E.A. Sports Today

Falcons fall in ’16 debut

Donoho comes out flat, gets undone by big second quarter in loss to Cedar Bluff

By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today

Donoho lost its first game of the new year Monday, falling to Cedar Bluff 71-56.

The Falcons (4-6) came out of the gate flat, but were kept in the game by senior Robert Clausen’s consistent play. Clausen scored six points in each of the first three quarters and finished with 19 points.

“I knew there would be some rusty moments being our first game back after Christmas,” first-year coach Alex Mastin said, “but we competed. That’s all I asked for from my team tonight.”

Mitchell Baker and Tucker Sedmak were others making an impact for the Falcons. The two guards had 12 points and two rebounds each.

The Falcons were done in by a 23-9 second quarter. Mastin was obviously disappointed in the loss, but was seemingly optimistic about where his team has come and where it is going.

“We actually played a lot better than we did at Cedar Bluff,” he said, referring to the team’s 64-33 loss earlier in the season. “I was really proud of how hard we played.”

The young coach is bringing up a team that went 9-13 last season, 3-5 in its area, and will have a difficult area ahead with teams like Sacred Heart looming around the corner.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said as the seconds ticked off the final minute of play.

Cedar Bluff was led by the outstanding play of sophomore Davion Fife who had 23 points and five rebounds. Michael Croft had 13 points and seven rebounds. DeAndre Autry had eight points and four rebounds.

Tigers coach Joe Carpenter was not at all impressed with his team’s win and was even more skeptical about the rest of the season.

“We are just not playing with any passion right now,” he said. “This team has a long way to go if we have any chance of doing anything this season. This was ugly basketball tonight.”

The Tigers improved to 6-5 and will face JCA and Spring Garden today and Friday, respectively. Donoho looks to rebound against Faith Christian today and Ragland later this week.

On the cover: First-year Donoho coach Alex Mastin communicates with his team during Monday’s game with Cedar Bluff. (Photo by Jason Katz)

Cedar Bluff 71, Donoho 56

CEDAR BLUFF (6-5) — Rashawn Woods 2 0-0 5, Isaiah Jones 4 2-3 10, Davion Fife 9 3-7 23, Darrion Marshall 1 1-2 3, Jordan McElroy 0 0-0 0, Lucas Miller 0 0-0 0, Tre Williams 0 1-2 1, Michael Croft 6 1-2 13, Dom McCorkle 0 0-0 0, DeAndre Autry 4 0-2 8, Ross Johnson 3 1-2 8, Dalton Richardson 0 0-2 0. Totals 29 9-22 71.

DONOHO (4-7) — Reaves Nelson 0 0-0 0, Garrett Steed 1 1-8 3, Saad Ibrahim 0 0-0 0, Ross Svensen 0 3-7 3, Joseph O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Ross Hagan 0 0-0 0, Tucker Sedmak 5 2-2 12, Mitchell Baker 4 5-7 13, Wilson Russell 3 0-0 6, Walton Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Robert Clausen 9 1-2 19. Totals 22 12-26 56.

Cedar Bluff 13 23 27 8 — 71
Donoho 10 9 23 14 — 56

3-point goals: Cedar Bluff 4 (Woods, Fife 2, Johnson). Total fouls: Cedar Bluff 19, Donoho 15. Officials: Holmes, Potts, Oden.

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