 0:57 marks of the fourth quarter and hit two free throws with 18 seconds left to spearhead Gadsden City’s comeback from a 49-41 deficit in the final 3:17.
“I thought the roof was going to come off of the place, even the one he missed,” Graves said. “That spurt ability that he had right there, that’s what you’ve got to have if you want to advance at this time of the year.
“When he was taking those shots, at first, I was like, ‘Man, Devin is going to shoot us out of the game.’ Then, all of a sudden, that little run/spurt came there, and I was like, ‘Nah, those actually the shots he likes to make. He made them, and I’m just thankful he had the courage to take them.”
Barksdale had 11 of Gadsden City’s points in a 13-0 run to take a 54-49 lead.
“In the third quarter, I had eight points for a while, looking up on the scoreboard,” he said. “I just couldn’t get on the board.
“I picked at myself, that I really wasn’t locked in, and then I was just like, ‘All right, this could be my last game. Something is going to have to shake.’ I just boosted my own confidence. I don’t know how.”
Barksdale was a freshman and sophomore point guard on Jacksonville’s state-title teams. He played a key role off of the bench as a freshman, scoring 10 points in the state final, and was a starter surrounded by four seniors as a sophomore.
He stayed at Jacksonville through his junior season, but the Golden Eagles lost to DAR in the subregional round. In transferring to Gadsden City, he played for Graves, his God father.
“I’ve been watching Devin since he was a little boy,” Graves said. “When he was on his state-championship teams, I was there and watched every game. His role was valuable, but he wasn’t in the leadership role.
“When he came to Gadsden City, you can’t hang around the back of the line in practice. You can’t walk into practice late. You’ve got to be the one to stay after. You have to be the one, when everybody’s down, emotionally down, understanding what’s going on. You’ve been there before. They depending on you to lead them.”
Oxford’s Marcus Perry Jr. hit a 3-pointer as time expired to account for the final margin and finish with 10 points.
Oxford outshot Gadsden City 45.2 percent (19-for-42) to 37.3 percent (19-for-51) and outrebounded Gadsden City 43-22, but the Yellow Jackets committed 21 turnovers to Gadsden City’s seven.
Graves said he set at least 20 turnovers as a goal, and the Titans outscored Oxford 18-11 on points off of turnovers.
Oxford had four turnovers during Gadsden City’s 13-0 run.
“In some situations, I don’t know that maybe we were playing too fast, but they just kind of sped us up a little bit,” Oxford coach Joel Van Meter said. “A couple of turnovers here and there, and when you’ve got guys that can make huge shots like that, no lead is ever safe.”
It was a cruel ending for what many considered to be Oxford’s best team in years. The Yellow Jackets will lose three seniors, including Lewis and backup center Anthony Bush. Senior guard Dashaun Calloway missed most of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.
Alexander and Jaylin Taylor are juniors. Jaylin Taylor and Chris Latson sophomores.
“I feel like this is the best thing I could’ve ever done, being here and being a part of this team,” Alexander said. “We’re so connected. We faced so many ups and downs. We fought tooth and nail … . This has been great.”
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