Rock on
- Updated: January 27, 2020
UPDATED: Taylor leads Oxford (again) in big victory over Albertville to force a coin flip for area No. 1 seed
Monday’s boys scores
Alexandria 63, Munford 33
Benjamin Russell 84, Talladega 67
Cleburne County 74, Donoho 53
Glencoe at Cherokee County
Jacksonville 91, Weaver 57
Jacksonville Christian at Cedar Bluff
Oxford 63, Albertville 47
Piedmont 78, Faith Christian 41
Pleasant Valley 64, Hokes Bluff 43
Ragland at Ohatchee
Sacred Heart at Cornerstone
Saks 54, Randolph County 49
Westbrook Christian 61, Coosa Christian 48
Winterboro at Fayetteville
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD –The Oxford Yellow Jackets scored a big win on the court at home Monday night and will be looking for an even bigger win off the court on the road Tuesday.
The Jackets took down Albertville in the Sports Arena 63-47 to draw into a share of the Class 6A Area 13 lead with the Aggies and force a coin toss with them Tuesday in Gadsden to determine the No. 1 seed and host in their area tournament.
What makes it even bigger is, because Area 13 is only a three-team league, the winner of the coin toss gets a free pass into the subregion round of the 6A state tournament while the loser and Fort Payne will have to play for their playoff lives.
“I’ve got no control over tossing a coin,” Oxford coach Joel Van Meter said. “Whether it’s me or it’s (Albertville) coach (Patrick) Harding (calling it), it’s gonna get flipped and then whatever happens, happens. If we’re going to their place, obviously we’ve played a bunch of road games, we have to be good enough to go on the road and win a game. If we play it at home, trust me, it doesn’t say you’re going to win the game because they’re really good.
“I’ve done it before and there’s nothing fun about it. You’ve got to get it out of the way, figure out who, when and where and go from there.”
The Jackets were led by Roc Taylor, who in the last week or so has become their dominant post. Wearing a bright yellow pair of shoes, Taylor scored 27 points against Albertville’s big Trinity Bell, 15 in the third quarter and 22 in the second half.
He scored 11 of the Jackets’ first 13 points of the third quarter. He made two athletic plays right after the Aggies cut Oxford’s lead to 23-21. He outjumped an Albertville defender at midcourt on a 50-50 ball off an inbounds pass and turned it into a crowd-pleasing dunk and then stole the inbounds pass and converted that into another basket.
Kobe Warren followed it with a 3-pointer, then Taylor added two buckets and a 3-pointer on Oxford’s next four possessions to take the lead to 37-26. The Aggies never got closer than seven the rest of the game.
“I had brought my energy level all the way up,” Taylor said. “I had to go up and make a play for the team so we could get this lead going.
“Playing against someone who’s bigger made me just play even harder because you can’t just let somebody come and try to take over.”
Taylor is coming off a week in which he won MVP honors in the Calhoun County Tournament. His performance in the championship game against Anniston was amazing not only in the fact he overcame an ankle injury in the game, but unbeknownst to anyone outside the team at the time he banged his knee in a scary car crash returning from practice the day before.
“He just brings the energy in everything he does, and his energy rubs off on everybody on the floor,” Van Meter said. “I’ve coached basketball for 10 years here and 11 years at one of the best junior colleges in the country and at the Division I level and he’s as good as I’ve ever seen when the lights come on.
“He knows how to make basketball plays. Trust me, it’s not stuff that I’m teaching him. He just has it.”
The loss snapped a nine-game Albertville winning streak, a streak that began the last time the Aggies played Oxford, right after they lost in the Huntsville City Classic.
Oxford 63, Albertville 47
ALBERTVILLE (22-4) – Drake Bearden 2 0-0 4, Chi Jordan 2 0-0 4, Ben Allen 1 0-0 3, Dane Harding 5 3-3 16, Chase Kitchens 0 0-0 0, Givenchy Dorival 0 0-0 0, Elijah Moss 2 0-0 4, Trinity Bell 5 2-5 12, JC Baker 1 2-2 4. Totals 18 7-10 47.
OXFORD – Cordell Chatman 0 0-0 0, Zondrick Garrett 2 0-0 5, Rylan Houck 2 0-0 4, Mont McClendon 3 1-2 8, Kobe Warren 1 7-12 10, Roc Taylor 10 5-6 27, Justin Moore 3 2-2 9. Totals 21 15-22 63.
Albertville 12 7 15 13 – 47
Oxford 12 11 21 18 – 63
3-point goals: Albertville 4 (Allen, Harding 3); Oxford 6 (Garrett, McClendon, Warren, Taylor 2, Moore). Technical fouls: Albertville bench. Total fouls: Albertville 20, Oxford 9. Officials: Tidwell, Ned, Wortham.
Jacksonville 91, Weaver 57: The Golden Eagles shot 62 percent from the floor, put four scorers in double figures and all 12 players scored. Donavon McCain led them with 20 points, going 9-for-10 from the field. Yessman Green went 5-for-5. Nine Jacksonville players recorded at least one steal as the Golden Eagles outscored Weaver 15-0 off turnovers.
WEAVER – Armane Burton 4-11 7-9 15, Austin Bryant 7-14 1-2 15, Tristan Brown 5-6 0-2 10, Kohl Perry 3-4 0-0 7, Taylor Thompson 2-3 1-3 5, Brendyn Knight 2-4 1-2 5, Joey Bolan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-42 10-10 57.
JACKSONVILLE – Donavon McCain 9-10 2-4 20, Caden Johnson 4-8 3-4 13, John Broom 4-6 0-0 11, Yessman Green 5-5 0-0 11, Kyrie Maynor 2-5 3-7 8, Jacob McCarley 4-5 0-0 8, Cam Johnson 3-6 1-1 7, Luke Jackson 2-3 0-0 5, Jaden Barksdale 1-4 0-0 3, Ron Wiggins 1-2 0-0 2, Jalen Morton 1-2 0-0 2, Hudson Harvey 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 36-58 10-18 91.
Weaver 13 17 16 11 – 57
Jacksonville 29 25 23 14 – 91
3-point goals: Weaver 1-4 (Bryant 0-1, Perry 1-2, Thompson 0-1); Jacksonville 9-25 (Cd. Johnson 2-5, Broom 3-5, Green 1-1, Maynor 1-4, Cm. Johnson 0-3, Jackson 1-2, Barksdale 1-3, Wiggins 0-1, Morton 0-1). Rebounds: Weaver 28 (Burton 9, Thompson 7); Jacksonville 29 (McCain 5). Total fouls: Weaver 13, Jacksonville 18. Officials: Morris, Smith, Askew. Notes: The Golden Eagles got 37 points off their bench and outscored Weaver 15-0 off turnovers. Nine Jacksonville players recorded at least one steal and all 12 who played scored.
Piedmont 78, Faith Christian 41: The Bulldogs scored their 20thvictory of the season behind 26 points from Alex Odam, 24 from Silas Thompson and 10 3-pointers. Odam was 10-for-15 from the field, 6-of-10 from 3-point range; he scored 17 in the first half. Thompson was 10-of-17. He scored 20 points in the first half and grabbed 10 rebounds in the game. Jakari Foster had five steals and Odam had six assists. Coleman Reid scored four second-half points and grabbed three rebounds in his first game of the season following ACL surgery from football season.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – C.J. Gomez 6 4-9 17, Nick Goodgame 0 0-0 0, Josh Rutledge 0 0-0 0, Thomas Curlee 1 0-0 2, Ethan Richerzhagen 1 2-3 4, Andrew Huie 0 0-0 0, Josiah Abston 0 0-1 0, Brodie Dodson 0 0-0 0, Jacques Prater 4 0-0 11, Dalton Rogers 0 0-0 0, Damian Arevalo 1 2-2 4, Colton Pahman 1 0-2 3. Totals 14 8-17 41.
PIEDMONT (20-3) – Alex Odam 10 0-0 26, Omarion Foster 0 1-2 1, Luke Bussey 3 0-0 8, Trey McFarrland 1 2-2 4, Silas Thompson 10 3-4 24, Jack Hayes 0 0-0 0, Coleman Reid 2 0-0 4, Malachi Jackson 1 0-0 3, Jakari Foster 4 0-0 8. Totals 31 6-8 78.
Faith 8 10 11 12 – 41
Piedmont 24 20 20 14 – 78
3-point goals: Faith 5 (Gomez, Prater 3, Pahman); Piedmont 10 (Alex Odam 6, Luke Bussey 2, Thompson, Jackson). Total fouls: Faith 5, Piedmont 14. Officials: Barber, Winn, Taylor.
Alexandria 63, Munford 33: Landan Williams scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and two others scored in double figures for the Valley Cubs (17-5). Julian Wright scored six of his 12 points and D’Anthony Walton 10 of his 14 in the first quarter as the Cubs jumped to a 23-12 lead. They held the Lions to 12 points over the next two quarters while opening a 51=24 lead aftrr three quarters.
MUNFORD – L.J. Flint 1 1-2 4, Andrew Williams 1 1-2 3, Justin Sistrunk 3 0-0 6, Rashard Russell 4 0-1 8. Jay Tuck 3 0-0 7, Dwight Moore 1 0-0 2, Caderio Holland 0 0-0 0, Connor Morgan 1 0-0 3Totals 14 2-5 33.
ALEXANDRIA – Javais McGhee 4 1-3 9, Collin Taylor 3 1-1 8, D’Anthony Walton 6 0-1 14, Ivonta Jones 1 0-0 3, Seth Slaton 0 0-0 0, Julian Wright 6 0-1 12, Javarious Williams 0 1-2 1, Landan Williams 6 4-7 16. Totals 26 7-15 63.
Munford 12 6 6 9 – 33
Alexandria 23 13 15 12 – 63
3-point goals: Munford 3 (Flint, Tuck, Morgan); Alexandria 4 (Taylor, Walton 2, Davis). Total fouls: Munford 10, Alexandria 10. Officials: Davis, Guyton, Weston.
Saks 54, Randolph County 49: Tyler Smith and Zay Elston combined for 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats pulled away from a game that was tied at 40-40. Elston scored seven of his 14 points in the second quarter when Saks rallied from a 13-8 deficit to earn a 29-29 draw at halftime. Smith led all scorers with 17 points
RANDOLPH COUNTY – Braxton Daniel 2 0-0 5, Dante Jordan 4 0-0 11, Damarcus Davis 1 0-0 2, William Burns 4 0-0 12, Johnathan Prothro 4 1-2 9, Daniel Benefield 3 1-2 7, Nick Sims 1 0-0 3. Totals 19 2-4 49.
SAKS – Benji Wilson 2 0-0 4, Zaejuan Johnson 2 1-2 5, Will Mixson 1 1-2 3, Kyle Goedde 3 1-4 7, Myles McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Conor Martin 1 0-0 2, Patrick Williams 0 0-2 0, Jordan Cosper 0 0-0 0, Zay Elston 6 3-6 16, Tyler Smith 8 1-4 17. Totals 23 7-18 54.
Randolph Co. 13 16 11 9 – 49
Saks 8 21 11 14 – 54
3-point goals: Randolph Co. 9 (Daniel, Jordan 3, Burns 4, Sims); Saks 1 (Elston). Fouled out: Prothro. Total fouls: Randolph Co. 16, Saks 7. Officials: Robinson, Evans, Horn.
Pleasant Valley 64, Hokes Bluff 43: Josh Bellew hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead the Raiders. He had 13 points in the first half. Brody Phillips scored eight of his 13 in the second half. Jake Malsy had 10 in the game.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Josh Ballew 6 6-9 22, Grarett Cranmer 1 2-2 4, Coleman Haynes 1 0-0 2, Justin Winningham 2 1-1 5, Damon Parr 0 1-2 1, Jake Malsy 4 2-2 10, Braydon Wright 0 0-0 0, Brody Phillips 6 0-0 13, Wyatt Ingram 2 0-0 4, Jake Upton 0 0-0 0, Trent Findley 0 0-0 0, Ollie Young 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 12-16
HOKES BLUFF – Payton Lemons 2 0-0 5, Ashton Gulledge 0 0-0 0, J.P. Fairel 0 0-0 0, Caleb McGinnis 3 2-2 8, Drake Rainey 0 0-0 0, Connor Faulkner 3 2-3 11, Jalen Robinson 0 1-2 1, Coby Latham 2 0-2 4, Jordan Presley 2 3-4 9, Tucker Marsh 2 0-1 4, Jackson Millander 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 9-16 43.
Pleasant Valley 17 16 14 17 – 64
Hokes Bluff 7 9 19 8 – 43
3-point goals: 6 Pleasant Valley (Ballew 4, Phillips Young); Hokes Bluff 6 (Lemons, Faulkner 3, Presley 2). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 17, Hokes Bluff 20. Officials: Hollingsworth, Pratt, Morehouse.
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