E.A. Sports Today

Cutting it close

Tuesday basketball: Anniston wins another nail biter, this time hitting free throws at the end, Piedmont’s Odam opens his season with triple-double, with scores and more

White Plains’ Daniel Williams (L) tries to beat the buzzer and Anniston’s Javen Croft with the final shot of Tuesday’s game. Despite the good look, the shot didn’t fall and Anniston escaped with a 44-42 victory.


TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Anniston 44, White Plains 42
Cleburne County 35, Woodland 32
Etowah 59, Cherokee County 48
Faith Christian 68, ASD 44
Glencoe 73, West End 61
Handley 61, Clay Central 47
Hokes Bluff 59, Weaver 53
Ohatchee 34, Munford 25
Piedmont 58, Wellborn 27
Saks at Donoho, ppd.
Sardis 50, Alexandria 47
Spring Garden 77, Jacksonville Christian 53
St. Clair County at Lincoln
Southside at Hewitt-Trussville
Victory Christian at Ragland

GIRLS GAMES
Anniston 42, White Plains 26
Cherokee County 57, Etowah 35
Clay Central at Handley
Faith Christian 45, ASD 10
Glencoe at West End
Hewitt-Trussville 70, Southside 46
Hokes Bluff at Weaver
Ohatchee 59, Munford 10
Oxford at Mortimer Jordan, ppd.
Piedmont 48, Wellborn 17
Sardis 56, Alexandria 39
Spring Garden 81, Jacksonville Christian 22
St. Clair County at Lincoln
Victory Christian at Ragland
Woodland 52, Cleburne County 40

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

Anniston coach Torry Brown is probably going to be glad when this week comes to an end. Maybe then, his team can finally get some rest.

The Bulldogs played a tight game for the second night in a row, but this time the free throws that almost cost them the night before pulled them through.

They scored four points in the final 10 seconds Tuesday night to hold off White Plains 44-42 for their fourth win in a row in their fifth game in eight days.

Both of the scores came with the help of offensive rebounds. Javen Croft’s putback on a missed 3-pointer from the corner tied the game with 9.9 seconds to go and Delroy Francis hit two free throws two seconds later after he was fouled rebounding Croft’s missed and-one to give the Bulldogs the lead.

White Plains still had a chance to pull it out at the end, but Daniel Williams’ open look under the basket after the Wildcats’ option for the win was denied bounced off the rim as the horn sounded.

“We were fortunate enough to get out tonight with the win and that’s extremely important considering how hard we had to work last night against Handley,” Brown said. “You don’t play as tough of a game as we played last night and come out with the same amount of juice. White Plains did a great job defending us. You’ve got to take your hats off to them, but you’ve got to give our kids credit too, they stuck with it and stuck with it.

“I used to get upset when I’d win like that. You’re happy just to get a win now and you realize there’s more to it than going out there and winning. Some people may say it was ugly but it was beautiful to me.”

The night before, the Bulldogs were a frustrating 14-of-35 from the free throw line and barely escaped with a three-point area win over Handley, so everyone who came back Tuesday held their breath when Francis went to the line with the game in the balance. He was 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute and a half when the Bulldogs needed them most.

“Coach told us before the game to focus on the free throws,” Francis said. “So I focused and I locked in when it was time for me to lock in. I heard everybody yelling. I had to mute it out.”

At the end, the Wildcats were going for the win on the road. They wanted to get it to Josh Wheeler for a winning 3-pointer from the top of the key, but they didn’t get it to him on the inbounds. Instead, Z.J. Rosario got it back from Carter Johnson, penetrated and dished to Williams who had gotten behind the defense and was alone underneath. His high arching shot over a collapsing Croft and Francis hit off the back side of the rim and he dropped to the floor, holding his head in frustration.

“We didn’t get what we wanted,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “We wanted Josh up top. We’re not going to win in overtime. We didn’t want to go overtime. We wanted to take a 3. When we didn’t hit Josh, Z.J. made a good play to get it in there and got a good look, it just didn’t go down.

“But then (if it falls) we’re headed to overtime at their place, in foul trouble. Four minutes, it’s going to take forever. We didn’t want to go to overtime. We wanted to get a 3 to win it.” 

The Wildcats did well to get back in the game after a dreadful second quarter in which they didn’t score from the field until Luke Bussey’s 3 right before the halftime horn.

The Wildcats scored only 14 points in the first half, but Bussey’s shot flipped the switch. Their patient approach paid off with more open looks from 3 in the second half and they hit five of them, including a long one by Wheeler with 5:21 left that gave them their first lead since the end of the first quarter. Randall leaped from his seat and thrust his fist into the air.

“There’s a big difference in shooting one with bulldog in your face or shooting one wide open,” Randall said. “The second quarter there was a bulldog on us. Third quarter, early in the fourth, we were open. We drew help and made some easy buckets.”

The Wheeler 3 was part of a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter that gave White Plains a 41-31 lead with 3:00 to play. But then the Wildcats had trouble at the free throw line to close it out. They were 1-of-6 from the line after the first quarter, but 1-of-4 in the final 68 seconds of the game.

“You don’t deserve to win when you’re 1-for-6 from the free throw in the final minute,” Randall said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting us confident enough to finish games.”

ANNISTON 44, WHITE PLAINS 42
WHITE PLAINS –
 Dylan Barksdale 2 0-0 4, Paul Laube 1 0-0 2, Z.T. Rosario 1 1-3 3, Silas Hines 0 0-0 0, Josh Wheeler 4 1-2 12, Daniel Williams 1 0-0 2, Collin Spivey 1 0-0 2, Luke Bussey 4 0-0 11, Carter Johnson 3 2-4 9. Totals 16 4-9 42.
ANNISTON (4-1) – Jacary Lane 2 1-4 7, Devin Coleman 0 0-0 0, Kyron Brown 2 1-2 6, Jayden Lewis 5 0-0 10, Isaiah Allen 0 0-0 0, Jace Roberson 1 0-0 3, Javen Croft 2 1-2 5, Malik Balie 1 0-0 3, Delroy Francis 1 4-4 7, Hezekiah Harris 1 0-0 2, Jamarius Billingsley 0 1-2 1, Kenneth Price 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 8-14 44.

White Plains  10        4          14        14 –     42
Anniston         9          14        8          13 –     44
3-point goals: White Plains 6 Wheeler 3, Bussey 3); Anniston 6 (Lane 2, Brown, Roberson, Balie, Francis). Fouled out: Bussey. Total fouls: White Plains 14, Anniston 18. Officials: Prociuk, Stringer, Richardson.

PIEDMONT 58, WELLBORN 27: With his college choice firmly secured, Alex Odam can concentrate on his senior season without the pressure of deciding where he’s going to play on the next level. Free of that burden, the Jacksonville State signee opened his senior season with a triple double – 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

“It was fun getting back out there on the court,” Odam said. “I was really just trying to play hard on defense and rebounding and set an example for the rest of the guys on the team.

“Offensively, we’ve got several guys this year who can really score the ball, so it makes my job playing the point real easy and lots of fun.”

Rollie Pinto added 14 points for the Bulldogs, while Ish Bethel had 11. Ethan Tidwell led Wellborn with 10 points, including two of the Panthers’ three 3-pointers.

PIEDMONT 58, WELLBORN 27
PIEDMONT (1-0) –
 Alex Odam 7 0-0 14, Rollie Pinto 5 2-2 14, Ish Bethel 5 0-0 11, Colten Proctor 0 0-0 0, Rhett Alford 3 0-0 6, Luke Rhinehart 3 1-2 8, Jake Rhinehart 0 0-0 0, Trevor Pike 0 0-0 0, Cole Wilson 2 0-0 5, Dontavious Jordan 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 3-4 58.
WELLBORN – Conner Woodard 0 0-0 0, Xavier Parker 0 0-0 0, Avery Odom 2 1-2 6, Carlos Hubbard 1 0-0 2, Jesse Lewis 1 0-0 2, Jaylon Gilbert 0 0-0 0, Ollie Boot 2 1-1 5, Immanual Singleton 0 0-0 0, Raymond Williams 0 0-0 0, Ethan Tidwell 4 0-0 10, Jackson Long 1 0-0 2, Danford 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 2-3 27.

Piedmont        18        17        17        6 –       58
Wellborn        3          4          11        9 –       27
3-point goals: Piedmont 5 (Pinto 2, Bethel, L. Rhinehart, Wilson); Wellborn 3 (Odom, Tidwell 2). Total fouls: Piedmont 6, Wellborn 3. Officials: Stubbs, Railey, Snellgrove.

HOKES BLUFF 59, WEAVER 53: The Bearcats got the good start they’ve been seeking, finally shaking the slow starts that have frustrated them most of the season, but now they need to learn to finish.

The Bearcats hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 19-11 lead and led by three at halftime, but they fell behind in the second half and couldn’t recover. They had an open look at a game-tying basket with 45 seconds to play, but Tristan Brown’s shot rimmed out and the Eagles closed the door.

“We won the first quarter, maintained in the second; that was our goal tonight,” Weaver coach Beau Winn said. “We’ve started games so bad I just tried to do something different to shorten the game.”

Brown hit a 3-pointer in all four quarters and led the Bearcats with 16 points. Armane Burton bounced back with eight points after being held scoreless the night before. Elijah Smith hit two 3s in the first quarter and finished with eight. 

Hokes Bluff’s Jordan Presley led three Eagles in double figures with a game-high 21 points. 
 
HOKES BLUFF 59, WEAVER 53
HOKES BLUFF –
 Landon Davenport 7 0-0 16, Ashton Moody 2 3-3 7, Anderson Morgan 1 0-0 2, J.C. Wetzel 0 0-0 0, Mason Miller 1 0-2 2, Colby Smith 4 3-3 11, Jordan Presley 5 9-10 21. Totals 20 15-18 59.
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 6 0-0 16, Elijah Smith 3 0-0 8, Jeffrey Miles 2 3-3 7, Dawson Brooks 4 0-3 8, Dalton Homesley 0 0-0 0, Jackson Williams 2 1-2 6, Zack Garner 0 1-2 1, Armane Burton 3 0-0 8. Totals 20 5-7 53.

Hokes Bluff    11        18        18        12 –     59
Weaver           19        13        10        11 –     53
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 4 (Davenport 2, Presley 2); Weaver 8 (Brown 4, Smith 2, Williams, Burton). Fouled out: Brown, Brooks. Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 12, Weaver 18. Officials: Calkins, Bearden, Batey.

OHATCHEE 34, MUNFORD 25: Kelby Crook and Luke Vinson combined to hit eight of 10 free throws in the second quarter while outscoring the Indians outscored Munford 13-2 to take control of the game. Crook led all scorers with 15 points. 

OHATCHEE 34, MUNFORD 25
MUNFORD –
 Demetrius Norwood 2 1-5 5, Keyshawn Castleberry 1 2-2 4, Sylvester Smith 1 0-0 3, Alex Petty 2 1-1 5, Cam Strickland 0 0-0 0, Lathan Stephens 1 0-1 3, Austin Wynn 0 1-2 1, Kelby Tucker 0 0-0 0. Javion White 2 0-2 4. Totals 9 5-12 25.
OHATCHEE – Eli Teem 0 1-2 1, Jake Roberts 0 0-0 0, Jesse Baswell 1 1-2 4, Colby Hester 0 3-4 3, Jake Robertson 2 0-2 4, Luke Vinson 2 3-4 7, Kelbe Crook 4 7-10 15. Totals 9 15-24 34.

Munford        10        2          5          8 –       25
Ohatchee        9          13        4          8 –       34
3-point goals: Munford 2 (Smith, Stephens); Ohatchee 1 (Baswell). Technical fouls: White, Stephens. Total fouls: Munford 20, Ohatchee 17. Officials:  Kelley, Jarrett, McGraw.

SARDIS 50, ALEXANDRIA 47: Kory Cargal led Alexandria with 23 points, but the Valley Cubs just came up short at the finish. The Valley Cubs fell behind right out of the gate, but climbed back into it with a 13-3 third quarter.

SARDIS 50, ALEXANDRIA 47
ALEXANDRIA –
 Drake Davis 3 1-2 10, Evan Snow 0 0-0 0, Antonio Ross 2 0-0 4, T.K. Downie 1 0-0 2, Jaylee Henderson 0 0-0 0, Matthew McLeroy 0 0-0 0, Kory Cargal 8 4-5 23, Cleat Forrest 4 0-1 8. Totals 19 5-8 47.
SARDIS – Jacob Smith 0 0-0 0, Carson Gillilan 3 0-0 7, Andrew Felter 1 0-0 2, Eli Morton 7 0-0 14, Kason Moore 4 0-0 10, Luke Martin 6 1-3 15, Jacob Bozarth 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 1-3 50.

Alexandria     11        13        13        10 –     47
Sardis             20        15        3          12 –     50
3-point goals: Alexandria 4 (Davis 3, Cargal); Sardis 5 (Gillilan, Moore 2, Martin 2). Total fouls: Alexandria 11, Sardis 11. Officials: Horn, Glass, Johnson.

FAITH CHRISTIAN 68, ASD 44: Thomas Curlee hit 12 of 18 shots from the floor on his way to 29 points and Will Smith and Conner Richerzhagen also scored in double figures for the Lions.

Smith finished with 11 points on the strength of three 3-pointers. Richerzhagen scored 10 points. Curlee also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Yoshi Arevalo, who’s usually one of the Lions’ leading scorers, had three points, but had six steals and seven assists.

Girls Games

Anniston]s defense kicked into high gear in the third quarter Tuesday night and carried the Lady Bulldogs to a 42-26 victory over White Plains.

The Lady Bulldogs held White Plains scoreless in the third quarter and without a field goal for more than 11 minutes in the second half to take complete control of the game. They outscored the Lady Wildcats 16-0 in the third quarter, creating 10 turnovers and limiting them to just four shots.

The Lady Wildcats eventually scored in the second half on two Isabella Higgins free throws with 6:11 left in the game. Cooper Martin hit their first field goal of the half on a 3-pointer with 4:36 to go.

“When we got in the locker room, (coach Eddie Bullock) told us the next half we have to go hard on defense, so we just came out here and did what he said,” junior Tykeria Smith said. “We had to go hard, make less turnovers and get our hands on a lot of balls. It’s important for us to play good defense because without defense we don’t have an offense.”

To that end Smith is adjusting to a new role as the Lady Bulldogs’ main scorer. She led them on this night with 18 points. Her three-point play late in the first quarter gave them a 12-6 lead and she scored their last seven points of the second quarter to produce a 23-15 halftime lead.

“It is a big adjustment, but I have to step up for my teammates,” she said. “I’m one of the upperclassmen I have to go hard. It is a big role for me, though.”

ANNISTON 42, WHITE PLAINS 26
WHITE PLAINS –
 Cooper Martin 1 0-0 3, Isabella Higgins 3 3-5 9, Abbie Dickerson 0 0-0 0, Anna Fouche 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 2 1-2 5, Addison Bradley 1 0-0 2, Chloee Cromer 0 0-0 0, Braeton Moran 0 0-0 0, Kylee Provencio 0 0-0 0, Cassidy Arnold 3 0-0 7. Totals 10 4-7 26.
ANNISTON – Layla Tyus 0 0-0 0, A’Kayla Perry 5 2-4 15, Jill Bergund 0 0-0 0, Matasia Truss 0 0-0 0, Saniyah Spinks 0 0-0 0, Jada Fomby 2 0-0 4, Z’Kigah Spinks 0 0-0 0, Jenayzia Oliver 0 0-0 0, Janaya Watters 1 0-0 2, Eleah McCoy 0 0-0 0, Tykeria Smith 7 4-7 18, Kiara Thomas 1 0-0 3, Tamika Foster 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-11 42.

White Plains  6          9          0          11 –     26
Anniston        12        11        16        3   –     42
3-point goals: White Plains 2 (Martin, Arnold); Anniston 4 (Perry 3, Thomas), Total fouls: White Plains 8, Anniston 13. Officials: Prociuk, Stringer, Richardson.

PIEDMONT 48, WELLBORN 17: Lele Ridley scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs to their victory. Jaycee Glover led the defensive effort with six steals.

PIEDMONT 48, WELLBORN 17
PIEDMONT –
 Armoni Perry 1-3 1-2 3, Ava Pope 6-19 0-0 14, Josie Young 2-5 0-0 5, Rylie Anne Holbrooks 1-5 0-0 3, Jaycee Glover 1-5 1-2 4, Lele Ridley 5-11 5-9 16, Cayla Brothers 0-3 1-2 1, Melanie Studdard 1-1 0-1 2, Jenna Duke 0-0 0-0 0, Carson Young 0-0 0-0 0, Gracie Naugher 0-4 0-0 0, Morgan Studdard 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Kate Barber 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 8-16 48.
WELLBORN – Braelyn Bean 0 0-0 0, Anna Odom 4 0-0 8, Mikayla Williams 1 0-0 2, Taniya Traylor 0 0-0 0, Bentley Rae Bean 0 0-0 0, Calla Hayes 2 0-0 4, Gabby Tignor 0 0-0 0, Immarieen Singleton 0 0-0 0, Libby Smith 0 0-0 0, Brooklynn Singleton 1 1-2 3, Layla Amberson 0 0-0 0, Hannah Grubbs 0 0-0 0, Molly Junior 0 0-0 0, Maci Maxwell 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 1-2 17.

Piedmont        18        13        16        1 –       48
Wellborn        8          4          3          2 –       17
3-point goals: Piedmont 6-24 (Pope 2, J. Young, Holbrooks, Glover, Ridley). Rebounds: Piedmont 25 (Ridley 9). Total fouls: Piedmont 7, Wellborn 11. Officials: Stubbs, Snellgrove, Rainey.

OHATCHEE 59, MUNFORD 10: Lindsey Zurchin hit three 3-pointers  and scored 13 points and Jorda Crook outscored another opponent with 31 points for the Indians. Crook had 14 points in the first quarter and 27 in the first half.

OHATCHEE 59, MUNFORD 10
MUNFORD –
 Breanna Hailes 1 1-2 3, Autumn Castleberry 0 0-0 0, Alys Mosely 0 0-0 0, Fantaza Calhoun 2 0-2 4, Laina Quarles 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sutton 1 1-3 3. Totals 4 2-7 10.
OHATCHEE – Tabi Davidson 1 0-1 2, Whitney McFry 1 1-2 3, Priesly Davis 1 0-0 2, Kiana Garber 0 0-0 0, Jorda Crook 11 9-17 31, Lindsey Zurchin 5 0-0 13, Alyssa Davis 3 0-0 6, Greenlee Orman 0 0-0 0, Mia Waters 0 2-2 2. Totals 22 12-22 59.

Munford        4          2          3          1 –       10
Ohatchee    18        25        13        3 –       59
3-point goals: Ohatchee 3 (Zurchin 3). Total fouls: Munford 17, Ohatchee 11. Officials: Kelley, Jarrett, McGraw.

SPRING GARDEN 81, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 22: The Lady Panthers put together another dominating performance, placing three players in double figures and scoring 32 points in the first quarter to take control.

Kaylee Kirk led all scorers with 27 points. She also blocked five shots. Libby Brown had 12 points and eight rebounds. Ace Austin had 11 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Maggie Jarrett grabbed eight rebounds and dealt five assists to go along with her six points.

Spring Garden        32        21        22        6 –       81
JCA         6          5          7         4 –       22

SARDIS 56, ALEXANDRIA 39: Caroline Johnson hit five 3-pointers, four in the fourth quarter, to help Sardis pull away from the Lady Lions. It was a two-point game going into the fourth before Johnson erupted for 16 of her 26 points. 

Jordyn Walker scored all 13 of her points in the first three quarters to keep the Lady Cubs in the game. Alexandria hit six 3s in the game, with Cassidy Hartsfield connecting on half of them.

SARDIS 56, ALEXANDRIA 39
ALEXANDRIA –
 Jordyn Walker 4 5-9 13, Kirsten Heathcock 2 0-0 4, Cassidy Hartsfield 3 0-0 9, Charlee Parris 1 3-4 6, Kailey Dickerson 0 1-2 1, Sumira Duncan 1 0-0 3, Makayla Brewster 1 0-1 3. Totals 12 9-16 39.
SARDIS – Sidney Rutledge 0 0-0 0, Grace Harris 0 0-0 0, Kytha Edwards 1 4-4 6, Mia Fowler 0 0-0 0, Gisel Mendez 3 0-0 7, Carlie Dalrymple 0 0-0 0, Caroline Johnson 10 1-2 26, Casey Knight 1 0-0 3, Jayda Lacks 2 7-10 11, Kaylen Wallace 0 3-6 3. Totals 17 15-22 56.

Alexandria     5          10        15        9  –      39
Sardis             5          14        13        24 –     56
3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Hartsfield 3, Parris, Duncan, Brewster); Sardis 7 (Mendez, Johnson 5, Knight). Technical fouls: Rutledge. Fouled out: Heathcock, Duncan. Total fouls: Alexandria 20. Sardis 18. Officials: Johnson, Howell, Ellison.

FAITH CHRISTIAN 45, ASD 10: The Lady Lions won their first game of the season and gave coach La’Ray Williams his first victory as a head coach.

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