Jackets give Carrollton trouble

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: January 31, 2015

Both Oxford teams battle Trojans into fourth quarter before falling

By East Alabama Sports Today

OXFORD — Cooper Criswell nailed a 3-pointer from the top of circle with two and a half minutes to go to help Carrollton, the No. 3 ranked team in Georgia, come from behind and defeat Oxford 51-44 Saturday.

For the Yellow Jackets it was another close game against a ranked team. In the course of 20 hours, they played teams with a combined record of 47-4 and with five minutes left were leading one game and were down by only five in the other.

”I told (Carrollton) Coach (Tim) Criswell that we could have tanked this game,” Oxford coach Joel Van Meter said. “We are a nine-win team coming off a tough late-night game the night before, a quick turnaround, a slim afternoon crowd and everything all set for next week’s area championship, but we did not do that.”

Oxford shocked the Trojans (21-2) in the first quarter with a suffocating defense and kept the ball away from 6-foot-7, 275-pound center Montae Glenn. Sophomore Querriun Mason and senior Kaleb Kidd had four points apiece to help the Yellow Jackets to a 12-4 lead.

The Trojans regained control in the second quarter as they were feeding Glenn and 6-5 Desmond Webb down low. Glenn and Webb combined for 17 points to push the Trojans up by seven at halftime, 27-20.

Mason and sophomore Jakolbie McClendon got hot in the third quarter and Oxford took the game to the Trojans, cutting the deficit to 37-33 after three quarters.

Mason scored seven straight Oxford points and the Jackets retook the lead twice in the fourth quarter.

Criswell, the coach’s son, drilled the 3 to put the Trojans up 45-42 with 2:38 to go. They were his only points of the night.

The Jackets had three steals in the last two minutes and missed a layup and three good looks at a 3 in the final minute. The Trojans made four free throws to ice the game.

Glenn finished with 24 points for the Trojans. Mason led Oxford with 19 points, McClendon had 11 and Kidd had 10.

The Jacket defense held the Trojans well below their season average in scoring.

“Our guards were very active,” Van Meter said. “Jalen Moore did a great job defensively. Our guys have a greater understanding of our zone now and can cover a lot more ground. I thought the difference was our movement that covered the space we needed to cover their big space-eater down low and we did a great job against him.”

Carrollton 66, Oxford girls 49

Emily Waters scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in a stretch across the third and fourth quarters and the Lady Trojans (23-4) scored 15 straight points early in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game.

Earlier this year Carrolton beat the Lady Jackets 62-16, but an Oxford team that has no seniors showed how much it has improved over the course of the year. They also played without starting center Jordan Smith, who suffered a high ankle sprain Friday night against Talladega and would have challenged Waters.

“I hope to be back maybe in a week,” Smith said. The Jackets are guaranteed a spot in the state subregionals after winning a coin-toss to claim the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in their three-team area tournament.

The Jackets (11-13) led in the first quarter after falling behind 9-3.

Carrollton, with four players over six feet, had a huge edge on the boards but Ebony Kelley fought her way through for nine reports and 13 points despite sitting out most of the second quarter with foul trouble.

“She worked hard down inside tonight,” Oxford coach Tonya Peoples said. “She competed very well physically as she always does.”

Alexus Davis and Winter Taylor led a 12-4 run in the second half that cut Carrollton’s lead to six at 42-36 late in the third quarter. The Trojans were up 47-38 when they broke off the 15-0 run to break it open. Freshman Tremeria Britt and Kelly led a 6-0 run to help the Jackets narrow the margin in the fourth quarter.

“I was proud of the way our kids competed against this kind of a team,” Peoples said. “We did not give up and we got up and down the court very well against them.”

BOYS BOX SCORE

Carrollton (Ga.) 51, Oxford 44

CARROLLTON (21-2) — Donate Bonner 0 2-2 2, Cooper Criswell 1 0-0 3, T.J. Cochran 2 1-1 7, Jarrell Rowe 3 2-3 8, Desmond Webb 3 0-1 7, Montae Glenn 7 10-12 24. Totals 16 15-19 51.

OXFORD — Kaleb Kidd 4 2-3 10, Jalen Moore 0 0-0 0, Querriun Mason 8 2-2 19, Jakolbie McClendon 5 0-0 11, Jacob Baker 0 0-0 0, Torry Robertson 1 0-0 3, Daunte Lauderdale 0 1-2 1, Zachary Lackey 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 5-7 44.

Carrollton 6 21 10 14 — 51
Oxford 12 8 13 11 — 44

3-point goals: Carrollton 4 (Criswell, Cochran 2, Webb); Oxford 3 (Mason, McClendon, Robertson). Total fouls: Carrollton 6, Oxford 15. Officials: Killingsworth, Davis, Tidwell.

GIRLS BOX SCORE

Carrollton (Ga.) 66, Oxford 49

CARROLLTON (23-4) — Malariah Ransom 0 0-0 0, Adasha Hendrix 0 0-0 0, Alecia North 6 1-1 14, Cami Melson 2 0-0 6, Terran North 0 0-0 0, Ansley Barge 0 3-8 3, Jasmine Gamble 4 2-3 10, Kim McKinney 1 0-0 2, Emily Waters 10 1-1 21, Erial Daniel 5 0-0 10. Totals 28 7-13 66.

OXFORD (11-13) — Anna Bolton 0-1 0-0 0, Makala Kidd 0-2 0-0 0, Winter Taylor 5-21 5-8 17, Makala Lowery 0-1 0-0 0, Tremeria Britt 5-10 2-2 15, Ebony Kelley 5-9 3-7 13, Alex Gomez 0-2 0-0 0, Alexis Davis 2-6 0-0 4, Grace Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 17-53 10-17 49.

Carrollton 20 9 24 13 — 66
Oxford 14 5 19 11 — 49

3-point goals: Carrollton 3 (North, Melson 2); Oxford 5-13 (Kidd 0-1, Taylor 2-6, Lowery 0-1, Britt 3-4, Gomez 0-1). Total fouls: Carrollton 13, Oxford 11. Officials: Pratt, Tidwell, Davis.

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