Golden Eagles on target
- Updated: January 7, 2022
Jacksonville lights it up from 3-point range, rout Cherokee County; Faith, JCA, PV, Oxford, White Plains all win among county teams
FRIDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Clay Central 36, Sylacauga 33
Faith Christian 66, Winterboro 54
Handley 66, Munford 43
Jacksonville 87, Cherokee County 57
Jacksonville Christian 54, Wellborn 38
Pleasant Valley 57, Ohatchee 48
Oxford 50, Pell City 38
Ragland 69, Coosa Christian 59
White Plains 72, Cleburne County 28
By Shannon Fagan
Special to East Alabama Sports Today
CENTRE — First-year Jacksonville basketball coach Shane Morrow said his team is learning when and when not to shoot a 3-pointer.
On Friday night at Class 4A Area 10 rival Cherokee County, the Golden Eagles took a lot of good shots outside the arc – and made more than half of them.
Jacksonville sank 14 of 26 of its 3-point attempts and sank the Warriors, 87-57.
Eight Jacksonville players took a 3-pointer in the game and seven of them made at least one. The Golden Eagles (11-4, 4-0) drained five treys in the first quarter to set the tempo and build a 21-13 advantage. Three more before halftime gave them a 45-30 edge.
“When we came in, I wanted to establish the up-tempo, get the ball out,” Morrow said. “That’s what modern basketball is going to. You see it everyday on TV. The kids enjoy it, and we work at it. We shoot a ton during PE and practice. I hate to say we live and die by it. We were 14-of-26, so that’s not bad.
“Like I said, they work at it. Give the kids credit. It’s not like this is coming just out of the blue. We just got hot. They put the work in, and I’m glad it’s paying off for them.”
Julian Hill led the Golden Eagles in the 3-point shooting contest. He hit 5-of-9 shots from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points.
“He played well,” Morrow said. “He’s capable of doing that at any moment. Everybody’s got a role on this team and that’s his role, shooting. He can drive and do all those other things, but he’s come a long way on the defensive end. I know he hit a bunch of 3s tonight, but I’m probably
more proud of the effort he’s started putting in on the defensive end.
“He’s taken several charges this year. He’s playing help side. He’s playing with a lot of energy, always wanting to guard one of their better players. He’s always been able to shoot, but (defensively) has been a big turnaround.”
Jacksonville’s John Broom topped all scorers with 23 points. He hit three 3-pointers and also had eight rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block. Cade Phillips finished with 13 points, 10 boards and four blocks. Caden Johnson, Devin Barksdale and Camren Johnson rang for 9, 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Cherokee County coach Caleb Hays said his game plan centered on neutralizing the Golden Eagles’ size advantage. He just didn’t anticipate them shooting almost 54 percent from the arc.
“The last time we played them, 73 of their (93) points came from inside the paint and the free-throw line,” he said. “We were obviously worried about their size, trying to take that out, trying to force them to the perimeter and close out. They shoot the ball and get to the rim, and they
finish well.
“They’re probably the most talented team I’ve seen top to bottom. They’re really, really good. You have to play unbelievable to beat that team. That’s a very, very talented team. When they shoot the ball like that, it makes it very difficult to coach.”
The coaches in Calhoun County recognized that depth and installed the Golden Eagles as the No. 1 seed in next week’s Calhoun County Tournament.
But Jacksonville didn’t have all the outside sharpshooters on this night.
Jack Amos led the Warriors (8-8, 1-2) with 17 points, including five treys of his own. Malachi Horton had 11 points. Landon Caldwell connected on three treys for nine points.
“I thought we needed to finish better to stay in the game early,” Hays said. “I thought we had a lot of opportunities, some open shots we needed to hit, some things we could’ve finished. We changed our shot, but a lot of that was because of what their defensive presence is.
“They do a good job of not fouling you, but deflecting your shots and making you change the way you shoot. If you do just go into them, they’re a good shot-blocking team. They’re just extremely talented.”
Shannon Fagan is sports director of WEIS radio in Centre.
Jacksonville 87, Cherokee County 57
JACKSONVILLE (11-4) – John Broom 7-12 6-6 23, Julian Hill 6-10 0-0 17, Cade Phillips 5-8 2-4 13, Caden Johnson 4-9 0-0 9, Devin Barksdale 3-5 0-1 7, Camren Johnson 2-4 2-5 7, Taj Morris 1-1 0-0 3, Quin Long 1-3 1-2 3, Ethan Duke 1-2 0-0 2, Monte Sinclair 1-1 0-0 2, Jacoby Zackery 0-1 0-0 0, Hayden Robinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-56 11-18 87.
CHEROKEE COUNTY (8-8) – Jackson Amos 5-10 2-2 17, Malachi Horton 4-7 3-6 11, Landon Caldwell 3-7 0-0 9, C.J. Gresham 2-4 1-2 5, Jaden Wilson 1-5 1-2 3, Cade Hopper 1-6 0-0 3, Gabe Chester 1-3 0-0 3, Braden Chandler 1-2 0-0 3, Eli Martin 1-5 1-2 3, Jackson Neyman 0-0 0-0 0, Colin Givens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 8-14 57.
Jacksonville 21 24 25 17 – 87
Cherokee County 13 17 15 12 – 57
3-point goals: Jacksonville 14-26 (Broom 3-4, Hill 5-9, Phillips 1-2, Cd. Johnson 1-2, Barksdale 2-4, Cm. Johnson 1-3, Morris 1-1, Zackery 0-1); Cherokee County 11-27 (Amos 5-8, Caldwell 3-6, Hopper 1-6, Chester 1-3, Chandler 1-1, Martin 0-3). Rebounds: Jacksonville 39 (Phillips 10, Broom 8, Cd. Johnson 7); Cherokee County 24 (Wilson 7). Total fouls: Jacksonville 14, Cherokee County 14.
Oxford 50, Pell City 38
OXFORD (11-10) – Jaylen Alexander 4 0-0 10, Zurrell Garrett 0 0-0 0, Rylan Houck 6 2-2 17, Kyler Wright 5 1-1 13, Aaron McFarland 0 0-0 0, J.D. Jones 1 1-2 4, Mike McGraw 0 4-7 4, Jayden Lewis 0 0-0 0, Ashton Mitchell 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 8-12 50.
PELL CITY – Evan Watson 6 0-0 14, Caleb Groce 1 0-0 2, Jayden Young 2 4-5 9, Brayley Smith 1 0-0 2, Garrison Hildebrand 0 0-0 0, Braedan Brewis 1 0-0 2, Jaden Coleman 2 0-0 4, Michael Snow 1 3-3 5. Totals 14 7-8 38.
Oxford 14 10 16 10 – 50
Pell City 10 10 11 7 – 38
3-point goals: Oxford 8 (Alexander 2, Houck 3, Wright 2, Jones); Pell City 3 (Watson 2, Young). Total fouls: Oxford 13, Pell City 11. Officials: Clay, Nabors, Williams.
Pleasant Valley 57, Ohatchee 48
OHATCHEE (3-10) – Eli Teem 3 1-2 7, Jake Roberts 3 0-1 7, Jesse Baswell 1 0-0 2, Carson Tittle 0 0-2 0, Colby Hester 0 0-0 0, Jake Roberson 3 2-4 8, Kelbe Crook 5 15-21 25. Totals 15 18-30 48.
PLEASANT VALLEY (5-12) – Braydon Maye 0 0-0 0, Garrett Cranmer 6 6-14 18, Dalton Haynes 2 2-2 7, Braden Robinson 2 0-0 4, Kolby Battles 4 0-1 8, Zeke Johnson 1 2-5 4. Luke Cramer 0 0-0 0, Kyle Smith 6 0-0 16. Totals 21 10-22 57.
Ohatchee 11 11 9 17 – 48
Pleasant Valley 7 14 12 24 – 57
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 5 (Haynes, Smith 4). Fouled out: Roberts, Baswell, Maye, Battles. Total fouls: Ohatchee 21, Pleasant Valley 23. Officials: Wise, Howell, Chaddick. Notes: Smith scored eight of his 16 in the fourth quarter for PV.
Faith Christian 66, Winterboro 54
WINTERBORO – Chance Dandridge 9 2-4 22, Jadion Swain 1 0-0 2, Brandon Hunter 5 3-4 13, Jamario Clegg 0 1-2 1, Merritt 1 0-0 2, Devon Jones 0 0-0 0, Troy McKinney 2 0-0 6, Dawson Moseley 2 0-1 4, James 0 0-0 0, Kamareon Curry 2 0-0 4. Totals 22-61 6-11 54.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (14-5) – Yashua Arevalo 2-8 5-10 9, Jacque Prater 1-6 0-0 2, Thomas Curlee 1318 6-9 34, Ethan Richerzhagen 3-13 12-16 18, Brodie Dodson 0-1 0-0 0, Demonde Bell 0-2 0-0 0, Colton Pahman 1-2 0-0 3, Damian Arevalo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-51 23-35 66.
Winterboro 18 11 9 16 – 54
Faith 18 24 13 11 – 66
3-point goals: Winterboro 4-20 (Dandridge 2, McKinney 2); Faith 3-15 (Curlee 2-3, Richerzhagen 0-4, Y. Arevalo 0-2, Pahman 1-2, Prater 0-3, Dodson 0-1). Rebounds: Winterboro 31, Faith 29 (Richerzhagen 10). Technical fouls: McKinney, Richerzhagen. Fouled out: Clegg, Prater. Total fouls: Winterboro 26, Faith 13. Officials: Jarrett, Kelley, Miller. Notes: Richerzhagen hit his first 10 free throws and 11-of-12 in the first half. Richerzhagen and Curlee were a combined 16-for-17 from the line in the first half. Bell had five steals.
White Plains 72, Cleburne County 28
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Andrew Adams 2 1-2 6, Brody Higgins 0 0-0 0, Joel Campbell 0 0-0 0, Jackson Miller 2 2-6 7, Jaylan Groce 0 0-0 0, Rico Huguley 2 1-2 7, Dawson Haynes 0 0-0 0, Kyler McGrinn 2 0-0 5, Alex Whatley 0 0-0 0, Greyson Freeman 1 1-2 3. Totals 9 5-12 28.
WHITE PLAINS (7-10) – Paul Laube 3 3-4 10, Dylan Barksdale 1 0-0 2, Cole Senciboy 3 0-0 7, Josh Wheeler 5 0-3 13, ZJ Rosario 3 6-8 13, Braden Knight 1 0-0 2, Daniel Williams 2 2-2 6, Walker Osteen 4 4-7 12, Kendrick Ball 3 0-0 7. Totals 25 15-24 72.
Cleburne County 4 11 8 5 – 28
White Plains 23 13 22 14 – 72
3-point goals: Cleburne County 5 (Adams, Miller, Hugley 2, McGrinn); White Plains 7 (Laube, Senciboy, Wheeler 3, Rosario, Ball). Technical fouls: Freeman, Williams. Total fouls: Cleburne County 18, White Plains 11. Officials: Batey, Pratt, Hoffman.
Ragland 69, Coosa Christian 59
COOSA – Grayson Malone 2 0-0 5, Tylan Sims 2 0-4 4, Hayden Peek 12 0-0 28, Drake Albury 1 0-0 2, Zachary Elrod 0 1-2 1, John David Justus 4 0-0 11, Dartavius Mackey 0 0-0 0, Elijah Motes 3 2-3 8. Totals 24 3-9 59.
RAGLAND – Dante Pickett 0 0-0 0, Javaris Turner 0 0-0 0, Jordan Turner 10 0-0 23, Braxton Layton 4 1-2 9, Kentrell Turner 6 3-5 16, Taevon Williams 0 0-0 0, Ezra Hill 2 0-0 4, D.J. Turner 6 5-9 17, Chase Forman 0 0-2 0. Totals 28 9-18 69.
Coosa 9 7 20 23 – 59
Ragland 16 17 25 11 – 69
3-point goals: Coosa 8 (Malone, Peek 4, Justus 3); Ragland 4 (Jo. Turner 3, K. Turner). Fouled out: Sims. Total fouls: Coosa 15, Ragland 11.
Jacksonville Christian 54, Wellborn 38
Ethan Fair scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder (7-9). Brodie Clay had eight points, while Braxton Brown and Cam Moses each had seven and Jordan Garner had six. Moses grabbed six rebounds, while Brown and Clay had five apiece.
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