Means more now
- Updated: December 1, 2017
Anniston, Talladega have been regulars on the schedule for years, but next year the games will take on a whole new intensity
Thursday’s scores
Boys games
Donoho 56, ASD 47
Ranburne 70, Faith Christian 49
Talladega 59, Anniston 46
Weaver 83, Ragland 36
White Plains 51, Ohatchee 39
Girls games
Anniston 57, Talladega 46
Donoho 50, ASD 33
Faith Christian at Ranburne
Weaver 49, Ragland 19
White Plains 45, Ohatchee 27
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
TALLADEGA – Anniston and Talladega have waged some epic and emotionally charged battles on the basketball court over the years, but the next two years those games are going to have even more juice attached to them.
Thanks to the AHSAA’s biennial realignment, announced just hours before they tipped at Chuck Miller Arena Thursday night, the two teams will be area rivals again for the first time in a decade.
Before the announcement, games like Talladega’s 59-46 win would have been just a nice regular-season game on the schedule. For the next two years, though, the game could mean the difference in a favorable seed in the area tournament or even a trip to the sub-region tournament.
“It’s an intense game already,” Anniston coach Torry Brown said. “We’ve been playing for as far back as I can remember and they’ve always been hard-fought, competitive games. But now with them counting more, I expect for the game to intensify even moreso. We look forward to the challenge as we move forward.”
The teams have been area rivals four times during Schuessler Ware’s legendary 19-year tenure at Anniston, but not since 2007-08 athletic year. They have played home-and-home every year since Chucky Miller became Talladega’s coach in 2000 with the exception of three seasons Anniston’s administration disallowed it between 2003 and 2006.
For at least this next period of alignment, the two teams will play in Class 4A Area 9 with Cleburne County and Lincoln. Talladega hasn’t been Class 4A since 1984, the Bulldogs have been off and on since 2004.
This one didn’t start out looking to be much. Talladega (4-1) jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first five minutes but, remember, this is Talladega-Anniston and the tenor quickly changed.
Anniston’s Hunter Rouse banked in a 3-pointer and it started an 18-1 run that produced the Bulldogs’ first lead with 6:21 left in the second quarter and it remained a back-and-forth affair for the next quarter and a half. After the hot start, Talladega missed 12 3-pointers and 12 free throws in the first half.
“We’re not in great form yet,” Miller said. “We played so hard there (at the start), maybe we got a little winded. We tried to sub and the combinations didn’t work, and Anniston got in a good rhythm. But we recovered right before the half (and led 30-28 at halftime).”
The Bulldogs’ second group sparked the rally. Theron Montgomery regularly got behind the Tigers’ man defense and scored eight straight points in the middle of the comeback. Later, William Fairley, Kwame Milton, LaDreka Hall and Savion Bethune all hit 3-pointers when the game was tight.
Chance Young gave Anniston a 36-35 lead with 5:10 left in the third quarter, then the troubles that plagued the Bulldogs (0-3) early in the game surfaced again. They started missing deep 3-pointers against the Talladega zone and weren’t getting rebounds when they did and the Tigers took advantage of it.
“We started playing sort of out-in as opposed to inside-out,” Brown said. “We’re still trying to develop an identity. We don’t know who we are yet as a team. Hopefully we can figure it out before we get too far down the road.”
Eventually, Tigers guard Fred Dickerson took over the game. He scored eight of his 15 points in the third quarter and his ability to penetrate opened up other opportunities for his teammates. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
Tra’Shaundez Bolden led the Tigers with his first double-double of the season – 18 points and 12 rebounds – and three blocked shots. Ashton Duncan had 11 points with three 3-pointers, nine rebounds and six assists.
“Anniston has been in our area before and we had some classic games during that time, and Coach Brown is going to continue that tradition there,” Miller said. “I’ve always played Anniston since I was working in Calhoun County. You’ve got to bring your A-game to play Anniston.”
Weaver 83, Ragland 36: Amardric Elston had 22 points and 22 rebounds to lead the Bearcats to their first win of the season. Elston had 14 points in the first half as Weaver raced to a 55-20 halftime lead. The Bearcats had five scorers in double figures, four of them starters. London Knight scored nine of his 13 points in the first quarter. Eight of the nine players who got in the game for Weaver scored in its 32-point second quarter.
White Plains 51, Ohatchee 39: The Wildcats hit six of their eight 3-pointers in the first half to open a 30-14 lead on Ohatchee. Six of the seven players who scored for White Plains hit at least one 3-pointer in the game. Matthew Clay led the Wildcats with 12 points. Ohatchee’s Ben Glass was the Indians’ leading scorer with 12 points; he was their only player to score in double figures.
Big D in Lady Dawgs
Anniston 57, Talladega 46: Defense is always the first priority for an Eddie Bullock-coached team and being active on the defensive end played a big role in the Lady Bulldogs taking down a future area rival to remain undefeated.
Anniston (3-0) took the lead early in the game and never let Talladega get it back. The Lady Tigers came close numerous times, but each occasion the Lady Dawgs ramped up their signature defense to force a turnover and turn it into points. They scored at least a dozen points off Talladega turnovers.
The Lady Dawgs got Talladega’s Camille Buckhanon and 6-3 Amaz Carmichael into early foul trouble and then created mayhem in transition with their speed package of underclassmen to limit their effectiveness.
“That’s the only way we could stop them,” Bullock said. “They’ve got a 6-3 (and) a 6-2 girl inside and I’ve got three girls 6-foot, one maybe 6-1. (Buckhanon’s) a Division I girl, you’ve got to try to do the things you need to do to get them and that’s what we did.”
Anniston finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. Talladega made it 42-38 with the first basket of the quarter, then Amoriyah Dudley hit a 3-pointer and Tekyia Jackson hit back-to-back buckets and just that quickly the Lady Dawgs had a double-digit lead that basically put it away.
Buckhanon, a Memphis commitment, led Talladega with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Carmichael, a transfer from Lincoln, had 12 points, seven boards and two blocks.
Toniah Foster led Anniston with 16 points. She is averaging 17.3 points over the first three games of the season.
“She has matured a lot, and that’s what I’ve been trying to get from her,” Bullock said. “Her biggest thing was a mental block as far as pushing herself. If she plays hard, she’ll get better.”
On the cover: Anniston coach Torry Brown (L) heads towards his bench after meeting with Talladega coach Chuck Miller and the officials at midcourt. The Bulldogs and Tigers will be area rivals for the first time in a decade when the next round of alignments kick in next season.
BOYS BOX SCORES
Talladega 59, Anniston 46
ANNISTON (0-3) – Savion Bethune 2 0-2 6, James Haynes 0 1-2 1, Jimmy Felton 1 0-0 2, Kwame Milton 3 0-0 9, William Fairley 1 2-2 5, Dontarious Davis 2 0-0 4, Hunter Rouse 1 2-2 5, LaDreka Hall 1 0-0 3, Theron Montgomery 3 2-4 8, Chance Young 1 1-3 3. Totals 15 8-15 46.
TALLADEGA (4-1) – Fred Dickerson 7 1-4 15, Chance Beavers 0 0-0 0, Chaztin Tanner 3 0-0 6, Tyrese Scales 2 1-2 5, Ashton Duncan 4 0-1 11, Jay Patterson 1 1-4 3, J.Q. Wilson 0 1-4 1, Kobe Simmons 0 0-0 0, TraShaundez Bolden 6 6-10 18. Totals 23 10-25 59.
Anniston 15 13 12 6 — 40
Talladega 17 13 18 11 — 59
3-point goals: Anniston 8 (Bethune 2, Milton 3, Fairley, Rouse, Hall); Talladega 3 (Duncan 3). Total fouls: Anniston 20, Talladega 14. Officials: Warren, Stringer, Holmes.
Weaver 83, Ragland 36
RAGLAND – Adam Cotton 0 0-0 0, Adam Sanders 5 1-3 14, Travis Schall 1 1-2 4, Hunter Day 0 0-0 0, Sloan Phillips 2 0-0 4, Jadon Ball 1 0-0 3, Braxton Thomas 0 0-0 0, Jacob Phillips 4 2-2 10. Totals 13 4-7 36.
WEAVER (1-1) – Taylor Deck 1 0-0 2, London Knight 6 1-2 13, Robert Gaines 4 2-2 10, Shamar Spinks 5 1-4 11, Nick Torres 2 2-2 7, Alex Perry 1 0-0 2, Dalton Hamby 1 0-1 2, Gary Wallace 5 2-4 13, Amardric Elston 10 2-5 22. Totals 35 10-20 83.
Ragland 8 12 12 4 — 36
Weaver 23 32 14 14 — 83
3-point goals: Ragland 6 (Sanders 3, Schall, Phillips, Ball); Weaver 3 (Torres, Perry, Wallace). Total fouls: Ragland 16, Weaver 13. Officials: Kelly, Pratt, Barber.
White Plains 51, Ohatchee 39
OHATCHEE – Andrew Roberts 0 0-1 0, Blake Buckelew 2 2-5 7, Ben Glass 4 2-4 10, Carson Stone 0 0-0 0, Grayson Alward 1 0-0 2, Landon Key 0 0-0 0, Kevin Williamson 1 0-0 3, Bailey Tillison 1 0-0 2, Evan Keller 2 0-1 6, Domonique Thomas 2 1-2 6, Briley Hale 1 1-4 3, Jordan Lowe 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-17 39.
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 0 0-0 0, Houston Conger 2 0-0 5, Chase Helms 2 0-0 6, Pierson Branham 1 1-2 4, Austin Bussey 3 0-0 7, Drake Preston 3 1-1 7, Matthew Clay 3 4-6 12, Jaden Harris 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bozarth 0 0-0 0, Gavin Burrage 4 1-2 10. Totals 18 7-11 51.
Ohatchee 7 7 10 15 — 39
White Plains 11 13 16 11 — 51
3-point goals: Ohatchee 5 (Buckelew, Keller 2, Thomas, Williamson); White Plains 8 (Conger, Helms 2, Branham, Bussey, Clay 2, Burrage). Fouled out: Buckelew. Total fouls: Ohatchee 19, White Plains 19.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Anniston 57, Talladega 46
ANNISTON (3-0) – Allasha Dudley 2 6-8 11, Anna Garrett 0 0-0 0, Viera Edmonson 0 0-0 0, LaDajah Williams 1 0-0 2, Amoriyah Dudley 3 0-0 8, Jordyn Johnson 0 1-2 1, Montega Clemons 4 1-2 9, Tekyia Jackson 3 2-2 8, Kiara Montgomery 1 0-0 2, Toniah Foster 8 0-2 16. Totals 22 10-16 57.
TALLADEGA (1-1) – Amaz Carmichael 5 2-5 12, Tiona Roberson 3 2-2 8, Aiyani Heath 0 0-0 0, Takeria Swain 0 0-0 0, Essence Cunningham 1 1-4 3, Mary Scales 2 0-2 4, Camille Buckhanon 7 5-6 19. Totals 18 10-19 46.
Anniston 18 11 13 15 — 57
Talladega 15 8 13 10 — 46
3-point goals: Anniston 3 (Al. Dudley, Am. Dudley 2). Total fouls: Anniston 17, Talladega 13. Officials: Warren, Stringer, Holmes.
Weaver 49, Ragland 19
RAGLAND – Makenzie Campbell 4 3-6 11, Hailey Hoss 1 0-2 3, Jewel Ferguson 1 1-4 3, TyAsia Howard 0 0-0 0, Samantha Day-Jones 0 3-5 3, Lauren Dill 0 0-1 1, Cassidy Byers 0 0-0 0, Shelby Davis 0 0-0 0, Lania Daniels 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 7-18 19.
WEAVER – Marley Tucker 0 0-2 0, Caleigh Cortez 3 0-2 6, Kylee Jordan 0 0-0 0, Rayne Beck 5 1-2 11, Emily Reed 3 0-0 7, Anna Howell 1 0-0 2, Amira Carter 1 0-0 2, Mariah Thompson 8 0-0 16, Kayleigh Hindsman 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-9 49.
Ragland 3 8 3 7 — 21
Weaver 12 16 21 0 — 49
3-point goals: Ragland 2 (Campbell, Hass); Weaver 1 (Reed). Total fouls: Ragland 13, Weaver 20. Officials: Kelly, Barber, Hinkle.
White Plains 45, Ohatchee 27
OHATCHEE – Jazmine Adams 1 0-0 3, Tori Vice 3 3-6 10, Kourtney Shuler 4 2-2 13, Marli Hanks 0 0-0 0, Gracie George 0 1-2 1, Regan Snow 0 0-4 0.Totals 8 6-14 27.
WHITE PLAINS – Rian Chandler 2 0-0 5, Hanna Dyar 1 0-2 2, Callyn Martin 1 0-0 2, Jordan Sabree 2 1-2 5, Landry Bussey 5 0-0 10, Chasity Nelson 1 0-0 2, Lily Ponder 5 2-2 14, Jocelyn Harris 2 1-2 5. Totals 19 4-8 45
Ohatchee 3 8 8 8 — 27
White Plains 4 15 7 19 — 45
3-point goals: Ohatchee 5 (Adams, Vice, Shuler 3); White Plains 3 (Chandler, Ponder 2). Total fouls: Ohatchee 12, White Plains 16.
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