Sacred Heart makes history

Cardinals become smallest school in history to win Calhoun County Tournament title

By Chad Barnett
East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE – Most of them aren’t even old enough to drive, yet they have proven capable of driving the lane. And on this cold January night at Pete Matthews Coliseum, it was their ability to stop the drive that was the difference in crowning youthful Sacred Heart the 2015 Calhoun County Tournament champions.

The Cardinals became the smallest school in tournament history to win the title Saturday when they took down top-seeded Alexandria 59-46. Along the way the Class 1A Cards took out teams from 1A, 6A, 4A and 5A.

“No one believed we could do it,” Sacred Heart coach Ralph Graves shouted in the celebration afterwards. “We believed in ourselves.

“I’m happy for our boys. They believed in what we did and they stuck with it and I’m really proud of them for that. I know with us being a small school that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. 1A, 6A, 7A, it doesn’t matter. We’re the county champions.”

The Cardinals’ defense was the main attraction of the night. After a closely contested first quarter, they took control by holding Alexandria (18-5) coreless for the entire eight minutes. Nothing. Nada. Zero.

“We just knew we had to come out here and get stops to win the game,” said freshman Diante Wood, the tournament’s defensive MVP.

Overall tournament MVP and sophomore D.J. Heath echoed the sentiments.

“We know our shots aren’t going to fall every night,” Heath said. “Coach Graves told us that if we kept defense in the game plan and played a full 32 minutes that we’d bring home the first title for a 1A school.”

The Cardinals (19-8), ranked No. 4 in 1A in this week’s statewide poll, extended their one-point first quarter lead to nine at halftime.

After the break, they continued their defensive prowess going on a 9-0 run to extend a comfortable second-half lead. The Cardinals would pull away to an 18-point lead at one point only to watch Alexandria claw back into the game in the waning moments.

The Valley Cubs’ effort, although impressive, wasn’t enough to overtake a Cardinals squad made up mostly of freshman and sophomores, including the team’s top two playmakers.

“This feeling right now is amazing,” Wood said. “I love my team. I love my school. But all glory goes to God.”

Heath finished with a game-high 24 points; he had 12 in the third quarter and 19 in the second half. Wood finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Alexandria was paced by Luke Tucker’s 16 points.

CALHOUN COUNTY BOYS TOURNAMENT BOX SCORE

Sacred Heart 59, Alexandria 46

SACRED HEART (19-8) – Diante Wood 4 5-6 13, Kavarri Ross 2 0-0 5, Sam Miller 2 0-0 4, Darrin Wood 1 0-0 2, D.J. Heath 9 6-11 25, Kevion Nolan 3 4-4 11. Totals 21 15-21 59.

ALEXANDRIA (18-5) — Chance Williams 0 0-0 0, Austin Wells 0 0-0 0, Nick Porter 2 6-8 10, Alton Davis 1 3-5 5, Tyrelle Gay 1 1-4 3, Ronnie Royal 0 0-0 0, Luke Tucker 7 2-3 16, Dakota Kelley 4 2-4 12. Totals 15 14-24 46.

Sacred Heart 10 8 22 19 — 59
Alexandria 9 0 17 20 — 46

3-point goals: Sacred Heart 2 (Ross, Nolan); Alexandria 2 (Kelley 2). Total fouls: Sacred Heart 16, Alexandria 14. Fouled out: Di. Wood. Officials: Cosby, Tidwell, Chambers.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
(Alphabetical order)

Tray Croft, Anniston; Alton Davis, Alexandria; Marrio Dobbins, Anniston; Murphy Doss, White Plains; Tyrelle Gay, Alexandria; Nathan Gilbert, White Plains; Jerod Guthrie, White Plains; D.J. Heath, Sacred Heart; Cam Horton, Jacksonville; Dakota Kelley, Alexandria; Kevion Nolan, Sacred Heart; Kavarri Ross, Sacred Heart; Sid Thurmond, Jacksonville; Quen Williams, Saks; Diante Wood, Sacred Heart.

Most valuable player: D.J. Heath, Sacred Heart
Outstanding offensive player: Tray Croft, Anniston
Outstanding defensive player: Diante Wood, Sacred Heart

CALHOUN COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
(All games at Pete Mathews Coliseum, Jacksonville)

First-round games
No. 8 Jacksonville 70, No. 9 Jacksonville Christian 38
No. 5 Saks 73, No. 12 Pleasant Valley 20
No. 4 Anniston 74, No. 13 Ohatchee 30
No. 3 Sacred Heart 70, No. 14 Donoho 29
No. 6 Oxford 67, No. 11 Faith Christian 36
No. 10 Piedmont 62, No. 7 Weaver 59
No. 2 White Plains 80, No. 15 Wellborn 70

Second-round games
No. 1 Alexandria 71, Jacksonville 60
Anniston 60, Saks 52
Sacred Heart 55, Oxford 33
White Plains 67, Piedmont 45

Semifinal games
Alexandria 58, Anniston 56
Sacred Heart 71, White Plains 66

Championship game
Sacred Heart 59, Alexandria 46

CALHOUN COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT HISTORY

YEAR CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

1951-52 Oxford 58, Alexandria 54
1952-53 Alexandria 44, Jacksonville 40
1953-54 Alexandria 44, Anniston 37
1954-55 Oxford 56, No. 2 Alexandria 49
1955-56 Oxford 57, No. 2 Anniston 56
1956-57 No. 3 Alexandria 81, No. 2 Jacksonville 66
1957-58 No. 1 Anniston 55, No. 2 Alexandria 53
1958-59 No. 2 Anniston 77, No. 1 Alexandria 66
1959-60 No. 4 Alexandria 46, No. 2 Oxford 39
1960-61 No. 2 Oxford 55, No. 1 Alexandria 54
1961-62 No. 2 Oxford 62, No. 1 Anniston 49
1962-63 No. 1 Oxford 75, Wellborn 48
1963-64 No. 8 Oxford 79, No. 6 White Plains 62
1964-65 No. 1 Alexandria 47, No. 2 Anniston 37
1965-66 No. 3 Piedmont 54, No. 1 Anniston 49
1966-67 No. 6 Jacksonville 66, No. 1 Piedmont 57
1967-68 No. 1 Jacksonville 77, No. 2 Alexandria 72
1968-69 No. 2 Cobb 102, No. 4 Wellborn 57
1969-70 Cobb 69, No. 4 Piedmont 64
1970-71 No. 3 Cobb 85, No. 1 Jacksonville 73
1971-72 No. 1 Anniston 88, No. 2 Cobb 82
1972-73 Cobb 65, No. 1 Anniston 63 (Big Six)
Piedmont 60, Anniston Academy 54 (Little Six)
1973-74 No. 1 Anniston 85, No. 2 Oxford 52 (Big Five)
Piedmont 53, No. 1 White Plains 46 (Little Six)
1974-75 No. 2 Jacksonville 69, No. 1 Oxford 61
1975-76 No. 1 Jacksonville 53, No. 2 Oxford 52
1976-77 No. 1 Oxford 61, No. 2 Jacksonville 59
1977-78 No. 1 Jacksonville 64, Saks 40
1978-79 No. 1 Anniston 67, No. 2 Jacksonville 50
1979-80 No. 1 Anniston 61, No. 3 Jacksonville 55
1980-81 No. 4 Oxford 63, No. 2 Alexandria 61 (OT)
1981-82 No. 2 Anniston 77, No. 1 Alexandria 74
1982-83 No. 4 Oxford 68, Anniston 67
1983-84 No. 2 Wellborn 58, No. 4 Jacksonville 55 (OT)
1984-85 No. 1 Alexandria 75, No. 3 Oxford 61
1985-86 No. 4 Alexandria 64, No. 3 Wellborn 59
1986-87 No. 2 Anniston 100, No. 1 Alexandria 94
1987-88 No. 1 Alexandria 81, No. 3 Saks 72
1988-89 No. 1 Oxford 73, Ohatchee 69
1989-90 No. 1 Oxford 68, No. 2 Anniston 64 (2OT)
1990-91 No. 2 Alexandria 67, No. 4 Jacksonville 62
1991-92 No. 1 Anniston 73, No. 2 Alexandria 69
1992-93 No. 1 Anniston 83, No. 3 Oxford 70
1993-94 No. 4 Anniston 64, No. 2 Oxford 54
1994-95 No. 1 Jacksonville 74, No. 2 Alexandria 72
1995-96 No. 1 Anniston 75, No. 3 Alexandria 66
1996-97 No. 2 Oxford 44, No. 1 Alexandria 42
1997-98 No. 2 Oxford 59, No. 1 Anniston 58
1998-99 No. 2 Alexandria 62, No. 1 Anniston 61
1999-00 No. 1 Anniston 63, No. 3 Alexandria 58
2000-01 No. 1 Anniston 60, No. 2 Alexandria 50
2001-02 No. 3 Anniston 77, No. 1 Oxford 58
2002-03 No. 1 Alexandria 63, No. 2 Anniston 55
2003-04 No. 4 Alexandria 52, No. 3 Oxford 45
2004-05 No. 2 Saks 71, No. 1 Alexandria 54
2005-06 No. 2 Alexandria 66, No. 1 Anniston 61
2006-07 No. 1 Anniston 74, No. 2 Alexandria 60
2007-08 No. 1 Anniston 61, No. 7 Saks 46
2008-09 No. 2 Anniston 77, No. 4 Oxford 62
2009-10 No. 4 Saks 71, No. 2 Oxford 52
2010-11 No. 2 Oxford 42, No. 8 Piedmont 39
2011-12 No. 2 Oxford 42, No. 1 Anniston 39
2012-13 No. 1 Oxford 74, No. 6 Weaver 40
2013-14 No. 2 Anniston 56, No. 4 Sacred Heart 54
2014-15 No. 3 Sacred Heart 59, No. 1 Alexandria 46

Titles won: Anniston 19, Oxford 17, Alexandria 14, Jacksonville 6, Piedmont 3, Cobb 3, Saks 2, Sacred Heart 1, Wellborn 1.

Runner-up finishes: Alexandria 18, Anniston 13, Oxford 11, Jacksonville 8, Piedmont 3, Saks 3, Wellborn 2, White Plains 2, Cobb 1, Donoho 1, Ohatchee 1, Sacred Heart 1, Weaver 1.

Championship game appearances: Anniston 32, Alexandria 32, Oxford 28, Jacksonville 14, Piedmont 6, Saks 5, Cobb 4, Wellborn 3, White Plains 2, Donoho 1, Ohatchee 1, Sacred Heart 2, Weaver 1.

Titles from seeds: No. 1 25, No. 2 18, No. 3 5, No. 4 7, No. 6 1, No. 8 1, NS/NA 9.

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