The bar is raised
- Updated: December 7, 2021
Faith Christian wins fifth in a row, Jville’s Phillips scores triple-double in loss; Faith, Jacksonville, PV girls all win … and more
MONDAY’S BOYS SCORES
Faith Christian 88, Jacksonville Christian 70
Handley 57, Munford 50
Hokes Bluff 76, Weaver 38
Ragland 58, Pleasant Valley 46
Southeastern at Donoho
Talladega 59, Jacksonville 56
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Before the season began Faith Christian might have been considered one of those nice little middle-of-the-county-tournament-bracket teams on the east side of town, one that would be competitive and win just enough games to keep everyone happy.
But 11 games into the Cory Hughes era – and make no mistakes, he wants it to be an era – the bar has been raised.
The Lions won their fifth in a row Monday night, jumping out on Jacksonville Christian early and coasting to an 88-70 victory to take the early upper hand in their area. They have won seven of their last eight after an 0-3 start.
Three of their four losses have come to teams 4A and larger while the other has been in overtime. They had Jacksonville reeling in the first half of their season opener and they almost beat 6A Fort Payne on the final day of the Glencoe Thanksgiving Classic.
“My goal to come here was to be here the next 20 years – my kids are probably going to go to school here – and we want to create a base of really, really good basketball,” Hughes said. “We’re not ever going to be happy with winning some games. We’re always going to be wanting better and better and better and playing really, really good basketball.”
Ethan Richerzhagen, who led the Lions with 28 points, said the standard was raised the moment JCA eliminated them in the area tournament last year.
“We knew who our team was coming up this next year so we knew what we could do,” Richerzhagen said. “When we came in the first day of practice it was just we’ve got to execute.
“The Jacksonville game, we fought as hard as we could. They beat us, but I still think we proved what we needed to in that first half of the Jacksonville game. It’s really just executing what the coaches put in and keep doing it.”
The Lions didn’t necessarily meet the new standard early against the Thunder even though they build a big lead. Their play just wasn’t sharp enough for Hughes’ liking.
But in the third quarter when they threatened to turn on the fast clock and again after the starters returned midway through the fourth quarter it did.
The teams played to a 15-all tie in the first quarter. But with JCA leading scorer Ethan Fair picking up three fouls in the first quarter and his fourth shortly before halftime, the Lions took control with a 32-point second quarter.
They extended the lead to 26 early in the fourth. That’s when Hughes cleared the bench, but when the Thunder cut its deficit in half midway through the quarter, that’s when the starters returned and stretched the lead back to a comfortable margin.
“We did get a win so we’re happy with that, but we just played a really undisciplined first half,” Hughes said. “We play that way against a good team, we’re going to get smacked. No matter who it is, we have to come out real disciplined.
“This was a very undisciplined team when I got them so what we’re really trying to sew in is discipline and doing the right thing every time.”
Richerzhagen was 10-of-16 from the floor and had eight rebounds to go with his 28 points. Thomas Curlee had 22 points and seven rebounds. Yoshua Arevalo had 11 points and six steals.
Despite his early foul trouble, Fair still led the Thunder with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Cameron Moses had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Tyler Doggrell had 15 points and Braxton Brown was 3-for-3 from behind the arc and had nine.
The Lions will go for their sixth in a row and get halfway to their goal of going undefeated in area play Tuesday against Coosa Christian.
Faith Christian 88, Jacksonville Christian 70
JCA – Emmanuel Kidd 1-4 0-0 3, Ethan Fair 5-18 7-10 18, Tyler Doggrell 5-15 5-6 15, Braxton Brown 3-4 0-0 9, Jordan Garner 1-4 0-0 2, Cameron Moses 6-17 2-6 16, Brodie Clay 3-7 1-2 7. Totals 24-69 15-24 70.
FAITH – Ethan Richerzhagen 10-16 7-9 28, Thomas Curlee 10-15 1-4 22, Yoshua Arevalo 4-8 3-4 11, Colton Pahman 4-7 0-0 9, Jacques Prater 2-6 4-5 8, Brodie Dodson 2-8 0-0 6, Damian Arevalo 1-3 0-0 2, Eli Robinson 1-3 0-0 2, Tyler Bell 0-4 0-0 0, Joseph Carroll 0-1 0-0 0, Brady Whitworth 0-0 0-2 0, Demonde Bell 0-0 0-0 0, Will Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-71 15-24 88.
JCA 15 15 12 28 – 70
Faith 15 32 19 22 – 88
3-point goals: JCA 7-18 (Kidd 1-3, Fair 1-3, Brown 3-3, Moses 2-8, Garner 0-1);
Faith 5-24 (Richerzhagen 1-1, Curlee 1-3, Y. Arevalo 0-2, Pahman 1-4, Prater 0-2, Dodson 2-8, Robinson 0-1, T. Bell 0-2, Carroll 0-1). Rebounds: JCA 39 (Fair 8, Moses 13); Faith 33 (Richerzhagen 8, Curlee 7). Fouled out: Moses, Clay, Fair. Total fouls: JCA 21, Faith 20. Officials: Taylor, Warren, Garrett.
TALLADEGA 59, JACKSONVILLE 56: The Tigers opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to get back in the game and a technical foul led to a three-point swing that gave them the lead.
The Golden Eagles carried an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter and were outscored 23-12. The key swing came after a steal was blown dead by a holding foul and the resulting technical foul resulted in a three-point swing that gave Talladega the lead instead of extending Jacksonville’s.
Talladega’s Durquavion Truss led all scorers with 20 points. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
John Broom led Jacksonville with 13 points. Cade Phillips had a triple double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.
Talladega 59, Jacksonville 56
JACKSONVILLE – John Broom 6-11 0-1 13, Cade Phillips 5-12 2-7 12, Julian Hill 5-9 0-0 12, Caden Johnson 3-7 0-0 6, Camren Johnson 3-12 0-0 6, Ethan Duke 1-2 2-2 4, Devin Barksdale 1-5 0-0 3, Taj Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Jacoby Zackery 0-0 0-0 0, Kydric Fisher 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 4-10 56.
TALLADEGA – Durquavion Truss 7-20 3-4 20, Roderick Jones 5-17 0-0 14, Jaylyn Lawson 4-9 0-0 9, Amari Webb 3-5 1-3 7, Traveon Traylor 3-7 0-0 6, Jaquintez Garrett 0-2 2-2 2, Lecroy Wallace 0-0 1-2 1, Kylan Curry 0-2 0-0 0, Ollie McMilliam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 7-11 59.
Jacksonville 13 14 17 12 – 56
Talladega 11 11 14 23 – 59
3-point goals: Jacksonville 4-18 (Broom 1-4, Hill 2-4, Cd. Johnson 0-1, Cm. Johnson 0-5, Barksdale 1-3, Fisher 0-1); Talladega 8-23 (Truss 3-6, Jones 4-12, Lason 1-1, Webb 0-1, Traylor 0-1, Garrett 0-1, Curry 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 46 (Phillips 10, Cd. Johnson 10, Cm. Johnson 7); Talladega 49 (Webb 10, Jones 8). Fouled out: Broom. Total fouls: Jacksonville 15, Talladega 14.
RAGLAND 58, PLEASANT VALLEY 46: After being held scoreless in the first half, Javaris Turner came alive in the third quarter, hitting three of his four 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in an 18-6 flurry that proved the margin of victory.
D.J. Turner (14) and Kentrell Turner (10) also scored in double figures for the Purple Devils, who held a three-point lead at halftime before pulling away.
“I was happy we were able to pull out the win despite not shooting the ball well,” Ragland coach Andy Eden said. “I thought we defended well and in the end we were able to create some turnovers.”.
PV, meanwhile, got scoring from nine of its 10 players, as coach Brad Hood divided the time equally to keep them fresh for Tuesday’s area game with Weaver. Kolby Battles and Pelham Parris scored 11 points each.
Ragland 58, Pleasant Valley46
RAGLAND – Dante Pickett 0 0-0 0, Javaris Turner 7 0-0 18, Jordan Turner 3 0-0 8, Braxton Layton 2 0-0 4, Kentrell Turner 3 4-6 10, Ezra Hall 2 0-0 4, D.J. Turner 6 2-7 14. 23 6-13 58.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Braydon Maye 0 0-0 0, Garrett Cranmer 2 1-2 5, Jacob Teal 1 0-0 2, Dalton Haynes 3 0-0 6, Brayden Robinson 2 0-0 4, Kolby Battles 5 1-2 11, Zeke Johnson 1 0-0 3, Sam Palmer 1 0-0 2, Pelham Parris 5 1-1 11, Kyle Smith 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 5-7 46.
Ragland 13 15 18 12 – 58
Pleasant Valley 13 12 6 15 – 46
3-point goals: Ragland 6 (Ja. Turner 4, Jo. Turner 2); PV 1 (Johnson). Total fouls: Ragland 6, PV 9. Officials: Burroughs, Hoffman.
HOKES BLUFF 76, WEAVER 38: Landon Davenport hit five of Hokes Bluff’s nine 3-pointers in a 33-point second quarter that gave the Eagles control.
The Eagles hit 10 3-pointers in the first half and 12 in the game. Dawson Teague, John Wetzel and Jordan Presley hit two apiece. Davenport finished with 19 points – all in the first half. Presley had 17 points.
Jeffrey Miles and Tristan Brown had 10 apiece for Weaver.
Hokes Bluff 76, Weaver 38
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 4 1-2 10, Jeffrey Miles 5 0-0 10, Kohl Perry 2 1-1 6, Elijah Smith 1 0-0 2, Dawson Brooks 1 0-0 2, Buck McGregor 0 0-0 0, Armane Burton 3 0-0 6, Brayden Character 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 2-3 38.
HOKES BLUFF – Avron Nix 2 0-0 4, Harrison Millander 1 0-0 2, Ashton Moody 1 0-0 2, Dayton Schrimsher 1 0-0 3, Kyle Patterson 0 3-4 3, Dawson Teague 4 0-0 10, Jaylon Simmons 2 0-0 4, John Wetzel 3 0-0 8, Mason Miller 1 0-0 2, Colby Smith 1 0-0 2, Landon Davenport 7 0-0 19, Jordan Presley 7 1-1 17. Totals 30 4-5 76.
Weaver 17 6 10 5 – 38
Hokes Bluff 14 33 14 15 – 76
3-point goals: Weaver 2 (Brown, Perry); Hokes Bluff 12 (Schrimsher, Teague 2, Wetzel 2, Davenport 5, Presley 2). Technical fouls: Burton, Simmons. Fouled out: Burton. Total fouls: Weaver 10, Hokes Bluff 9. Officials: Pratt, Hollingsworth, Mallicoat.
HANDLEY 57, MUNFORD 50: Munford led by one late in the game, but Handley pulled away down the stretch, hitting 6 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Rondai Banks led the Tigers with 19 points.
The Lions trailed by 12 at halftime, but climbed back into it in the third behind four 3-pointers and 14 points by Connor Morgan. Morgan finished with 26 and Jaquan Anderson had 22. Caderio Holland’s basket in the fourth quarter was the only other scoring for Munford.
Rondai Banks led Handley with 19 points.
Handley 57, Munford 50
HANDLEY –Tamarious Treadwell 2 0-1 5, Tydrick Treadwell 3 5-6 11, Quadae Lewis 1 2-2 4, Terrance Tucker 2 0-0 4, O’Neil 0 2-2 2, Jamarius Haynes 1 0-1 2, Cannon Kyles 2 0-0 5, Jordan West 2 0-2 5, Rondai Banks 9 1-4 19, Devontae Higgins 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-18 57.
MUNFORD – Jaquan Anderson 9 2-2 22, Caderio Holland 1 0-0 2, Cpnnor Morgan 6 9-10 26, Demetrius Norwood 0 0-0 0, Lathan Stephens 0 0-1 0
Alex Petty 0 0-0 0, Kelby Tucker 0 0-0 0, Kyler Gibson 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 11-13 50.
Handley 12 16 12 17 – 57
Munford 9 7 19 15 – 50
3-point goals: Handley 3 (Ta. Treadwell, Kyles, West); Munford 7 (Anderson 2, Morgan 5). Technical fouls: Banks. Fouled out: Holland. Total fouls: Handley 17, Munford 17. Officials: Smith, Brown, Pace.
This story will be updated.
Girls games
MONDAY’S SCORES
Faith Christian 51, Jacksonville Christian 44
Handley 65, Munford 13
Hokes Bluff 56, Weaver 13
Jacksonville 41, Talladega 39
Pleasant Valley 51, Ragland 29
Southeastern 52, Donoho 16
TALLADEGA – Jacksonville opened a big halftime lead and then got a defensive stop at the end to hold off Talladega 41-39 for its second win of the season.
The Lady Golden Eagles were led by Amarie Curry’s double-double (17 points and 11 rebounds). Ashley Grant scored 14 points.
“This is the first time this young group has been in a late-game situation like that,” Jacksonville coach Tres Buzan said. “By no means was it perfect, but we pulled it out and I’m proud of the girls for that.
“We’re learning and getting better every day and with every game.”
Trinity Webb led Talladega with 31 points, but the Lady Tigers only got scoring from three other players.
Jacksonville 41, Talladega 39
JACKSONVILLE – Amarie Curry 5-12 5-10 17, Ashley Grant 5-14 1-1 14, Halaina Lozano 2-5 0-0 6, Alexis Phillips 1-2 1-4 3, Mya Swain 0-1 1-2 1, DeAsia Prothro 0-4 0-0 0, Kiara LaCount 0-0 0-0 0, MiArah Hardy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-39 8-17 41.
TALLADEGA – Trinity Webb 12-24 4-6 31, Makiyah Wllson 1-3 1-5 3, Houston Goins 1-10 0-0 3, Harmony Webb 1-1 0-0 2, Lamyah Elston 0-9 0-0 0, Janai Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Gykeriah Collins 0-0 0-2 0, Keyoshia Garrett 0-1 0-0 0, Makayala White 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 15-51 5-13 39.
Jacksonville 14 16 6 5 – 41
Talladega 6 6 12 15 – 39
3-point goals: Jacksonville 7-15 (Curry 2-2, Grant 3-8, Lozano 2-3, Swain 0-1, Hardy 0-1); Talladega 4-20 (Webb 3-7, Goins 1-8, Elston 0-2, White 0-3). Rebounds: Jacksonville 35 (Curry 11, Prothro 5); Talladega 40 (Webb 13, Elston 11). Total fouls: Jacksonville 9, Talladega 12.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 51, JCA 44: Ally Folsom posted a double-double and Arianna Arevalo scored all six of her points in a 7-2 run late in the fourth quarter that gave the Lady Lions control.
“I’m happy for the girls,” Faith coach Jacques Prater said. “They really needed this win, especially after that Westbrook look. They were kind of down, but we came back.”
Folsom scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Arevalo started her run after JCA closed to within 42-41. Two of her buckets came off inbounds plays under the basket and the other came on a putback after he rebounded a missed free throw.
The Lady Lions grabbed 45 rebounds in the game, 20 on the offensive glass and 10 of those by Folsom.
“Rebounding and defense, that’s where it starts, and we played some hard defense,” Prater said. “Even though they made shots, we didn’t ever stop playing that hard defense, and we rebounded well. We had 20 offensive rebounds, that’s the most we’ve had in two seasons.”
JCA jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but then scored on only two of its next 16 possessions. Faith scored 11 quick points to take the lead and went up 27-22 at halftime. The Lady Lions hit three straight 3-pointers – two by Joelle Tillery – to get the run started.
Folsom, limited by foul trouble in her last game, was particularly effective in the second quarter. She had seven points and five rebounds in the quarter.
The Lady Thunder bounced back in the third and had it tied at 37 going into the fourth quarter.
Faith Christian 51, Jacksonville Christian 44
JCA – Erin Prater 4-21 0-0 12, Kara Grace 4-9 5-8 13, Addy Lee 2-6 0-1 4, Kirsten Walker 2-9 0-3 4, Katie Beth Hudson 0-1 0-2 0, Ella Kines 1-2 1-2 4, Riley Sanders 1-2 1-1 4, Hannah Clayton 1-9 0-0 3, Totals 15-59 7-17 44.
FAITH – Ally Folsom 5-16 6-17 16, Joelle Tillery 3-6 2-2 11, Megan Ford 3-13 1-2 8, Serenity Pate 3-7 0-1 6, Arianna Arevalo 3-7 0-0 6, Anna Strautman 2-9 0-2 4, Jana Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Price 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 9-24 51.
JCA 11 11 15 7 – 44
Faith 15 12 10 14 – 51
3-point goals: JCA 7-27 (Prater 4, Kines, Sanders, Clayton); Faith 4-11 (Tillery 3-6, Ford 1-3, Strautman 0-2). Rebounds; JCA 31, Faith 45 (Folsom 15, Tillery 8, Strautman 8). Fouled out: Folsom. Total fouls: JCA 20, Faith 14. Officials: Taylor, Warren, Garrett.
PLEASANT VALLEY 51, RAGLAND 29: PV coach Colton Morris went against his former team for the first time and came out with a victory. All five Ragland starters were players he coached on the varsity when he was there before returning to PV.
The Lady Raiders opened a 10-point halftime lead and won going away.
Lily Henry and Rylee Haynes led PV with 14 and 13, respectively. Macey Roper was just cleared Sunday to return from injury and had eight points. Ragland’s Samantha Day-Jones led all scorers with 15 points.
Pleasant Valley 51, Ragland 29
RAGLAND – Samantha Day-Jones 6 2-2 15, Rylee Mickler 2 0-0 4, Cadence Buchanan 1 0-0 2, Campbell Adams 2 0-2 4, Aubrey Ball 1 0-2 2, Heather Bird 0 0-2 0, Conya Brewster 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 2-8 29.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Lily Henry 5 2-2 14, Rylee Haynes 5 3-4 13, Rebekah Gannaway 1 3-6 5, Marlie Wright 1 1-2 4, Kianna Hester 0 0-0 0, Gracie Hood 1 0-0 2, Anna Worthy 2 1-1 5, Macey Roper 4 0-0 8. Totals 19 10-13 51.
Ragland 5 9 8 8 – 29
Pleasant Valley 10 14 18 9 – 51
3-point goals: Ragland 1 (Jones); PV 3 (Henry 2, Wright). Technical fouls: Jones. Fouled out: Jones, Buchanan. Total fouls: Ragland 18, PV 12.
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