No ordinary Joe

Boys roundup: Tucker ready for another high-octane game with Fort Payne in Glencoe Shootout finals, Oxford falls in Huntsville, Weaver in Heflin, and more

Friday’s boys games
Cleburne County Holiday Hoops Classic
Vincent 55, Saks 47
Randolph County 54, Cleburne County 47
Cherokee County 80, Weaver 63
Winterboro 73, Ranburne 59

Dwight Madison Classic, Montgomery
Sacred Heart vs. Pinson
Starr’s Mill 55, Carver-Montgomery 54

Glencoe Holiday Shootout
Ohatchee 54, Faith Christian 48
Holly Pond 70, Cedar Bluff 36
Fort Payne 77, Jacksonville 70
Alexandria 57, Piedmont 41

Greater Gadsden Area Christmas Classic
At Gadsden City
West End 59, Gaston 47
Hokes Bluff 64, Sardis 43
Glencoe 76, Coosa Christian 70
Consolation game, Westbrook 54, Southside 49 (OT)
Championship game, Gadsden City 65, Etowah 60

Hilburn-Patterson Haralson County (Ga.) Invitational
Bowdon (Ga.) 84, Donoho 60

Huntsville City Classic
Sparkman 64, Muscle Shoals 57
Riverdale 55, Madison Academy 41
Mae Jemison 70, Huntsville 41
Crestview (Fla.) 76, Athens 48
Columbia 70, James Clemens 63
Decatur Heritage 65, Hazel Green 61
Lee-Huntsville 57, Oxford 53
Grissom 66, Ramsay 45
Mae Jemison 86, Sparkman 73
Columbia 63, Lee-Huntsville 56

Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout
Highlands (Ky.) 55, White Plains 41

Talladega Christmas Round-Robin
Talladega County Central 62, Munford 58
Talladega 86, Wellborn 13

Cover photo: Alexandria’s Joe Tucker (15), shown in a game against Lincoln before Christmas, was finally at full strength in the Glencoe Holiday Shootout and it was evident in his play Friday night. (Photo by B.J. Franklin)

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

GLENCOE – The last two years Joe Tucker has come to the Glencoe Holiday Shootout he hasn’t exactly been at the peak of his game. Whether it’s going into the tournament or coming out of it, something has always kept him from being 100 percent.

He’s feeling about as good as ever this year, save for a sore ankle leftover from the football season, and it’s allowed him to be a lot freer on the court. There definitely was a difference Friday night.

The Alexandria junior scored 18 points and never let Piedmont scorer Alex Odam out of his sight defensively, leading the Valley Cubs to a 57-41 victory in the boys semifinals.

“He’s still trying to get back in tip-top shape, but he did a wonderful job for us tonight,” Cubs coach Jason Johnson said.

The last two years has been frustrating to put it mildly. Last year Tucker popped a knee cap in the championship game against Fort Payne. The year before he come in with a cracked knee.

“You work hard and to get hurt is such a demoralizing thing,” he said. “You really don’t get to show off what you’ve working hard for. Tonight was very rewarding. It was a thankful feeling.”

The win sends the Cubs to face Fort Payne today at 3:15 p.m. for the tournament title in a game that might not have enough lights on the scoreboard to contain. The teams have already played twice this season with each winner hitting 100 points and the loser not that far behind (100-91 and 100-95, if you’re looking).

“The past two games we’ve played against them have been among the most fun games I’ve played in my career,” Tucker said.

“Hopefully we’ll bring what we need to bring to the table and I know they will so maybe it will be an entertaining game if we can do our part,” Johnson said.

The Cubs didn’t need to be entertaining Friday night, just steady. Their plan was to attack the basket inside – even with Piedmont’s shot-blocker extraordinaire Delo Foster minding the paint – and keep an eye on Odam. They couldn’t have done either any better.

They scored their first 11 points down low and opened an 18-6 lead with only one 3-pointer. Tucker couldn’t have watched Odam any closer. The son of the former Alexandria football coach held the son of the new Piedmont basketball coach to seven points – one 3-pointer, a 2-pointer and one free throw – limiting him to just nine shots.

“It was big for him to have a good game against that guy, because he can really shoot it,” Johnson said. “I thought we did a good job making him shoot some tough shots.”

Several other Cubs had big games, too. Landan Williams had 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. And freshman Julian Wright had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, three on the same trip down the floor.

Carl Myers led Piedmont with 16 points. Foster had six points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots. The Bulldogs will play Jacksonville in the 12:45 p.m. consolation game.

Alexandria 57, Piedmont 41
PIEDMONT – Carl Myers 4 6-10 16, Kaedon Jenkins 1 0-0 2, Delo Foster 3 0-4 6, Silas Thompson 0 2-2 2, Alex Odam 2 1-2 6, T.J. Fairs 3 2-4 9, Malachi Jackson 0 0-0 0, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0, Sean Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 11-22 41.
ALEXANDRIA – Seth Slaton 0 0-0 0, Adam Young 0 0-0 0, Julian Wright 4 0-0 8, Joe Tucker 8 1-2 18, Landon Comer 0 0-0 0, Romeo Dye 1 2-2 5, Jared Ponder 2 0-0 6, Khalil Francis 0 0-0 0, Jalen Borders 2 0-0 4, Landan Williams 6 3-3 16. Totals 23 6-7 57
Piedmont 10 12 7 12 – 41
Alexandria 18 13 14 12 – 57
3-point goals: Piedmont 4 (Myers 2, Odam, Fairs); Alexandria 5 (Tucker, Dye, Ponder 2, Williams). Rebounds: Piedmont 17 (Foster 7); Alexandria 38 (Williams 11, Wright 8). Technical fouls: Ponder. Fouled out: Ponder. Total fouls: Piedmont 9, Alexandria 19. Officials: Smith, Stringer, Wright.

FORT PAYNE 77, JACKSONVILLE 70
In a game where both teams enjoyed a series of mini-runs throughout, it was the Wildcats’ run midway through the fourth quarter that ultimately proved the difference.

Jacksonville had just closed its deficit to 66-63 on a free throw by Omarion Adams and Golden Eagles coach Cordell Hunt called time with 5:51 to play. The Wildcats came out of the break and went on an 8-0 run to take final control.

“We turned the ball over some in that middle of the fourth quarter and went through a scoring drought,” Hunt said. “For a while we just quit scoring the ball. Maybe fatigue got us a little bit, but give it up to Fort Payne, they’ve got a good ball team.”

The Golden Eagles rallied from an early 11-2 deficit to take their first lead at 12-11. The Wildcats went back up 19-12 and Jacksonville came back again to tie it at 22 and eventually take a 30-25 lead. It went back and forth like that all game.

The biggest lead any team enjoyed in the second half before Fort Payne’s final run was four points and that didn’t seem to last very long. There were eight lead changes and the game was tied at 57 going into the fourth quarter.

“I think that says a lot about these young men,” Hunt said. “They like to play basketball. Now, sometimes they don’t quite play it the way I think it should be played, but they like to play the game and they like to run and they’re figuring out they’re more athletic than teams so we can get up and down the floor, but we’ve got to get to a point where we stop shutting down on scoring.”

The Golden Eagles put three scorers in double figures, led by DeMarien Stewart’s 15. Kyrie Maynor had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and Donavon McCain had 12 points and eight rebounds. Jacksonville outrebounded the Wildcats 44-22 and had 18 second-chance points.

Fort Payne’s Ty Brooks led all scorers with 28 points. He had 13 in the first quarter.

“We’ve got find a way to win close games,” Hunt continued. “We’ve lost two or three games close in the last two or three minutes and we’ve got to find a way to win those games.”

Fort Payne 77, Jacksonville 70
FORT PAYNE – Ty Brooks 10-18 4-5 28, Keyshawn Hightower 5-9 5-8 15, Kevin Hightower 6-12 1-2 13, Lane White 4-4 0-0 10, Jacob Hendricks 1-5 5-6 7, Zack Ridgeway 1-1 0-0 2, Micah Simpson 1-4 0-0 2, Will Cathy 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Corbin 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 28-53 15-22 77.
JACKSONVILLE – DeMarien Stewart 6-12 0-0 15, Kyrie Maynor 6-7 0-0 14, Donavon McCain 5-12 2-3 12, Yessmen Green 4-10 1-3 9, Omarion Adams 3-5 3-5 9, Hudson Harvey 3-4 0-0 6, Jay Davis 1-6 1-2 3, Luke Jackson 1-4 0-0 2, Nathan Barnwell 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Landers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 7-13 70.
Fort Payne 22 20 15 20 – 77
Jacksonville 18 19 20 13 – 70
3-point goals: Fort Payne 6-21 (Brooks 4-8, Ky. Hightower 0-3, Kv. Hightower 0-3, White 2-2, Hendricks 0-2, Simpson 0-3); Jacksonville 5-18 (Stewart 3-7, Maynor 2-2, McCain 0-1, Green 0-2, Adams 0-1, Davis 0-2, Jackson 0-3). Rebounds: Fort Payne 22 (Brooks 5); Jacksonville 42 (McCain 8). Fouled out: Green. Total fouls: Fort Payne 16, Jacksonville 19. Officials: Dupree, Walker, Procheck.

OHATCHEE 54, FAITH CHRISTIAN 48
Sophomore Nathan Higgins scored 11 points and Evan Keller and Cameron Foushee added 10 apiece as the Indians used a balanced attack to subdue the Lions. Faith’s Seth Cravens led all scorers with 19 points. Ohatchee held the Lions without a field goal in the first quarter.

Ohatchee 54, Faith Christian 48
OHATCHEE – Nathan Higgins 3 4-4 11, Trey Pesnell 1 0-0 3, Grayson Alward 2 2-2 6, Cameron Foushee 4 0-2 10, Evan Keller 3 4-5 10, Bayley Tillison 3 1-2 9, Austin Wyatt 0 1-2 1, Briley Hale 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 12-17 54.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – C.J. Gomez 4 4-9 12, Seth Cravens 7 5-6 19, Michael McGraw 3 3-4 9, Ben Conley 1 0-0 2, Charles Gibbens 0 0-0 0, Jacob Cleckler 0 0-0 0, Jacque Prater 1 1-3 4, Josiah Abston 0 0-0 0, Banks Cotton 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 13-22 48.
Ohatchee 12 12 11 19 – 54
Faith Christian 5 15 5 23 – 48
3-point goals: Ohatchee 6 (Higgins, Prenell, Foushee 2, Tillison 2); Faith 1 (Prater). Total fouls: Ohatchee 19, Faith 17. Officials: Guyton, Montgomery, Warren.

Cleburne County Holiday Hoops Classic

HEFLIN – Weaver was hoping to play in the tournament championship game and put four scorers in double figures to help it get there, but Cherokee County’s Ivory Moore and Luke Goss proved to be too much and instead it will be the Warriors playing for the title after a convincing 80-63 victory.

Moore had 21 points and Goss 20 to lead the Warriors, who will play Winterboro in today’s title game.

Goss had nine in the first quarter and 16 in the first half as the Warriors opened a 41-30 lead. Moore scored 14 in the second half to help them maintain it.

“Cherokee County is a well-coached team and they do the little things that make you good,” Weaver coach Marcus Herbert said. “We aren’t far from where we need to be. Playing a team like them gauges where you are and they made us work for everything in a half-court set. We just have to get better and continue learning from a loss.”

Robert Gaines scored eight of his 13 points in the first quarter as Weaver grabbed a 20-18 lead. Shamar Spinks had eight of his team-high 13 in the third quarter. DeAndre McCain had 11 (with all three of Weaver’s 3-pointers) and Amardric Elston had 12.

Cherokee County 80, Weaver 63
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Stephen Smith 1 0-0 2, Blake Dobbs 0 0-0 0, Josiah Green 3 0-0 8, Nas Diamond 2 2-2 6, Ian Edwards 0 0-0 0, Slade Alexander 5 2-2 12, Ivory Moore 8 3-5 21, Conor Elrod 0 0-0 0, Chance Latty 4 0-0 10, Luke Goss 7 4-4 20. Totals 30 11-13 80.
WEAVER – Brandon Heath 3 3-6 9, Robert Gaines 6 1-2 13, Shamar Spinks 7 0-0 14, Gary Wallace 1 2-2 4, DeAndre McCain 4 0-1 11, Amardric Elston 5 2-2 12. Totals 26 8-13 63.
Cherokee County         18        23        19        18        –          80
Weaver                  20        10        20        13        –          63
3-point goals: Cherokee County 6 (Green 2, Latty 2, Goss 2); Weaver 3 (McCain 3). Total fouls: Cherokee County 15, Weaver 11. Officials: Aaron Kelley, Robert Wortham, Robert Howell.

Huntsville City Classic

HUNTSVILLE – Oxford’s winning came to an end at 10 games at the hands of Lee-Huntsville 57-53 despite a big double-double by Zondrick Garrett (24 points, 10 rebounds) and a near double-double by Rok Taylor .

Garrett hit 10-of-16 shots from the field, grabbed seven caroms off the defensive glass and had three blocked shots. Taylor had 10 points and nine boards.

The Jackets (13-4) tried making a run to keep their streak alive, getting it to 52-51 with 1:36 to play, but Kobe Brown made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to turn Oxford back.

“It was nip and tuck the whole way,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “We played well, we just didn’t shoot it well. It was a one-point game with 1:30 to go. We just came up one play short.”

Lee-Huntsville 57, Oxford 53
OXFORD (13-4) – Zondrick Garrett 10-16 3-6 24, Eugene Leonard 5-10 2-3 12, Mont McClendon 1-6 1-2 4, Kobe Warren 0-2 0-0 0, Rok Taylor 5-9 0-0 10, Justin Moore 1-3 0-0 2, Milas Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 22-46 10-17 53.
LEE (14-3) – Zyan Green 3-7 0-0 6, Jacari Lane 2-3 2-2 6, Tyreece Smith 7-13 2-2 18, Mason Ellis 0-3 0-0 0, Kobe Brown 8-16 6-7 25, Jackson West 1-2 0-0 2, Fred Parker 0-0 0-2 0, Kaleb Brown 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 21-45 10-13 57.
Oxford 11 11 16 15 – 53
Lee 13 14 14 16 – 57
3-point goals: Oxford 3-15 (Garrett 1-5, Leonard 0-4, McClendon 1-4, Warren 9-1, Moore 1-1); Lee 5-16 (Smith 2-6, Brtown 3-9, Brown 0-1). Rebounds: Oxford 29 (Garrett 10, Taylor 9); Lee 26 (Brown 6). Fouled out: Garrett. Total fouls: Oxford 12, Lee 10.

Sandestin Hilton Beach Blowout

FREEPORT, Fla. – Sophomore Brody Baker had another big night for White Plains, scoring a game-high 20 points, but with no other scorers in double figures it wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to overcome Highlands (Ky.) in a 55-41 loss.

The Wildcats closed the third quarter with eight straight points to cut their deficit to six, but they got no closer. Highlands had three players in double figures led by Alex Starkey;s 14.

The Wildcats will play William Blount (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. The White Plains girls, a 61-17 loser to Cookeville (Tenn.), will play Breathitt County (Ky.) at 1:30 p.m.

Highlands (Ky.) 55, White Plains 41
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 3 0-0 6, Quin Wilson 0 1-2 1, Jaden Chatman 3 2-2 8, Simeon Shadrix 1 0-0 2, Jacob Wheeler 1 0-0 3, Brody Baker 6 4-6 18, Matthew Clay 0 1-2 1, Jaden Harris 1 0-0 2, Kahlil Williams 0 0-0 0, Gavin Burrage 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-12 41.
HIGHLANDS – Jack Hesse 1 0-0 3, Tristan Thompson 2 2-2 6, Jacob Brass 0 0-0 0, Grady Cramer 1 0-0 2, Sam Vinson 1 9-10 11, Ryan Leigh 4 0-0 10, Nate Roberts 2 0-2 4, Will Sarmon 1 0-1 2, Ben Sisson 1 1-3 3, Alex Starkey 5 4-8 14. Totals 18 16-26 55.
White Plains 10 5 18 8 – 41
Highlands 18 8 13 16 – 55
3-point goals: White Plains 3 (Wheelers, Baker 2); Highlands 3 (Hesse, Leigh 2). Fouled out: Sisson. Total fouls: White Plains 17, Highlands 17.

Talladega Round-Robin

TALLADEGA – Y.D. Montgomery posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and the bench scored 59 points as Talladega routed winless Wellborn 86-13 in the second day of the Talladega Round-Robin.

Jaquon Chatman led the Tigers with 17 points. Brocker Simmons had 14 points and six steals, Kobe Simmons had 12 points and eight boards, and Aaron Green scored 12 points.

The Tigers will play TCC for the tournament title today at 2:30 p.m. Wellborn will play Munford.

Talladega 86, Wellborn 13
WELLBORN – Khavion Wesley 2 0-2 6, Justin Berry 0 0-0 0, Max Searcy 0 0-0 0, Lewis Patterson 1 0-0 2, Tae Traylor 0 0-0 0, Robert Broom 1 0-0 3, Logan Grubbs 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 0-2 13.
TALLADEGA – Keandre Brand 1 0-2 2, Nigel Scales 1 0-0 3, Chaztin Tanner 1 0-0 2, Jaquon Chatman 7 2-4 17, Aaron Green 5 0-0 12, Rontavious Barclay 1 1-2 3, D’Corian Wilson 2 0-0 4, Y.D. Montgomery 5 1-2 11, J.Q. Wilson 3 0-2 6, Kobe Simmons 6 0-3 12, Brocker Simmons 7 0-1 14. Totals 39 4-16 86.
Wellborn 3 4 3 3 – 13
Talladega 20 14 30 22 – 86
3-point goals: Wellborn 3 (Wesley 2, Broom); Talladega 4 (Scales, Chatman, Green 2). Technical fouls: Traylor. Fouled out: Traylor. Total fouls: Wellborn 12, Talladega 6. Officials: Caldwell, Smith, Gamble.

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