JCA wins tourney opener
- Updated: February 2, 2015
Boys roundup: Thunder beats Gaylesville to advance; Jackson leads White Plains
By East Alabama Sports Today
CEDAR BLUFF – Daylon Brackett went for a double-double and guards Reed Murphy and Walker Messer combined for 33 points as Jacksonville Christian beat Gaylesville 83-42 in the Class 1A Area 13 boys play-in game Monday night.
The Thunder plays top-seeded Cedar Bluff at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
“It is good to get to advance with this young group,” JCA coach Tommy Miller said.
Brackett scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and, Miler said, “was the dominant player in the game.” Murphy scored 18 and Messer scored 15. Murphy also had five steals.
The Thunder also got good play off its bench. Elijah McCormack scored eight points, Jimbo Tolbert provided strong defense and senior Spencer Perry gave what Miller called three “solid” minutes after Brackett picked up an early first foul.
“We got a very solid effort out of our team; it was not just one or two individuals,” Miller said.
JCA jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Gaylesville cut it back to 10-8. Brackett got going in the second quarter and helped the Thunder open a 12-point halftime lead. They stretched it to 26 after three quarters.
“The first four or five minutes Daylon didn’t play well,” Miller said, “but after he got on track he controlled the boards. He really was the dominant player tonight after he got on track.”
White Plains 73, Ranburne 40
RANBURNE – Lawrence Jackson got to the basket and converted four and-ones on the way to a season-high 16 points.
The junior had two three-point plays in the second quarter as the seventh-ranked Wildcats opened a 36-13 lead and two in the third as they stretched it to 59-33.
“Lawrence was really explosive and active getting to the basket,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “He got going as a result of our defense. We were able to turn them over and it allowed us to get out in transition and play fast.”
Jerod Guthrie led the Wildcats with 21 points that included five 3-pointers. Michael McGuirk (14) and Nathan Gilbert (10) also scored in double figures.
It was their final game before facing Jacksonville in their Class 4A Area 11 tournament opener.
White Plains 73, Ranburne 40
WHITE PLAINS — Jerod Guthrie 8 0-0 21, Dillon Greenwood 1 1-2 3, Kolby Burgess 1 0-0 2, Kevin Carr 0 1-2 1, Eli Hightower 0 0-0 0, Michael McGuirk 5 2-3 14, Jackson Guthrie 1 0-0 2, Quez Wyatt 0 0-0 0, Lawrence Jackson 5 6-7 16, Nathan Gilbert 5 0-1 10, Murphy Doss 2 0-0 4. Totals 28 10-15 73.
RANBURNE — Ted Smith 1 0-0 2, Levi Gosdin 1 0-1 2, Kyle Lovvorn 4 2-3 13, Brayden Wilson 5 3-4 13, Dylan Wiggins 1 0-3 2, Jared Brown 0 0-1 0, Tristen Hartley 1 0-0 2, Logan Sibley 0 0-0 0, Spencer Florczak 0 1-2 1, Trenton Williams 0 0-0 0, Blake Young 1 3-4 5. Totals 14 9-18 40.
White Plains 14 22 23 14 — 73
Ranburne 6 7 20 7 — 40
3-point goals: White Plains 7 (Je. Guthrie 5, McGuirk 2); Ranburne 3 (Lovvorn 3). Total fouls: White Plains 18, Ranburne 12.
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