Lincoln tames Tigers
- Updated: December 4, 2015
Golden Bears use big second half to snap a 37-game losing streak with Talladega; Faith’s Yarbrough gets first coaching victory
By East Alabama Sports Today
LINCOLN — The way history had worked against his team in the series, Rush Rutledge knew it was going to take something special if his Lincoln basketball team was ever going to solve the riddle that was Talladega.
The Golden Bears hadn’t beaten Talladega since some wild last-second shot in 2000 – a 37-game losing streak — but Thursday night they got 24 points from Dee Whiteside, 21 from Zay Caldwell and a big second half to finally cage the Tigers, 85-67.
“We didn’t shoot the ball really well in the first quarter at all,” Rutledge said. “But in the second half we shot the mess out of it, took it to the basket, made shots.
“We just went in and settled down, just played the game. It was like the light just cut on. They just started hitting.”
The Golden Bears (7-1) scored 60 points in the second half as they roared back from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter.
Whiteside scored 16 of his points in the second half. Caldwell scored 12 in the half and Tyler Hemphill hit all three of his 3-pointers and scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
“Hemphill got hot and shot the lights out in the second half,” Rutledge said. “And L.J. and Quin and Dee all played their tails off.
“Quin had like six points, but his defense … both Carmichael boys, really. I’d take what they did defensively than what they might score in points any day.”
Jay Smoot led Talladega with 22 points and seven rebounds. Robert Houston scored eight in the first quarter, but was held scoreless in the second half and finished with 10.
Ashton Duncan scored 11 points but did not play the fourth quarter after a technical foul that ended up creating a seven-point possession for the Golden Bears.
Vestavia Hills 46, Oxford 43
OXFORD – Vestavia Hills hit nine of 12 3-point shots – four in the fourth quarter – but it was a wild, driving layup that gave it the three-point lead and the Yellow Jackets couldn’t buy a 3 when they needed one.
Six different players hit a 3-pointer for the Rebels. Mitchell Langley hit two of his three in the fourth quarter to bring them from 38-35 down to a 41-40 lead with 2:10 to play. Eric McCrory and Corey Milner each hit one earlier in the quarter.
“We should be able to hit those shots; we work for them and we knocked them down,” Rebels coach George Hatchett said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can shoot them.”
The Rebels led by four with 40 seconds left when Jacob Baker buried a 3 falling into the student section to make it 44-43 with 23 seconds to play.
Anthony Lacey couldn’t find an open man against Oxford’s press, so he threw the ball off the back of an Oxford defender, emerged from a wild scrum with the ball and without one shoe, but drove the length of the floor for a layup that made it 46-43 with 18 seconds left.
The Jackets went hunting for overtime, but watched two potential game-tying 3-pointers rattle in and out in the closing seconds.
Oxford’s Jakolbie McClendon led all scorers with 10 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Querriun Mason had nine points and six boards.
Faith Christian 64, Ragland 61
Jordan Griswould had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Caleb McCord capped a 14-point night with two crucial free throws late as the Lions scored their first win of the season and handed Brad Yarbrough his first win as a varsity coach in the process.
Griswould scored 17 points in the first half as the Lions rallied from six down to take a one-point halftime lead.
The Purple Devils cut a five-point Faith lead to one before McCord hit his two free throws to seal it. McCord finished with 13 points. Jameson Adams scored eight of his 12 in the fourth quarter.
“Jordan played great; he set the tempo early with his aggressive play,” Yarbrough said. “Caleb was very good for us as a leader on the court; he got us in the right sets.
“That first win feels good. This is one I’ll always remember.”
Clay Central 73, Jacksonville 59
JACKSONVILLE – Davyn Flenord scored 40 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Volunteers hand the Golden Eagles their first loss of the season.
Flenord was 10 of 14 from the field and hit 18 of 19 free throws. He also had three steals and two assists.
The Vols made more than twice as many free throws as a team than Jacksonville took. They were 25 of 41 from the line, while the Golden Eagles were 9 of 12.
Cam Horton scored 28 for Jacksonville before fouling out.
Anniston 68, St. Clair County 25
The Bulldogs placed four scorers in double figures and held the Fighting Saints to nine points in the second half while having an easy time in their area opener.
Marrio Dobbins and Tray Croft scored 14 apiece to lead the Bulldogs. DeQuan Ross had 13 and Willie Thomas had 10. Ross and Tae Miller each had seven rebounds.
BOYS BOXSCORES
Clay Central 73, Jacksonville 59
CLAY CENTRAL – Davyn Flenord 10-14 18-19 40, T.J. Burns 3-6 1-2 8, Dawson Taylor 3-4 1-4 7, Joc Bullock 2-8 0-2 5, Ben Street 1-5 3-4 5, Dustin Hardy 1-4 1-4 3, D.J. Ford 1-2 1-2 3, Quan McKinney 1-2 0-4 2, Tyler Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 25-41 73
JACKSONVILLE – Cam Horton 10-30 5-7 28, Taye Ackles 3-10 2-2 11, Casey Trull 3-5 2-2 8, Rivan Hill 3-8 0-1 7, Tahj Kirkland 1-2 0-0 3, Martavious Long 1-3 0-0 2, Alex Gilbert 0-4 0-0 0, Will Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, Collin Casey 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Morris 0-0 0-0 0, K.J. Satcher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-62 9-12 59.
Clay Central 20 15 17 21 — 73
Jacksonville 10 18 16 15 — 59
3-point goals: Clay Central 4-17 (Fienord 2-4, Burns 1-3, Taylor 0-1, Bullock 1-6, Hardy 0-2, Ford 0-1); Jacksonville 8-29 (Horton 3-14, Ackles 3-7, Hill 1-6, Kirkland 1-1, Long 0-1). Rebounds: Clay Central 45 (Fienord 11), Jacksonville 34 (Trull 9). Fouled out: Horton, Hill. Total fouls: Clay Central 15, Jacksonville 26.
Vestavia Hills 46, Oxford 43
VESTAVIA HILLS (4-6) — Mitchell Langley 3 0-0 9, Anthony Lacey 2 3-4 8, Scott Morrison 1 0-0 3, Will Macoy 1 1-2 3, Eric McCrory 2 0-0 6, Levi Wiggins 1 0-0 2, Mac Smith 2 0-0 5, William Snell 1 1-2 3, Colby Milner 3 0-0 7. Totals 16 5-8 46.
OXFORD (4-4) – Torry Robertson 3 0-0 6, Jalen Moore 1 0-0 2, Querriun Mason 2 5-7 9, Jakolbie McClendon 5 0-2 10, Jacob Baker 1 2-2 5, Eugene Leonard 1 0-0 2, Braden Jones 4 0-0 8, Zachary Lackey 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 8-13 43.
Vestavia Hills 12 8 9 17 — 46
Oxford 10 10 6 16 — 43
3-point goals: Vestavia Hills 9 (Langley 3, Lacey, Morrison, McCrory 2, Smith, Milner); Oxford 1 (Baker). Fouled out: Robertson. Total fouls: Vestavia Hills 10, Oxford 16. Officials: Mark Jones, Corey Hughes, Bill Young.
Anniston 68, St. Clair County 25
ST. CLAIR COUNTY — Mickens 1 1-2 3, Davis 1 3-4 5, Beatty 1 1-2 3, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Sanders 1 1-1 3, Carter 0 0-0 0, C. Smith 1 3-5 5, Cotton 0 0-0 0, Benefield 1 0-0 2, Holmes 0 0-2 0, Fisher 0 0-0 0, May 1 0-2 2, T. Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 9-18 25.
ANNISTON – Marrio Dobbins 2 4-8 8, Tray Croft 5 2-2 14, Hakeem Ross 5 3-7 14, Davion Tippins 1 0-0 2, Willie Thomas 3 4-4 10, Leonard Brown 0 0-0 0, Terrence Sizemore 1 0-0 0, DeQuan Ross 6 1-2 13, Jarvis Jackson 0 0-0 0, Cordarius Storey 0 0-0 0, Mikhail Smith 0 0-0 0, Christopher Beard 0 0-2 0, Tae Miller 2 0-2 4, Trevonta Carter 0 0-0 0, Tareeq Wood Packer 1 1-2 3. Totals 26 14-27 68.
St. Clair County 9 7 4 5 — 25
Anniston 20 21 20 8 — 68
3-point goals: Anniston 3 (Croft 2, H. Ross). Total fouls: St. Clair County 21, Anniston 17. Officials: Wood, Stringer, Warren.
Faith Christian 64, Ragland 61
RAGLAND — Jordan Killings 8 0-3 20, Coby Fuller 2 0-0 4, Jagger Phillips 3 3-5 10, Stoney Merritt 1 2-2 4, John Brewer 0 1-4 1, Braxton Thomas 7 4-7 19, Dustin Burt 1 0-0 3. Totals 22 10-21 61.
FAITH CHRISTIAN — Caleb McCord 3 6-9 13, Jordan Griswould 6 12-15 25, Jameson Adams 6 0-1 12, David Wall 2 0-0 6, Jack Sills 2 2-4 6, Michael Kulick 0 0-0 0, Alex Taylor 1 0-0 3, Julien Key 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 20-28 64.
Ragland 21 8 18 14 — 61
Faith 15 15 12 22 — 64
3-point goals: 7 (Killings 4, Phillips, Thomas, Burt); Faith 4 (McCord, Wall 2, Taylor). Fouled out: Brewer, Thomas. Total fouls: Ragland 23, Faith 17. Officials: Strott, Davis, Battles.
Lincoln 85, Talladega 67
TALLADEGA — D’Juantae Dickerson 3 3-5 9, Tyrese Scales 4 0-3 8, Jay Smoot 7 6-11 22, Jarvis McKenzie 0 1-4 1, Ashton Duncan 5 0-0 11, Jamontae Twymon 0 0-0 0, Damarco Truss 0 2-4 2, Waderrius Tuck 2 0-1 4, Robert Houston 5 0-2 10, Jaelyn Russ 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 12-30 67.
LINCOLN (7-1) — Zay Caldwell 7 4-6 21, Tyler Hemphill 3 3-4 12, Malik Weed 0 0-0 0, Quin Carmichael 4 0-3 8, Dee Whiteside 8 8-11 24, L.J. Carmichael 6 3-7 15, Donte Rivers 1 1-1 3, Brikeal Truss 1 0-0 2, Savion Woods 0 0-0 0, C.J. Orr 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 19-32 67
Talladega 18 11 15 23 — 67
Lincoln 10 15 25 35 — 85
3-point goals: Talladega 3 (Smoot 2, Duncan); Lincoln 6 (Hemphill 3, Caldwell 3). Technical fouls: Duncan. Fouled out: Tuck, Hemphill, Weed. Total fouls: Talladega 26, Lincoln 24. Officials: R. Burroughs, A. Kelly, S. Watson.
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