Saks runs past Cleburne County
- Updated: December 15, 2015
Boys roundup: Smith has ‘best game so far’ in Wildcats’ area win; J’ville, Lincoln win close ones, Faith streak ends
By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today
HEFLIN – Street ball isn’t a term a team usually likes to be associated with when looking for an identity. The Saks Wildcats, on the other hand, aren’t out to fit a specific mold. They are out to win.
This team fits the idea of fast-paced and high-energy basketball though the Wildcats seem to bust through that stigma with a hands-on platoon approach that is seemingly “appropriate” for this kind of team.
Quin Smith scored a team high 15 points with five rebounds and star Jaylen Britt chimed in with 14 as the Wildcats thumped Cleburne County 66-54 in an area game Monday night. Alphonso Ward had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Saks head coach Jonathan Miller said before the game his team “didn’t score a lot.” But this team was quick, and that has allowed them to be successful.
Smith, Britt and Ward comprise the nucleus of the team that seems to constantly keep fresh legs in the game.
“Those are our main three scorers and we’re still making some poor decisions, but we will get there,” Miller said. “Tonight was the first night Quin got going, and you can tell he was confident out there. I think he played his best game so far tonight.”
Those three and a host of others got into the game and put on a show. The Wildcats constantly passed the ball to their hearts desire and simply got past the Tigers’ defense more times than not.
“We’ve got a deep bench, and we want to use that to our advantage,” said Miller. “We want to keep fresh legs in, and whether that means subbing in five guys at a time or three guys at a time, we want to get the game moving down court a bit. It’s a feel thing.”
There is room for improvement though. The Wildcats were into foul trouble in both halves, but Cleburne County could not take advantage as it missed multiple free throws. The Tigers were 11 of 23 from the line for the game.
Chad Brown was Cleburne County’s leading scorer with 15 points. He also grabbed six rebounds. Noah Ware had 12 points for the Tigers.
Jacksonville 63, Piedmont 59
JACKSONVILLE – Casey Trull scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Golden Eagles won their first full game without scoring sensation Cam Horton.
“He played like a grown man,” Jacksonville coach Ryan Chambless said of Trull, who 8-for-9 from the floor. “Taye (Ackles) came up big in the second half, also.”
Ackles led the Golden Eagles with 20 points. He scored 20 of his 25 Saturday in the second half after Horton left after hitting his head on the floor after a dunk. Horton is expected to be out this entire week.
Darnell Jackson led Piedmont with 18 points. Bayley Blanchard scored 17 and Austin Brazier pulled down 10 rebounds.
Lincoln 40, Leeds 35
LINCOLN – Zay Caldwell scored 11 points and was the only Lincoln player to score in double figures against Leeds’ tight defense.
“We missed a bunch of shots inside, but they played pretty good defense,” Lincoln coach Rush Rutledge said. “It was just one of those nights.”
Ragland 64, Faith Christian 50
RAGLAND — The Lions came out flat, fell behind early and saw their six-game winning streak come to and end. They did get within seven, but never closer because they were forced to foul.
BOYS BOXSCORES
Saks 66, Cleburne County 54
SAKS – Jalen Wynn 2 1-1 5, Demetrius Powell 0 0-0 0, Quay McCord 2 0-0 4, Quin Smith 4 7-9 15, Jaylen Britt 5 1-2 14, Davieuntae Booker 1 0-0 2, Phonso Ward 4 3-6 13, Demario Burnette 2 0-0 4, Trae Hughley 2 0-0 5, Darien Briskey 1 0-0 2, Landun Peters 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 12-18 66.
CLEBURNE COUNTY — Noah Ware 5 0-0 12, Thomas Austin 1 0-0 3, Chad Brown 5 5-8 15, Joshua Brown 0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Blake 4 0-4 9, Brock Swafford 0 0-0 0, Jacob Lee 1 2-4 5, Stashun Henson 0 4-6 4, William Rice 2 0-1 4, John Robinson 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 11-23 54.
Saks 22 17 15 12 — 66
Cleburne County 16 10 13 15 — 54
3-point goals: Saks 6 (Britt 3, Ward 2, Hughley); Cleburne County 4 (Ware 2, Austin, Blake, Lee). Fouled out: Burnette. Total fouls: Saks 20, Cleburne County 18. Officials: Wood, Holmes, Whiteside.
Jacksonville 63, Piedmont 59
PIEDMONT — Darnell Jackson 8-16 1-4 18, Bayley Blanchard 7-13 3-4 17, Taylor Hayes 3-6 5-6 11, Austin Brazier 3-8 2-4 8, Easton Kirk 1-7 0-0 3, Cardavion Myers 1-2 0-0 2, Brett Akin 0-1 0-0 Derreck Baer 0-3 0-0, A.J. Fairs 0-0 0-0 0, Malik Gamble 0-1 0-0 0, Caleb Morrow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 11-18 59.
JACKSONVILLE – Taye Ackles 6-19 4-4 20, Casey Trull 8-9 2-3 18, Rivan Hill 5-16 0-0 11, Alex Gilbert 3-5 0-0 8, Tahj Kirkland 1-2 0-0 2, K.J. Satcher 1-2 0-0 2, Blake Morris 0-0 2-2 2, Will Fuller 0-1 0-0 0, Martavious Long 0-3 0-0 0, Aaron Bragg 0-3 0-0 0, Collin Casey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 8-9 59.
Piedmont 8 21 14 16 — 59
Jacksonville 16 15 12 20 — 63
3-point goals: Piedmont 2-13 (Jackson 1-4, Blanchard 0-1, Hayes 0-1, Kirk 1-4, Baer 0-3); Jacksonville 7-24 (Ackles 4-10, Hill 1-7, Gilbert 2-4, Kirkland 0-1, Bragg 0-2). Rebounds: Piedmont 32 (Brazier 10); Jacksonville 44 (Trull 11). Total fouls: Piedmont 8, Jacksonville 13.
Lincoln 40, Leeds 35
LEEDS — Bretley Buzbee 2 0-0 6, Payten Willliams 0 1-4 1, Josh Dozier 3 0-0 6, Ray Taylor 0 2-4 2, Jeff Nolen 4 6-11 14, Mike Rankins 2 0-0 4. Totals 11 9-19 35.
LINCOLN — Isaac Davis 1 1-2 3, Zay Caldwell 3 2-4 11, Tyler Hemphill 2 4-6 9, Malik Weed 0 0-1 0, Quin Carmichael 1 0-0 2, Dee Whiteside 2 1-2 5, L.J. Carmicnael 3 3-4 9, Brikeal Truss 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 12-21 40
Leeds 5 14 6 10 — 35
Lincoln 6 17 10 7 — 40
3-point goals: Leeds (Buzbee 2); Lincoln 4 (Caldwell 3, Hemphill)
Total fouls: Leeds 20, Lincoln 18
You must be logged in to post a comment Login