Don’t sleep on Z
- Updated: February 2, 2019
Boys roundup: Oxford’s Garrett posts triple-double; JCA secures first 20-win season in 23 years; White Plains, Weaver, Talladega win, Wellborn, Piedmont fall
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – Playoff time is near and the Oxford Yellow Jackets ended their regular season on a roll.
The reigning Calhoun County champions won for the 19thtime in their last 20 games Friday as they blasted Hazel Green 91-73 on Larry Davidson Court at the Oxford Sports Arena.
Big man Zondrick Garrett gave the Trojans fits all night as they did everything they could to stop him and failed. It’s more like what didn’t he do.
Garrett scored 28 points, nailed five 3-pointers and four slam dunks, blocked 11 shots and hauled down 14 rebounds. The triple-double was accomplished in a little over three quarters of play.
“It was a pretty dominant performance,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “Z has the ability to make plays on all three levels of the floor, which makes him a tough matchup.
“The biggest thing is how he affects the game defensively, blocking shots and rebounding the ball. Defensively is where the game changes with him.”
The Jackets (22-4) hit nine 3-pointers on the night and opened the second half with four straight 3s. Garrett had three of them and Mont McClendon had the other as the Jackets stretched their lead to 28 points (67-39) in the third quarter.
Three other Yellow Jackets scored in double figures – Kobe Warren (16), Eugene Leonard (13) and Mont McClendon (12). Roc Taylor had eight points and seven rebounds, while Justin Moore and Rylan Houck had six points apiece.
The Trojans did not quit under Oxford’s big lead and connected on seven 3-pointers themselves. Ashton Elliott was red hot and ended up with 29 points with five 3s. Teammate Benjamin Pitts poured in 19.
“We did not play particularly well tonight,” VanMeter said. “Our offense was good and we moved the ball well and shared it, but my concern is with the team feeling like they have to be challenged by another team each night.
“When we get in the playoffs, one bad night could end our season. I guess I did not do a good enough job on getting them ready to play tonight.”
As the No. 1 seed in a three-team area, Oxford already is assured a spot in the Class 6A sub-state round. The Jackets await the winner of the Fort Payne-Albertville game next Friday in Oxford for the area championship.
They have beaten Albertville (20-7), a top 15 team, twice this year, but the road is not going to be easy. They’ll play either No. 1-ranked Lee-Huntsville (22-6), No. 4 Mae Jemison (22-8) or a top 15 Buckhorn team (23-5) in the sub-state. A win in the area championship game puts them at home in that game, while a loss sends them on the road.
“It is very tough from now on,” VanMeter said. “Our area and region is loaded with some of the best teams in the state.”
Oxford 91, Hazel Green 73
HAZEL GREEN – Nigel Lanier 1 0-0 2, Dylan Rowe 1 0-0 3, Ben Pitts 7 4-6 19, Ashton Elliott 9 6-7 20, Griffin Wray 1 0-0 2, Connor Haythorn 0 0-0 0, Salvador Panne 0 0-0 0, Courtney Howard 4 0-0 8, TiAvian Scruggs 2 4-4 8, Harrison Steward 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 14-17 73.
OXFORD (22-4) – Rylan Houck 3 0-0 6, Zondrick Garrett 9 5-8 28, Eugene Leonard 3 7-8 13, Mont McClendon 5 1-2 12, Kobe Warren 5 4-4 16, Roc Taylor 3 1-2 8, Cordell Chatman 1 0-1 2, Justin Moore 3 0-2 6, Milas Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 18-27 91.
Hazel Green 14 13 19 27 – 73
Oxford 25 20 26 20 – 91
3-point goals: Hazel Green 7 (Rowe, Pitts, Elliott 5); Oxford 9 (Garrett 5, McClendon, Warren 2, Taylor 9).
Thunder reaches 20
JACKSONVILLE – Kobe Messer scored 12 points, Chase Vinson had another double-double and Eli Fair dealt seven assists as the Thunder secured its first 20-win season in 23 years with a 52-20 victory over ASD.
It’s the first time the Thunder (20-6) has reached the milestone since doing it in 1995 and 1996.
“Twenty wins is kind of a benchmark and I am happy with our improvement over the course of the season,” JCA coach Tommy Miller said.
Vinson’s double-double was fueled by 13 points and 10 rebounds. Messer also grabbed six rebounds. Nash Messer had eight points, five rebounds and four assists,
Weaver 70, Faith Christian 64
FAITH CHRISTIAN – C.J. Gomez 2 4-8 8, Seth Cravens 1 0-2 2, Michael McGraw 5 10-13 22, Beau Conley 8 0-1 20, Jacques Prater 1 4-4 7, Banks Cotton 1 0-0 2, Seth Abston 1 1-4 3. Totals 19 19-32 64.
WEAVER – Taylor Deck 0 0-0 0, Brandon Heath 2 0-3 5, Robert Gaines 7 1-2 16, Shamar Spinks 2 1-2 6, Gary Wallace 4 0-0 8, Justin Jones 0 0-2 0, DeAndre McCain 5 2-2 14, Amardric Elston 8 0-1 16, Taber Stephens 1 3-4 5, Colby Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 7-16 70.
Faith Christian 10 10 21 23 – 64
Weaver 11 17 25 17 – 70
3-point goals: Faith 7 (McGraw 2, Conley 4, Prater); Weaver 5 (Heath, Gaines, Spinks, McCain 2). Total fouls: Faith 16, Weaver 23. Officials: Dupree, Askew, Oden.
Notes: Conley scored 18 points in the second half and hit all four of his 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. McGraw scored 16 in the second half. Gaines scored 14 in the second half. Elston scored 10 in the third quarter.
Westbrook 61, Piedmont 52
PIEDMONT – Carl Myers 1 3-4 5, Kaedon Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Delo Foster 1 3-5 5, Silas Thompson 7 4-9 20, Alex Odam 4 3-3 13, T.J. Fairs 3 1-4 7, Jakari Foster 0 0-0 0, Sean Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 14-25 52.
WESTBROOK – William Lockridge 1 8-9 10, James Martin 3 2-2 10, Phillip Pirani 0 0-0 0, Joseph Gilcrest 4 6-8 18, Bruce Wood 0 0-0 0, Patrick Wells 3 0-0 7, Jackson Luttrell 3 0-0 6, John Caden Phillips 2-5 2. Totals 17 20-26 61.
Piedmont 12 13 9 18 – 52
Westbrook 16 3 19 23 – 61
3-point goals: Piedmont 4 (Thompson, Odam); Westbrook 7 (Martin 2, Gilcrest 4, Wells). Fouled out: D. Foster. Total fouls: Piedmont 19, Westbrook 15. Officials: Harrell, Davis, Guyton.
Notes: Despite Thompson’s 20 are his career-high; he had 13 in the first half. Odam scored all his points in the second half; he also grabbed eight rebounds. The Bulldogs lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. D. Foster had five rebounds and six blocked shots. Westbrook was 13-of-17 from the line in the fourth quarter
White Plains 57, Ranburne 45
Brody Baker scored 22 points and Matthew Clay added 16 in what may have been his final home game in a White Plains uniform to help the Wildcats win their final regular-season game.
Baker scored 13 points in the first half, while Clay scored 11 in the second when the Wildcats pulled away. White Plains hit nine 3-pointers in the game, with Quin Wilson hitting three – all in the second half – and Baker, Clay and Gavin Burrage each hitting a pair.
Brock Young led Ranburne with 15 points. Devon Chambers had 12. White Plains held Ranburne to four points in the fourth quarter.
The next chance for the Wildcats to play a home game would be to win their area tournament at Jacksonville and host the sub-region game.
White Plains 57, Ranburne 45
RANBURNE – Devon Chambers 5 0-0 12, Jake Burson 0 0-0 0, Tye Bailey 0 0-0 0, Sam Green 3 2-2 9, Josh Ralston 4 0-0 9, Jackson Pollard 0 0-0 0, Caleb Hornsby 0 0-0 0, Brock Young 5 5-7 15. Totals 17 7-9 45
WHITE PLAINS – Coleman Messer 0 0-0 0, Houston Conger 0 0-0 0, Quin Wilson 3 0-1 9, Jaden Chatman 1 0-0 2, Simeon Shadrix 0 0-0 0, Brody Baker 9 2-3 22, Matthew Clay 5 4-4 16, Jaden Harris 1 0-0 2, Kahlil Williams 0 0-0 0, Gavin Burrage 2 0-0 6. Totals 21 6-8 57.
Ranburne 10 17 14 4 – 45
White Plains 17 11 17 12 – 57
3-point goals: Ranburne 4 (Chambers 2, Green, Ralston); White Plains 9 (Wilson 3, Baker 2, Clay 2, Burrage 2). Technical fouls: Conger. Total fouls: Ranburne 15, White Plains 7. Officials: Watson, Wise, Phillips.
Talladega 69, Clay Central 66
LINEVILLE – Kobe Simmons scored a double-double and the Tigers knocked down nine of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off the Volunteers and secure their 15thstraight 20-win season.
Simmons had 23 points and 14 rebounds. He had all 10 of the Tigers’ points in the first quarter and was 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth. Chaztin Tanner had 19 points with three of the Tigers’ four 3-pointers.
The Vols placed five scorers in double figures. Shamari Simmons led the way with 15.
Talladega 69, Clay Central 66
TALLADEGA – Nigel Scales 2 0-0 5, Chaztin Tanner 7 2-2 19, Jaquan Chatman 1 0-0 2, Aaron Green 1 2-4 4, Rontavious Barclay 2 1-2 5, D’Corian Wilson 2 1-2 5, Roderrius Montgomery 0 0-0 0, J.Q. Wilson 2 2-2 6, Kobe Simmons 9 5-8 23, Keontae Funderburg 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 13-20 69.
CLAY CENTRAL – Michael Garrett 4 0-0 10, Noah Higgins 4 0-0 11, Micah Garrett 5 2-4 12, Shamari Simmons 5 3-7 15, Braden Hubbard 1 0-2 3, Jaidarrius McNealy 6 1-2 13, Jaylon Bass 1 0-0 2, Micah Harris 0 0-2 0. Totals 26 6-17 66.
Talladega 10 20 24 15 – 69
Clay Central 13 21 17 15 – 66
3-point goals: Talladega 4 (Scales, Tanner 3); Clay Central 8 (Ml. Garrett 2, Higgins 3, Simmons 2, Hubbard); Fouled out: Higgins. Total fouls: Talladega 15, Clay Central 13. Officials: Harvey, Gamble, Harvey.
Lincoln 73, Wellborn 19
LINCOLN – Tre Garrett led the Golden Bears with 23 points. Zay Ragland had 14 and Brian Garrett had 13. The loss wrapped up a second consecutive winless regular-season for the Panthers.
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