E.A. Sports Today

Wednesday basketball

Oxford holds off Muscle Shoals, Sacred Heart rallies past Velma Jackson, White Plains falls in Destin, Coosa wins Round-Robin

By East Alabama Sports Today

HUNTSVILLE – For the second time in 11 days Oxford found itself in a dogfight with Muscle Shoals, and for the second time the Yellow Jackets squeezed out a two-point victory.

Oxford beat the Trojans 54-52 at the VonBraun Center to reach the consolation bracket finals of the AL.com Classic.

The Jackets had a 12-point lead with 5:07 to play, but the Trojans got it down to a one-point game with 18 seconds left.

Jakolbe McClendon pushed the lead back to two with the first of two free throws. But he missed the second, Muscle Shoals rebounded and missed two shots at the potential tying bucket.

The Jackets trailed 33-30 with 4:15 left in the third quarter, then went on a 16-4 lead to grab a nine-point lead with 6:30 to play. Six different players contributed to the run.

“I thought it was a great ability for us to hold onto the lead,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “They had a seven-point lead with two minutes to go against us at Hanceville and we were able to come back.

“We were up at different times … and they kept fighting and we were able to preserve the win, so that definitely felt good.”

McClendon’s third game back from a knee injury was definitely his most complete. He led the Jackets with 15 points, while grabbing six rebounds and collecting four steals. Eugene Leonard had 11 points and six boards, while Zondrick Garrett had 10 points and five boards.

“Jakolbe is starting to come into his own definitely quicker than I thought it would be offensively, but he’s just a good player,” VanMeter said. “He’s a guy we will count on a lot and I know he will be there in the end making plays we need to make. I’m very pleased with where he is to this point.”

The Jackets will play Grissom in the consolation finals today at 3:30 p.m.

Lexington (S.C.) 77, White Plains 67: Lexington placed four scorers in double figures to offset a 41-point night by White Plains’ Michael McGuirk in the second round of the 22nd annual Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout. Darius Bryant led Lexington with 26 points. He hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter. McGuirk hit all seven of his 3-pointers and scored 31 in the second half as the Wildcats tried to come back from a 39-22 halftime deficit. The Wildcats will play Storey Creek (Tenn.) today at 10:30 a.m.

Coosa Central 72, Talladega 65: Tyus Maxwell led three scorers in double figures with 23 points as the Cougars won the Talladega Christmas Round-Robin. Ninth-grader Noel Jones and Tyius Evans had 13 and 12, respectively. Maxwell scored 10 points in the first half and 10 in the fourth quarter. Ashton Duncan hit four of the Tigers’ seven 3-pointers and was their only scorer in double figures (23).

Sacred Heart 65, Velma Jackson 57: The Cardinals picked up their first win back at full strength with Diante Wood scoring 21 points, grabbing six rebounds, blocking two shots and collecting three steals and three assists. Kevion Nolan had 16 points and five assists. The Cardinals climbed back from a 33-20 halftime deficit to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter with a 32-point third.

AL.com Classic, Huntsville
Oxford 54, Muscle Shoals 52
OXFORD –
Markise Davis 4-10 0-0 10, Jakolbe McClendon 6-9 2-6 15, Eugene Leonard 5-7 1-1 11, Zondrick Garrett 2-7 0-0 4, Braden Mack 4-6 0-0 8, Simeon Shadrix 0-1 0-0 0, Caden Higgins 0-0 0-0 0, Kendrick Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Davis 3-6 0-0 2. Totals 24-46 3-7 54.

MUSCLE SHOALS – Terrell McDonald 1-4 3-4 5, Mark Sears 6-12 2-4 16, Riley Wolgamott 4-14 0-0 10, Jacob Vandiver 5-13 0-0 12, Mason Soeder 4-5 1-2 9, Jacob Puckett 0-1 0-0 0, Torris Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Bralen Howell 0-0 0-0 0, Livingston Long 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 6-10 52.

Oxford 18 6 18 12 — 54
Muscle Shoals 12 15 10 15 — 52

3-point goals: Oxford 3-13 (M. Davis 2-4, McClendon 1-3, Garrett 0-3, Shadrix 0-1, T. Davis 0-2); Muscle Shoals 6-21 (Sears 2-7, Wolgamott 2-6, Vandiver 2-8). Rebounds: Oxford 30 (McClendon 6, Leonard 6, Garrett 6); Muscle Shoals 23 (Sears 5). Total fouls: Oxford 13, Muscle Shoals 11.

Tournament of Champions, Marietta
Sacred Heart 65, Velma Jackson 57
VELMA JACKSON –
Kiryne Jobe 4-8 2-2 11, Brandon Weatherspoon 1-6 2-2 4, Robert Kendrick 1-4 0-0 2, Nikolas Weatherspoon 11-17 4-7 30, Antwain Dixon 3-4 0-0 6, Mason Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Haven Ousley 0-1 0-0 0, Jamuel Brooks 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 22-44 8-11 57.

SACRED HEART – Diante Wood 7-11 7-9 21, Murdock Simmons 3-7 5-5 11, D.J. Heath 3-11 0-1 7, Dakota Myers 4-6 2-2 10, Kevion Nolan 5-12 2-2 16, Stephen Stansil 0-1 0-0 0, Khalil Watkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 16-19 65.

Velma Jackson 18 14 15 9 — 57
Sacred Heart 9 11 32 13 — 65

3-point goals: Velma Jackson 5-15 (Jobe 1-3, B. Weatherspoon 0-2, Kendrick 0-1, N. Weatherspoon 4-7, Ousley 0-1, Brooks 0-1); Sacred Heart 5-16 (Simmons 0-2, Heath 1-5, Nolan 4-9). Rebounds: Velma Jackson 26 (N. Weatherspoon 6, Brooks 5); Sacred Heart 24 (Wood 6, Myers 6). Total fouls: Velma Jackson 14, Sacred Heart 12.

22nd Annual Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout
Lexington (S.C.) 77, White Plains 67
WHITE PLAINS –
Peyton Morgan 0-0-0, Austin Bussey 0-0-0, Andrew McCarter 0-0-0, Michael McGuirk 15-4-41, Drake Preston 0-0-0, Macy Carr 7-1-16, Gavin Burrage 2-2-4, Brett Beaver 3-0-6. Totals 27-7-67.

LEXINGTON – Mason Carver 1-2-4, Bradley Foulks 1-0-2, Caleb Shackleford 5-1-12, Darius Bryant 8-5-26, Will Haney 5-5-17, Chase Neuberger 0-1-1, Tyler Reed 5-2-13, Isaiah Davenport 1-0-2. Totals 26-16-77.

White Plains 12 10 23 22 — 67
Lexington 20 19 21 17 — 77

3-point goals: White Plains 6 (McGuirk 6); Lexington 9 (Shackleford, Bryant 5, Haney 2, Reed). Fouled out: Beaver. Total fouls: White Plains 16, Lexington 15.

Talladega Christmas Round-Robin
Coosa Central 72, Talladega 65
TALLADEGA –
Fred Dickerson 2 2-2 8, Chaztin Tanner 2 0-0 5, Tyrese Scales 3 0-0 7, Jarvius McKenzie 2 0-0 4, Ashton Duncan 8 3-5 23, Chrishawn Williams 0 2-2 2, TraShaundez Bolden 0 0-0 0, Robert Houston 2 4-5 8, Jamontae Twymon 0 0-0 0, Jae-lyn Russ 4 0-0 8. Totals 23 11-14 65.

COOSA CENTRAL – Omar Gaddis 3 5-6 12, Tyus Maxwell 8 4-6 24, Dajan Graham 1 2-4 4, Jaylon Street 2 1-1 5, Tyius Evans 6 0-1 12, Jevan McKinney 0 2-2 2, Noel Jones 6 1-2 13. Totals 26 15-22 72.

Talladega 13 16 12 24 — 65
Coosa Central 21 11 17 23 — 72

3-point goals: Talladega 7 (Dickerson, Tanner, Scales, Duncan 4); Coosa 5 (Gaddis, Maxwell 4). Fouled out: Russ, Evans. Total fouls: Talladega 19, Coosa 15. Officials: Stringer, Montgomery, Strong.

Albertville Civitans Christmas Classic
ACA 55, Donoho 30
DONOHO –
Dylan Dunaway 1 0-0 3, Jason Howard 0 0-0 0, Jack Svensen 0 2-2 2, Garrett Steed 3 4-8 9, John Hutto 0 0-0 0, Jacob Lecroy 1 0-0 3, Mateen Ibrahim 0 0-0 0, Harrison Hughston 2 0-0 6, Ross Hagan 2 0-0 5, Saad Ibrahm 0 0-0 0, Seth Ford 0 0-0 0, Wilson Russell 1 0-2 2, Will Nelson 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 6-12 30.

ACA – Dan Parker 0 0-0 0, Braden Lovely 0 7-7 7, Hudson Grammer 0 0-0 0, Luke Skinner 3 3-4 9, Austin Walker 1 2-2 4, Carson Crowe 8 2-2 19, Andrew Thrasher 1 0-1 2, Austin Cummings 0 0-0 0, Britt Sparks 2 2-2 6, Noah Moore 1 0-0 2, David Higginbotham 2 2-2 6. Totals 18 18-20 55.

Donoho 8 6 8 8 — 30
ACA 19 13 14 9 — 55

3-point goals: Donoho 6 (Dunaway, Steed, Lecroy, Hughston 2, Hagan); ACA 1 (Crowe).
Total fouls: Donoho 11, ACA 12. Officials: Green, Willis. Notes: The Falcons play 5A No. 4 Guntersville Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

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