E.A. Sports Today

Britt blisters Bulldogs

Boys roundup: Saks senior has big second half against Piedmont; J’ville, JCA fall, Lincoln, Talladega win

By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today

PIEDMONT — Nothing was going to spoil Piedmont’s state championship celebration as the football festivities of earlier in the day rolled over into the basketball gym Tuesday evening.

Then Jaylen Britt showed up.

The Saks senior had a career night, scoring 35 points with 23 coming in the second half. His performance sparked a comeback in the third quarter that was like something out of a video game and it lifted the Wildcats to a 75-66 victory.

“Coach told me to step up and be a leader in the second half,” Britt said. “Tonight I did that.”

Saks trailed by five at halftime, but came back behind Britt to score 47 points in the second half. The game stayed close until the fourth quarter when Saks’ speed and Piedmont’s foul trouble allowed Britt and the Wildcats to seal the deal.

The Wildcats were 26 of 41 at the line over the game and in addition to his hot hand from the field Britt was 8 of 9 at the line in the second half.

“He had that fire in his eyes and carried us tonight,” Saks coach Jonathan Miller said. “We battled a lot of adversity with foul trouble, but overall it’s a very good team win.”

The Jaylen Britt Show was the key to the Wildcats’ offense, but he had help from a familiar cast of characters around him. Quin Smith had eight points and four rebounds, while Demetrius Powell had 12 points and five rebounds. All this, together with unstoppable speed and stellar defense, really changed the momentum in this game between the halves.

“Sometimes it is tough playing the style we play,” Miller said. “Having back to back night games means sometimes you have to get into them a little bit, but they responded well and really battled back in the second half. We really got it rolling.”

Piedmont had its share of good play in the first half and part of the second. Multi-sport star Taylor Hayes had 17 points with five rebounds; he was 11 of 14 from the foul line. Easton Kirk had 10 points with 4 rebounds.

Britt seemed to really come alive after leaving the game briefly with 2:59 left in the second quarter.

“I felt really comfortable playing here tonight,” he said. “Last night there were more people at Heflin than tonight and that made me feel a lot better.”

Whether the crowd was a factor or not was uncertain. What is evident though is that this Saks team hinges on the play of its main scorers, and if it can continue on its current pace it has a chance to do something special. Speed and strong defense are the name of the game with this Wildcats team.
“If we play like we did tonight, we can make a really good run this season,” Britt said. “If I have to work on one thing it is to be a leader. Tonight I played like a leader.”

Etowah 68, Jacksonville 38

ATTALLA – Jacksonville had one of those games where it struggled offensively without Cam Horton in the lineup.

The Golden Eagles shot only 27 percent from the field in the game and were 0 for 18 from 3-point range.

Taye Ackles continued to take over the scoring role as the Golden Eagles wait for Horton to return from his week-long evaluation following a hard fall in last week’s TV24 Holiday Showcase at Jacksonville State. Ackles scored 13 points, but was the only Jacksonville player to score in double figures.

The Golden Eagles didn’t have Casey Trull either. Trull had 18 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s area win at Cleburne County. All 14 players who got in the game for Etowah scored at least two points.

Spring Garden 71, JCA 55

SPRING GARDEN – Draevan Bowman scored 23 points, Dylan Rogers added 21 and together they combined for 25 points in the second half to lead the Panthers.

Bowman had 11 in the fourth quarter and 14 in the second half. He hit three 3s in the second quarter.

Antwon Fegans led JCA with 16 points, with half coming in the fourth quarter. Reed Murphy had seven of his 11 in the first quarter as the Thunder opened a 13-5 lead.

Lincoln 79, St. Clair County 56

LINCOLN – The Golden Bears played one of their best games of the season, putting four players in double figures and playing tight defense.

Dee Whiteside led a balanced offensive attack with 24 points, including eight on thunderous dunks. Quin Carmichael had 18, L.J. Carmichael 12 and Tyler Hemphill 12.

“We played great defense tonight and moved the ball well on offense,” Lincoln coach Rush Rutledge said. “We were a little more focused at the beginning of the game and I think that was the difference tonight. We also played a little more team basketball.”

Kimo Davis led St. Clair County with 22 points, hitting five of the Saints’ eight 3-pointers.

Talladega 86, Clay Central 82

TALLADEGA – Ashton Duncan scored 24 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and combined with Fred Dickerson for 21 in a high-scoring fourth quarter.

Duncan was among four Tigers to score in double figures. Dickerson had 13, Jay Smoot had 15 and Robert Houston had 12. Smooth had nine rebounds, Houston had seven rebounds and Dickerson had five assists. Waderrius Tuck had nine points and eight rebounds.

Davyn Flenord had 24 to lead the Volunteers, 21 in the first half. Dustin Hardy had 19, on the strength of five 3-pointers (all in the fourth quarter), and Joe Bullock had 18.

The Tigers, who had been struggling at the foul line of late, were 21 of 29 in the game. Dickerson was 7 for 7.

BOYS BOXSCORES

Saks 75, Piedmont 66

SAKS – Jalen Wynn 0 4-4 4, Demetrius Powell 4 4-6 12, Quay McCord 0 0-0 0, Quin Smith 2 3-6 8, Jaylen Britt 10 10-13 35, Davieutae Booker 1 1-2 4, Alphonso Ware 2 3-5 7, Demario Burnette 1 1-2 3, Trae Hughley 1 0-0 2, Darien Briskey 0 0-3 0, Landun Peters 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 26-41 75.

PIEDMONT — A.J. Fairs 0 1-2 1, Darnell Jackson 3 3-6 9, Taylor Hayes 3 11-14 17, Brett Akin 0 2-2 2, Easton Kirk 3 2-3 10, Cardavion Myers 2 2-6 6, Malik Gamble 3 2-4 9, Bayley Blanchard 1 1-2 4, Austin Brazier 2 0-0 5, Justin Young 0 0-0 0, Derreck Baer 1 1-2 3, Caleb Morrow 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 25-41 66.

Saks 12 16 25 22 — 75
Piedmont 15 18 17 16 — 66

3-point goals: Saks 7 (Britt 5, Smith, Booker); Piedmont 5 (Kirk 2, Gamble, Blanchard, Brazier). Technical fouls: Blanchard, Smith. Fouled out: Jackson, Hayes, Blanchard, Brazier, McCord, Smith. Total fouls: Saks 30, Piedmont 33. Officials: Killingsworth, Davis, Chambers.

Etowah 68, Jacksonville 38

JACKSONVILLE – Taye Ackles 6-20 1-2 13, Rivan Hill 4-11 0-0 8, K.J. Satcher 2-3 0-2 4, Martavious Long 1-2 2-2 4, Terry Thomas 2-3 0-0 4, Tahj Kirkland 0-3 2-2 2, Blake Morris 1-5 0-0 2, Alex Gilbert 0-4 1-2 1, Will Fuller 0-5 0-0 0, Aaron Bragg 0-1 0-0 0, Collin Casey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-58 6-10 38

ETOWAH — Jamin Graham 4-6 3-4 11, Alvin Bolton 2-6 1-2 6, Andrew Noles 3-4 0-0 6, Joseph Green 2-5 0-0 6, Justin Harris 1-2 4-6 6, L. Green 2-6 0-0 5, Noah Jones 2-3 1-2 5, Christopher Jones 2-4 0-0 4, Sean Nunn 1-2 2-3 4, Austin Jenkins 1-1 2-2 4, Cyrus Smith 2-3 0-0 4, Zane Mathis 1-1 0-0 3, Stacy Williams 1-7 0-2 2, Frederick Moore 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-52 13-21 68

Jacksonville 4 8 13 13 — 38
Etowah 11 29 17 11 — 68

3-point goals: Jacksonville 0-18 (Ackles 0-8, Hill 0-5, Kirkland 0-1, Gilbert 0-2, Bragg 0-1, Casey 0-1); Etowah 5-18 (Bolton 1-4, J. Green 2-5, L. Green 1-3, Jones 0-2, Mathis 1-1, Williams 0-2, Moore 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 31 (Fuller 7); Etowah 48 (Graham 8, Bolton 8). Total fouls: Jacksonville 15, Etowah 9.

Spring Garden 71, JCA 55

JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN — Jimbo Tolbert 0 1-2 1, Jay-ni Mosley 2 3-4 7, Elijah McCormick 3 0-0 7, Walker Messer 1 3-4 5, Kobe Messer 2 0-0 6, Jayden Mitchell 0 2-2 2, Totals 19 14-18 55

SPRING GARDEN — Riley Austin 3 1-4 9, Alvin Lambert 0 0-0 0, Benjamin Ivey 2 0-0 4 Ashton Rogers 0 0-0 0, Dylan Rogers 7 4-4 21, Draevan Bowman 7 3-4 23 Tanner Parker 1 0-0 2, Joseph Rogers 4 2-3 10, Avery Gowens 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 10-15 71.

JCA 13 7 21 14 — 55
Spring Garden 5 18 22 26 — 71

3-point goals: JCA 3 (McCormick, K. Messer 2); Spring Garden 11 (Austin 2, D. Rogers 3, Bowman 6). Fouled out: W. Messer. Total fouls: JCA 20, Spring Garden 16. Officials: Thomas, Bennett, Harris.

Lincoln 79, St. Clair County 56

ST. CLAIR COUNTY — Jadarren Carter 1 0-0 2, Taylor Mickens 3 0-0 6, Colby Smith 1 0-0 2, Kimo Davis 7 3-3 22, Christopher Holmes 1 0-0 2, Michael Fisher 2 0-0 6, Grayson Beatty 0 0-0 0, Justin May 5 0-2 10, Mason Anderson 1 1-2 3, Temothee Smith 0 0-0 0, Garrett Sanders 1 0-2 4, Grayson Coupland 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-9 56

LINCOLN (11-2) — Isaac Davis 0 1-2 1, Zay Caldwell 3 1-2 9, Tyler Hemphill 4 4-5 12, Malik Weed 0 0-0 0, Tarez Ellis 0 0-0 0, Quin Carmichael 8 2-3 18, Dee Whiteside 11 2-3 24, L.J. Carmichael 6 0-1 12, Chris Prince 1 0-0 3, Brakiel Truss 0 0-0 0, Savion Woods 0 1-2 1. Totals 33 11-18 79.

St. Clair County 15 10 10 21 — 56
Lincoln 17 25 15 22 — 79

3-point goals: St. Clair County 8 (Davis 5, Hames, Fisher 2); Lincoln 4 (Caldwell 2, Whiteside, Prince). Total fouls: St. Clair County 13, Lincoln 5. Officials: Ortiz, Allen, Dowdle.

Talladega 86, Clay Central 82

CLAY CENTRAL – Davyn Flenord 85-6 24, Dustin Hardy 6 2-2 19, Ben Street 3 1-2 7, J.T. Burns 2 0-1 5, Cameron Peoples 1 1-2 3, Quan McKinney 1 0-0 2, Joe Bullock 6 4-4 18, Dawson Taylor 2 0-2 4. Totals 29 13-19 82.

TALLADEGA – Fred Dickerson 3 7-7 13, Tyrese Scales 1 2-3 4, Jay Smoot 5 5-6 15, Jarvis McKenzie 1 0-0 2, Ashton Duncan 9 4-6 27, Jamont Twymon 1 0-1 2, Waderrius Tuck 3 3-6 9, Robert Houston 6 0-0 12, Jaelyn Russ 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 21-29 86.

Clay Central 17 23 13 29 — 82
Talladega 13 22 21 30 — 86

3-point goals: Clay Central 11 (Flenord 3, Hardy 5, Burns, Bullock 2); Talladega 5 (Duncan 5). Fouled out: Street. Total fouls: Clay Central 25, Talladega 18. Officials: Warren, Strong, Morris.

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