Call to the bullpen
- Updated: January 16, 2020
Boys roundup: Anniston wins on road with assistant calling the shots; Alexandria falls at the buzzer, PV, Weaver, JCA get wins
Thursday’s boys games
Anniston 79, Clay Central 53
Fort Payne 61, Alexandria 60
Jacksonville Christian 83, Coosa Christian 58
Piedmont 58, Saks 39
Pleasant Valley 69, Ohatchee 56
Talladega 87, Lincoln 73
Weaver 60, Donoho 52
Winterboro 66, ASD 34
Cherokee County Tournament
At Gadsden State-Centre
Cedar Bluff 80, Gaylesville 25
Etowah County Tournament
At Southside
Sardis 45, Hokes Bluff 32
Randolph County Tournament
At Handley HS, Roanoke
Handley 59, Randolph County 30
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
LINEVILLE –Torry Brown made a call to the bullpen for someone to coach his team because he had been way under the weather for a couple days. Then he called the team right before tip-off and again at halftime to make everyone was on the same page.
Brown turned over the reins of his Anniston basketball team to JV coach Robert Robertson and for the second time in his career the long-time assistant delivered a victory for his ailing head coach.
This time, the Bulldogs took down Clay Central 79-53 with Brown back in Anniston fighting the flu.
“I feel a little better today,” Brown said. “It was pretty bad yesterday; I had to cancel practice and go to the doctor. Today it was a little better and hopefully tomorrow (Friday) it will be a little better. … I think I’ll be there tomorrow (when the Bulldogs host Cleburne County).”
It was only the second game Brown can recall missing as a head coach. The first came when he was at Shelby County because his son had pneumonia. His assistant guided the team to a win over McAdory that night.
And it’s not the first time in his career Robertson has been called in for emergency duties, either. Back in 2011, during his days at R.E. Lee, Robertson stepped in for his ailing head coach and directed his team to a victory over Northview. He has been an assistant at Anniston for eight years, four under Schuessler Ware and four under Brown.
“I just tried to keep them in the same flow Coach Brown would have with them,” Robertson said. “I just ran the basics, kept it real basic with the players and kept it simple for them, and kept the same rotation.
”He made it easy for me, too. Before the game I let him talk to the guys on the speaker phone and at halftime, too. He kind of let them know what his expectations were and what he wanted,”
Brown may have been back in Anniston, but he wasn’t far from the action. When he wasn’t talking to the team on the phone, he was watching a Facebook Live feed of the game. He wasn’t liking what he saw.
“It wasn’t a very good picture, for the most part,” Brown said. “By looking at the score our defense was terrible the second quarter. I saw that much. The ball was going in the basket more for Clay Central than it needed to.”
Antonio Kite and Daveon Dukes led the Bulldogs with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Kwame Milton, who wasn’t going to play but made the trip with jersey in tow, decided right before tip-off he was strong enough to play and scored 12 points.
Anniston 79, Clay Central 53
ANNISTON –Mark Toyer 3 0-0 6, Antonio Kite 6 4-8 18, DeMarien Stewart 2 2-2 8, Tyree Carmichael 0 0-0 0, Tahj Jones 1 2-3 4, Malcolm Harvey 3 2-2 8, Daveon Dukes 5 5-8 17, A.J. Brown 2 0-0 4, Khalil Peoples 1 0-0 2, Kwame Milton 4 1-2 12. Totals 27 16-25 79.
CLAY CENTRAL –Javon Wood 2 0-0 5, Noah Higgins 2 4-4 10, Clayton Yates 1 2-2 5, Tanner Higgins 2 3-4 8, J.D. McNealey 7 1-2 17, Jakhiem McClemore 1 1-2 3, Micah Harris 1 1-1 3. Totals 17 12-17 53.
Anniston 19 24 18 17 – 79
Clay Central 6 26 9 12 – 53
3-point goals: Anniston 9 (Kite 2, Stewart 2, Dukes 2, Milton 3); Clay Central 7 (M Higgins 2, Wood, Yates, T Higgins, McNeil 2). Technical fouls: Carmichael, Milton. Total fouls: Anniston 16, Clay Central 15.
Weaver 60, Donoho 52
ANNISTON – Freshmen Armane Burton and Tristian Brown combined for 24 points, lifting the Bearcats to their first victory of 2020. Brown scored seven points in the second quarter and finished with a team-high 13. Burton had five in the first quarter and finished with 11. Kyle Knight hit three third-quarter 3-pointers and added 12, while Kohl Perry added 10. Donoho’s Amari Smedley led all scorers with 27 points.
Weaver 60, Donoho 52
WEAVER – Quinton Blackerby 0 0-0 0, Brendyn Knight 2 2-4 6, Kohl Perry 4 0-0 10, Buck McGregor 2 0-0 5, Jackson Williams 0 2-2 2, Kyle Knight 4 1-1 12, Armane Burton 5 1-4 11, Tristian Brown 6 101 13, Joey Bolan 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 7-12
DONOHO – Nick Goad 2 0-0 5, Amari Smedley 9 9-14 27, Grant Steed 5 0-0 13, Dorian Jonikin 0 0-2 0, Drew Williamson 2 1-2 6, Dean Harrell 0 0-0 0, Connor Goodson 0 0-0 0, Brady Batterson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 10-18 52.
Weaver 17 17 17 9 – 60
Donoho 9 20 13 10 – 52
3-point goals: Weaver 6 (Perry 2, McGregor, K. Knight 3); Donoho 5 (Goad, Steed 3, Williamson). Fouled out: Smedley. Total fouls: Weaver 15, Donoho 13.
Pleasant Valley 69, Ohatchee 56
JACKSONVILLE –Josh Ballew had another big game with 27 points, 22 in the second half, and the Raiders were 8-for-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Ballew and Brody Phillips each made four free throws in the fourth. Cam Foushee led Ohatchee with 21 points.
Pleasant Valley 69, Ohatchee 56
OHATCHEE –Domonique Thomas 2 0-2 4, Trey Pesnell 3 4-12 11, Cam Foushee 7 5-6 21, Jacob Bowers 0 0-2 0, Drake Hollis 2 0-1 5, Jared McFall 0 0-0 0, Austin Wyatt 3 4-6 10, Briley Hale 1 3-4 5. Totals 18 16-34 56.
PLEASANT VALLEY –Josh Ballew 9 7-8 27, Garrett Cranmar 4 0-0 11, Coleman Haynes 1 2-2 4, Jamie Winningham 4 2-7 10,
Damon Parr 0 3-7 3, Jake Malsy 1 0-0 2, Brody Phillips 1 6-8 8, Wyatt Ingram 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 20-32 69.
Ohatchee 15 12 16 13 – 56
Pleasant Valley 15 16 18 20 – 69
3-point goals: Ohatchee 4 (Pesnell, Hollis, Foushee 2); Pleasant Valley 5 (Ballew 2, Cranmar 3). Technical fouls: Malsy. Fouled out: Hale. Total fouls: Ohatchee 24, Pleasant Valley 25.
Fort Payne 61, Alexandria 60
FORT PAYNE – Jacob Hendricks hit a bucket at the buzzer to send the Wildcats to victory and snap the Valley Cubs’ seven-game winning streak. Hendricks finished with 11 points. Kevin Hightower led Fort Payne with 16 points. Alexandria’s Landan Williams led all scorers with 22 points. “We played uninspired baketball and it cost us tonight,” Valley Cubs coach Jason Johnson said.
Fort Payne 61, Alexandria 60
ALEXANDRIA –Javais McGhee 3 0-0 8, Collin Taylor 3 0-0 8, D’Anthony Walton 4 0-0 10, Seth Slaton 1 0-0 3, Julian Wright 3 3-5 9, Dustin Warren 0 0-0 0, Landan Williams 8 6-7 22. Totals 22 9-12 60.
FORT PAYNE –Robert Graham 0 0-0 0, Jacob Hendricks 4 1-2 11, Bryson Richey 2 0-0 6, Kevin Hightower 7 0-0 16, Will Abbott 1 0-0 3, Lane White 5 1-2 12, Nathan Crane 0 0-0 0, Micah Simpson 4 2-3 13. Totals 23 4-7 61.
Alexandria 16 20 7 17 – 60
Fort Payne 12 22 12 15 – 61
3-point goals: Alexandria 7 (McGhee 2, Taylor 2, Walton 2, Slaton); Fort Payne 11 (Hendricks 2, Richey 2, Hightower 2, Abbott, White, Simpson 3). Total fouls: Alexandria 11, Fort Payne 10.
JCA 83, Coosa Christian 58
JACKSONVILLE – Chase Vinson had a monster game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 21 rebounds, as Jacksonville Christian secured its spot in a coin toss for the No. 1 seed in Class 1A Area 11 with Spring Garden. Kobe Messer had 17 points and 12 boards for the Thunder (16-4), while Eli Fair added 16 points, Nash Messer had 12 and Brady Shaddix recorded 14 assists and three steals.
Coosa 13 12 14 19 – 58
JCA 24 25 26 8 – 83
Talladega 87, Lincoln 73
LINCOLN –Kobe Simmons and Arron Green both posted double-doubles as the Tigers completed an undefeated regular season in Class 4A Area 9 play. Simmons had 25 points and 19 rebounds, while Green had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Keontae Funderburg added 12 points for the Tigers. Javion Surles and Brian Garrett scored 19 points each for the Golden Bears.
Talladega 87, Lincoln 73
TALLADEGA –Nigel Scales 3 1-4 8, Jay Spratling 0 0-0 0, Arron Green 8 1-3 17, Michael McGregor 2 0-0 4, Rontavious Barclay 3 0-0 6, D’Corian Wilson 3 2-4 8, Roderius Montgomery 2 3-3 7, Kobe Simmons 10 5-9 25, Keontae Funderburg 5 1-1 12. Totals 36 13-24 87.
LINCOLN –Javion Surles 7 4-6 19, Cam Reynolds 0 0-2 0, Kye Patterson 1 3-3 5, Stephen White 2 0-2 4, Siete Garrett 0 0-0 0, Brian Garrett 6 4-6 19, Tristian Payton 1 0-0 3, Jayden Woods 1 3-4 6, J.D. Davis 0 4-6 4, Trevon Hines 5 3-5 13. Totals 23 21-34 73.
Talladega 14 32 17 24 – 87
Lincoln 16 10 24 22 – 73
3-point goals: Talladega 2 (Scales, Funderburg); Lincoln 6 (Surles, B. Garrett 3, Payton, Woods). Total fouls: Talladega 23, Lincoln 20. Officials: Guyton, Dupree, Caldwell.
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