Calm before storm
- Updated: January 26, 2017
Saks has an easy time of it against Munford with regular-season area championship game looming; scores and box scores included
Thursday’s Games
Boys Games
Weaver 79, Cedar Bluff 78
Clay Central 66, Cleburne County 38
Piedmont 57, Jacksonville 40
Sacred Heart 100, Jacksonville Christian 56
Wellborn 70, Jefferson Christian 36
Saks 68, Munford 23
Ohatchee 65, Pleasant Valley 57
Spring Garden 59, Faith Christian 53
Girls Games
Cleburne County 46, Clay Central 33
Jacksonville 56, Piedmont 52
Jacksonville Christian at Sacred Heart
Jefferson Christian at Wellborn
Munford 49, Saks 36
Pleasant Valley 55, Ohatchee 26
Spring Garden 69, Faith Christian 27
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Jonathan Miller is a basketball coach who really likes things to work within a structure, but under the circumstances the Saks coach didn’t mind such a freeform to the flow.
With the game of the year less than 24 hours out, the Wildcats really wanted a game Thursday that wouldn’t put a strain on their legs. They ran over Munford 68-33, and it couldn’t have been a better situation.
LaDerrick Bell rediscovered his stroke and made seven of the Wildcats’ 13 3-pointers for 21 points. Brent Clark scored his first points of the season on his first three shots of the year, scoring six in the second half on two 3-pointers. And then there was backup center Jalen Borders bringing the ball up the floor and pulling up for an NBA-range 3.
“I was glad we handled business early and we were able to play our bench,” Miller said. “That was good for them, to get guys like Brent Clark in the game, let him get some shots up in a game situation and score for the first time this year.
“He works so hard in practice. He’s always competitive, just going for loose balls; look at how many he got tonight. To see him get to score is a great thing for our team.”
The tenth-ranked Wildcats (14-6) preferred an easy one considering they play Handley Friday night in Roanoke with the area championship on the line. A win gives Saks the top seed and hosting rights for the Class 4A Area 8 tournament. A loss throws the area into a three-way tie with Anniston, forcing a coin flip at a breakfast bar in Oxford Monday morning.
“It’s huge for us to be able to host the area tournament,” Miller said. “If we go down there and don’t take care of business, then obviously we’re just putting everything in the hands of a coin flip.
“I think we’ll be focused on the task at hand. I just hope we play well and fight for four quarters, because it’s going to be a battle. They’re a very good basketball team, one of the best we’ve played all year.”
The Wildcats handled Handley at home earlier this year in perhaps their best game of the season.
Saks controlled this one from the start. Bell hit four 3-pointers in the season opener against Clay Central, but lost his touch until Thursday. All of his points came on 3-pointers and he nearly outscored the Lions (4-18) by himself from beyond the arc.
He hit three treys in the first half, then wowed the crowd with four in the third quarter.
“Our first couple games I was off and my teammates just kept telling me to believe in my shot,” Bell said. “I know I can make the shot and it wasn’t going in so it got me a little frustrated. They just trusted me and told me to keep shooting, and that’s what I did. If it wasn’t for my teammates I don’t think I would have did what I did tonight.”
The huge margin Bell helped build gave players like Clark the freedom to go ahead and shoot a little more than normal. Actually, Clark, a junior playing his first year of high school basketball, hadn’t taken a shot at all to that point, instead concentrating on his defense. He finally hit the scoring column with 1:52 left in the third quarter of the 20th game of the year, on his first shot of the year.
“It felt really good,” he said. “I heard the crowd cheering and my boys down here were giving me some love. All the credit goes to my teammates. They fought hard so I could get in the game and be in that situation.”
On the cover: LaDerrick Bell (L) rediscovered his outside shot and Brent Clark scored his first points of the season Thursday in Saks’ easy win over Munford.
THURSDAY’S BOYS BOX SCORES
Saks 68, Munford 23
MUNFORD (4-18) – Kedrick Brown 0 0-0 0, Braxton Swinford 0 0-0 0, Avery Harris 1 0-0 2, LaRaie Ball 1 2-2 4, Nick Patton 0 0-0 0, Justin Sistrunk 4 0-0 8, Trey Lynch 0 0-0 0, Tanner Reeves 1 0-0 3, Micah Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Kenny Parker 1 0-0 3. Totals 9 2-2 23.
SAKS (14-6) – Darien Briskey 3 0-0 6, DeVaunghn Beason 6 0-0 14, LaDerrick Bell 7 0-0 21, Alfonza Ward 2 1-2 5, Tray Huguley 1 0-0 2, Jamal Stone 2 0-2 5, Brent Clark 2 0-0 6, Jaylen Young 2 0-0 4, Jalen Borders 2 0-0 5. Totals 27 1-4 68.
Munford 9 3 7 4 — 23
Saks 20 18 21 9 — 68
3-point goals: Munford 3 (Reeves, Mitchell, Parker); Saks 13 (Beason 2, Bell 7, Stone, Clark 2, Borders) Total fouls: Munford 2, Saks 5. Officials: Stringer, Strong, Robinson.
Piedmont 57, Jacksonville 40
JACKSONVILLE – Rivan Hill 4-14 0-0 9, Ron Wiggins 4-12 0-0 9, Jay Davis 4-10 0-0 8, K.J. Satcher 2-5 1-1 5, Alex Gilbert 2-4 0-0 5, Alex Davis 2-5 0-0 4, Tahj Kirkland 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Vinson 0-1 0-0 0, Jesse Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, DeAndre McCain 0-2 0-0 0, Josh Glass 0-2 0-0 0, Jamir Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-55 1-1 40.
PIEDMONT – Austin Brazier 6-11 5-8 18, Taylor Hayes 4-7 6-7 16, T.J. Fairs 2-4 0-0 5, Carl Myers 1-1 2-2 5, Easton Kirk 1-8 0-0 3, Cardavion Myers 1-1 1-3 3, Derrick Baer 1-2 0-0 3, A.J. Fairs 1-2 0-0 2, Lee Stanley 1-1 0-0 2, Kaedon Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Boatner 0-0 0-0 0, Shane McCord 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 14-20 57.
Jacksonville 4 5 12 19 — 40
Piedmont 15 11 13 18 — 57
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3-12 (Hill 1-3, Wiggins 1-5, Gilbert 1-2, McCain 0-2); Piedmont 7-19 (Brazier 1-2, Hayes 2-3, T. Fairs 1-3, Cl. Myers 1-1, Kirk 1-7, Daer 1-2, A. Fairs 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 34 (J. Davis 7, A. Davis 6); Piedmont 28 (Austin Brazier 9, Easton Kirk 9). Total fouls: Jacksonville 13, Piedmont 7. Officials: Larry Stubbs, Phillip Hollingsworth, Trey Phillips.
Clay Central 66, Cleburne County 38
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Brock Swafford 1 1-1 3, Stashun Henson 2 1-1 5, Isavia Brown 2 1-2 5, Avery Gentry 1 1-2 3, John Robinson 1 1-2 3, Caleb Brown 2 0-0 4, Josh Brown 1 0-2 2, A.J. Brown 2 1-2 5, Chad Brown 2 0-0 4, Parker Freeman 0 0-0 0, Noah Holloway 1 0-0 2, Reese Morrison 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 6-12 38.
CLAY CENTRAL – Davyn Flenord 7 0-0 14, Cole Burns 0 1-2 1, Ben Street 6 1-2 13, Jamal Williamson 4 0-0 8, Camerun Peoples 3 4-6 10, Shamari Simmons 1 2-4 5, Quan McKinney 2 1-1 5, LeShawn Simmons 0 0-0 0, Joe Bullock 2 1-1 6, Garrett Yates 2 0-0 4. Totals 27 10-16 66.
Cleburne County 11 9 7 11 — 38
Clay Central 22 16 22 6 — 66
3-point goals: Clay Central 2 (S. Simmons, Bullock). Total fouls: Cleburne Co. 14, Clay Central 12.
Spring Garden 60, Faith Chrsitian 51
SPRING GARDEN (12-8) – Riley Austin 11 5-5 31, Ben Ivey 0 4-4 4, Dylan Rogers 1 4-4 7, Dalton Rogers 2 1-2 5, Lucas Ivey 0 0-0 0, Joe Rogers 4 3-4 13. Totals 18 17-19 60.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Michael McGraw 2 0-2 5, Riley Camp 1 0-2 3, Jordan Griswould 6 0-0 16, Jameson Adams 4 2-2 10, Seth Cravens 0 0-0 0, Jack Sills 7 0-0 14, Michael Kulick 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 2-6 51.
Spring Garden 16 9 12 23 — 60
Faith Christian 17 8 12 14 — 51
3-point goals: Spring Garden 7 (Austin 4, Dy. Rogers, J. Rogers 2); Faith 7 (McGraw, Camp, Griswould 4, Kulick). Total fouls: Spring Garden 8, Faith 16.
Wellborn 70, Jefferson Christian 36
JEFFERSON CHRISTIAN – Micah Colvin 1 0-0 3, Kyle Wilkerson 1 0-0 3, John Williams 0 0-0 0, Ephantus Kariuki 0 0-0 0, Steven Gordon 3 2-2 9, Peyton Ryce 3 1-2 9, Nathaniel Bradley 2 3-4 9, Braxton Baird 1 0-1 3. Totals 11 6-9 36.
WELLBORN – Mitchell Raines 3 3-4 10, Eric Johnson 0 1-2 1, Jordan Montgomery 7 3-4 20, Devin Machristie 5 0-0 13, Kam Goodwin 0 0-2 0, Dennis Towns 1 0-0 2, Blake Hanson 4 10-11 18, Brendan Crow 0 1-2 1, Kelvin Evans 2 1-2 5. Totals 22 19-26 70.
Jefferson Christian 8 16 10 2 — 36
Wellborn 24 19 8 19 — 70
3-point goals: Jefferson Christian 8 (Colvin, Wilkerson, Gordon, Ryce 2, Bradley 2, Baird)
Wellborn 7-27 (Hanson 0-9, Raines 1-2, Montgomery 3-8, Machristie 3-7, Towns 0-1). Technical fouls: Hanson. Total fouls: Jefferson Christian 19, Wellborn 11. Officials: Miller, Kelley, Hinkle. Notes: Raines grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Hanson and Evans both had seven rebounds. Montgomery had six rebounds, five steals and blocked a shot. Hanson had five assists. Hanson made his first eight free throws.
Ohatchee 65, Pleasant Valley 57
OHATCHEE – Andrew Roberts 0 0-0 0, Blake Buckelew 1 0-0 3, Ben Glass 6 6-6 21, Carson Stone 1 1-1 3, Grayson Alward 0 0-0 0, Domonique Thomas 1 0-1 2, Kevin Williamson 2 0-0 5, Brennan Wink 0 0-0 0, Austin Tucker 6 10-18 23, Bayley Tillison 0 0-0 0, C.J. Ray 4 0-0 8. Totals 21 17-26 65.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Riley Vernon 5 0-0 14, Caden Turner 1 4-8 6, Reid Hightower 5 0-0 14, Jeremiah Hardy 0 0-0 0, Josh Faucett 8 1-3 17, Nic Smith 1 1-2 3, Ethan Johnson 1 0-0 3, Drew Bonds 0 0-0 0, Jordan Lambert 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-13 57.
Ohatchee 15 21 14 15 — 65
Pleasant Valley 13 12 16 16 — 57
3-point goals: Ohatchee 6 (Buckelew, Glass 3, Williamson, Tucker); Pleasant Valley 9 (Vernon 4, Hightower 4, Johnson). Fouled out: Vernon. Total fouls: Ohatchee 15, Pleasant Valley 20. Officials: Howell, Killingsworth, Dickerson. Notes: Glass made six straight FTs and had 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Weaver 79, Cedar Bluff 78
CEDAR BLUFF – Michael Croft 10 2-2 25, Cornelius Woods 3 1-2 7, Isaiha Jones 7 4-6 18, Davion Fife 7 2-4 16, Keaton Kilgro 2 2-2 8, Ivory Starr 1 0-0 2, Brian Stitts 0 2-2 2. Totals 30 13-19 78.
WEAVER – Maurice Goodman 9 0-1 20, London Knight 6 3-4 15, Robert Gaines 8 2-4 18, Paul Hubbard 5 2-5 10, Dalton Hamby 2 0-2 4, R.J. Wooden 0 2-2 2, Shamar Spinks 3 0-0 6, Amardric Elston 1 0-0 2. Totals 34 9-18 79.
Cedar Bluff 23 17 17 21 — 78
Weaver 27 17 18 17 — 79
3-point goals: Cedar Bluff 5 (Croft 2, Fife, Kilgro 2); Weaver 2 (Goodman 2). Total fouls: Cedar Bluff 17, Weaver 17. Officials: Strott, Davis, Watson.
Sacred Heart 100, Jacksonville Christian 56
The Cardinals had three 20-point scorers – Kevin Nolan (28), Diante Wood (26), Dakota Myers (21).
THURSDAY’S GIRLS BOX SCORES
Jacksonville 56, Piedmont 52
JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams 8-16 7-11 24, Essence Hutchinson 3-6 0-0 8, Tatiyana Thomas 3-4 0-2 6, Aniya Jefferson 2-5 1-1 5, Aniyah Robinson 6-13 1-2 13, Idea Gray 0 0-0 0, Destoni Gray 0 0-0 0, Sarah Quinn 0 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 9-16 56.
PIEDMONT – Breanna Brazier 3-11 2-2 10, Kaitlyn Ridley 2-5 0-0 6, Lulu Jackson 4-7 0-0 8, Camron Logan 0 0-0 0, Sydney Prater 5-16 3-6 14, Rebecca Smart 6-7 2-3 14. Totals 20-46 7-11 52.
Jacksonville 8 20 10 18 — 56
Piedmont 12 17 12 11 — 52
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3-11 (Williams 1-4, Robinson 0-1, Hutchinson 2-5, Thomas 0-1); Piedmont 5-16 (Brazier 2-6, Ridley 2-2, Prater 1-8). Rebounds: Jacksonville 34 (Jefferson 9, Robinson 8); Piedmont 28 (Prater 6). Fouled out: Thomas. Total fouls: Jacksonville 14, Piedmont 11 Officials: Phillip Hollingsworth, Kerry Williams, Trey Phillips.
Cleburne County 46, Clay Central 33
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Shawntavia Boyd 7 4-6 21, Olivia McDaniel 0 0-0 0, Erykah Ware 4 1-3 9, Lauren Brown 4 0-0 8, Kiara Akles 2 1-2 5, Haven Freeman 0 0-0 0, Alex Casey 0 1-2 1, Tatiana Ervin 1 0-0 2, Kendall Houston 0 0-0 0, Alisia Person 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn McDaniel 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-13 46.
CLAY CENTRAL – Ashley McNeil 0 0-0 0, Alicia McNeil 2 0-0 4, Claire Daugherty 0 0-0 0, Ahnyah Denny 5 2-2 13, Sidney Daugherty 2 2-2 6, Rilee Blair 0 0-0 0, Abby Cantrell 0 0-2 0, Angel Jennings 4 2-2 10. Totals 13 6-8 33.
Cleburne County 15 10 4 17 — 46
Clay Central 2 7 9 15 — 33
3-point goals: Cleburne Co. 3 (Boyd). Clay Central 1 (Denny). Fouled out: C. Daugherty. Total fouls: Cleburne Co. 11, Clay Central 11. Officials: McClellan, Paige, Raeis. Notes: Akles had 10 rebounds.
Spring Garden 69, Faith Christian 27
SPRING GARDEN – A.J. Broome 0 0-0 0, Katie Williams 1 0-0 2, Macy Reedy 2 0-0 5, Kerstin Bryant 3 0-0 6, Jodi Dempsey 2 0-0 5, Payton McGinnis 7 1-2 17, Tiyonna Rogers 9 3-7 21, Madison Jennings 3 0-0 8, Breanna Rogers 1 3-5 5. Totals 28 7-14 69.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Logan Boyd 1 0-0 3, Kassidy Nix 0 0-0 0, Shelley Phillips 2 0-0 6, Montana Huie 0 0-0 0, Emily Sills 1 0-0 2, Kristin Covington 2 2-2 8, Sydnee Johnson 3 2-2 8, C.J. Setters 0 0-0 0, S.K. McVeigh 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-4 27.
Spring Garden 23 13 15 18 — 69
Faith Christian 8 5 9 5 — 27
3-point goals: Spring Garden 6 (Reedy, Dempsey, McGinnis 2, Jennings 2); Faith Christian 5 (Boyd, Phillips 2, Covington 2). Total fouls: Spring Garden 5, Faith Christian 13.
Pleasant Valley 55, Ohatchee 26
Atleigh Brannon hit four 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 19 points. Mikala Simpson had 16. Kara Perry had eight, while Emma Hood and Lindsey Pritchett added six each.
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