Jacksonville, AL – Piedmont boys win in dramatic finish to day that saw eight games. Two boys’ semifinalists, two girls’ semifinalists set.
74th Calhoun County Basketball Tournament
BOYS’ PAIRINGS
FRIDAY, Jan. 17
No. 12 Saks 52, No. 13 Faith Christian 48
No. 11 Jacksonville Christian 73, No. 14 Wellborn 60
SATURDAY, Jan. 18
No. 6 Weaver 87, JCA 52
No. 5 Jacksonville 78, Saks 60
MONDAY, Jan. 20
No. 7 White Plains 60, No. 10 Pleasant Valley 47
No. 8 Ohatchee 67, No. 9 Donoho 51
No. 3 Anniston 57, Weaver 38
No. 4 Piedmont 52, Jacksonville 50
SATURDAY, Jan. 25
No. 2 Alexandria vs. White Plains 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Oxford vs. Ohatchee, 8:30 p.m.
MONDAY, Jan. 27
Semifinals
Anniston vs. Alexandria/White Plains, 5:30 p.m.
Oxford/Ohatchee vs. Piedmont, 8:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, Jan. 28
Championship, 8 p.m.

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WHITE PLAINS 60, PLEASANT VALLEY 47: White Plains (10-15) outscored Pleasant Valley 13-5 in the third quarter to take control, and Ethan Turner’s bucket at the quarter buzzer put the Wildcats up 41-31.
“We knew they bench was kind of thin, so we wanted to get into their bench,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “We felt like, in the third quarter, it really paid off. We had fresh legs.”
Ethan Turner led White Plains with 13 points. Cobb Harmon added 11, with two 3-pointers, and Crew Martin scored 10 points.
Braxton Salster led Pleasant Valley with 21 points, and Hunter Sparks added 13.
No. 7 seed White Plains, a team that had to replace eight departed seniors this season, plays No. 2 Alexandria in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal. Monday’s game got the Wildcats over their nerves from playing in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
“We were a little nervous because most of us have never played in here before,” Turner said. “Everybody’s watching you. The lights are on you. it’s a lot different.”
“Once we got the jitters out, we were playing good.”
— Joe Medley
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OHATCHEE 67, DONOHO 51: First-year Ohatchee coach Quintarius Hutchison was a part of three Calhoun County championship teams as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart and three as a player at Anniston.
On Monday, he guided Ohatchee to victory in is first county-tourney game as a head coach.
Brayden Collins led the way with 20 points, including two 3-pointers, and Jake Roberson added 18 as No. 8 Ohatchee (15-7) handled short-handed No. 9 Donoho and earned a quarterfinal shot against top seed Oxford.
Hutchison said winning a his first county-tourney game as a head coach “feels amazing.”
“My kids got to watch it, man,” he said. “I’m so blessed, man. I’m blessed Ohatchee was behind me. The community was here. I’m blessed. It feels great.”
Ohatchee led 32-23 at halftime then took off in the second quarter, building a 61-33 lead going into the fourth.
“We started off real bad, but we’re usually a second-half team,” Collins said. “I feel like we all came together in the third quarter.”
Ohatchee also got 14 points from Alston Carroll, who hit two 3-pointers.
Donoho played without forward Jordan Cameron, who sustained an ankle injury in a game against Pleasant Valley. He watched Monday’s game with a protective boot on his lower-right leg.
Ryan Crawford led the Falcons with 21 points, including two 3-pointers. Bruce Downey added nine points.
— Joe Medley
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ANNISTON 57, WEAVER 38: No. 3 Anniston (16-3) went on a 27-7 run to end the game, won its 13th game in a row and punched its ticket to the semifinals.
The Bulldogs will face the winner between No. 2 Alexandria and No. 7 White Plains on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Anniston started its game-ending run after Weaver went up 31-30 in the third quarter.
“Defense,” said Anniston’s Ja’korie Carr, who led all scorers with 26. “All week, we’ve been working on defense, working for this game. We just came in with a game plan and executed.
“We just kept our head up, not letting the score tell us anything.”
Anniston’s run also started with a personnel adjustment. Anniston coach Torry Brown went with a small lineup.
“I took out the two big guys and put in, really, five guards to kind of match up with them,” he said. “Our big guys weren’t giving us anything at that time.
“It got to 37-31, got us a little cushion, and then we were able to hit a shot here and there and got a little separation.”
Carr’s performance stands as one of the tournament’s second highest-scoring performance so far, one point behind a 27-point performance from Jacksonville Christian’s Jesse Gannaway.
“Jakorie is like that every night,” Brown said. “Every night. I have yet to find somebody that’s watched our team and, at the end of the night, didn’t mention Jakorie Carr.”
As for Anniston’s streak, it started after a loss at home, to Alexandria, and includes a victory over Alexandria, which the Bulldogs could face in the semifinals.
“We do a lot of things that look like we’ve been coached well, and then we do a lot of things that look like we haven’t been coached.” Brown said. “We’re just happy to win games and correct things while we’re winning.”
Anniston also got 12 points from Caleb Ackles, who made a one-handed catch and dunk on an alley-oop pass to put Anniston up 23–20 at 3:10 of the second quarter.
KeShawn Allen led Weaver (14-12) with 20 points.
— Joe Medley
PIEDMONT 52, JACKSONVILLE 50: Proctor’s putback with 12 seconds left made the difference as No. 4 Piedmont held off No. 5 Jacksonville to earn a spot in Monday’s 8:30 p.m. semifinal against the Oxford-Ohatchee winner.
Proctor’s outback came after Piedmont called timeout with 24.5 seconds left. Cole Wilson inbounded to Rollie Pinto, who attempted to drive to Piedmont’s right side. He passed to Wilson on the right wing, who passed back to Pinto before Pinto found Wilson again in the corner.
Wilson’s 3-point attempt came off, but Proctor split the lane from the left wing, caught the rebound and put it in the bucket before coming back down to the floor.
“We were going for the last shot, but if you’ve got Cole open, you shoot the ball,” Proctor said. “I just got the right bounce and put it back up.”
The game-winning play was a vintage play for the 6-foot-5 Proctor, Piedmont coach Matt Glover said.
“Colton does that great,” Glover said. “He goes and finds the ball. He travels and sees the ball well off the rim, and he’s done it all year, and he’s tall enough to make a play once he goes straight back up.”
Jacksonville had one final possession. Aaron Nixon missed a contested drive shot, but the rebound resulted in a held ball to Jacksonville. After a timeout with eight tenths of a second left, Kamouri Harmon attempted to catch an inbounds pass and shoot all at once and missed.
Proctor finished with 15 points, including two 3-pointers. Ishmael Bethel led Piedmont with 17 points. Taylon Swain added eight points, and Wilson’s two 3-pointers accounted for his six.
Pinto also had six points on a night when 3-pointers weren’t falling.
Harmon led Jacksonville with 17 points, including two 3-pointers, and Nixon hit three treys on the way to 13 points.
Piedmont faces a key Class 3A, Area 12 game against Glencoe on Saturday before Monday’s county semifinals. The Bulldogs must win to earn the right to play host to the area tournament.
— Joe Medley
GIRLS’ PAIRINGS
FRIDAY, Jan. 17
No. 6 Ohatchee 39, No. 11 Pleasant Valley 29
No. 12 Faith Christian 39, No. 13 Wellborn 33
SATURDAY, Jan. 18
No. 5 Alexandria 57, Faith 17
MONDAY, Jan. 19
No. 7 Piedmont 54, No. 10 Jacksonville Christian 37
No. 9 Weaver 46, No. 8 White Plains 39
No. 3 Anniston 45, Ohatchee 34
Alexandria 61, No. 4 Saks 50
SATURDAY, Jan. 25
No. 2 Jacksonville vs. Piedmont, 4 p.m.
No. 1 Oxford vs. Weaver, 7 p.m.
MONDAY, Jan. 27
Semifinals
Anniston vs. Jacksonville/Piedmont, 4 p.m.
Oxford/Weaver vs. Alexandria, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY, Jan. 28
Championship, 6 p.m.
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PIEDMONT 54, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 37: No. 7 Piedmont (10-10) broke open a five-point game with a 15-0 run over the first 5:45 of the third quarter and earned Saturday’s quarterfinal shot at No. 2 Jacksonville.
The Bulldogs led 23-18 at halftime.
“We knew that first half we weren’t really awake with it being an early game,” Piedmont’s Cayla Brothers said. “We knew we weren’t playing our best. If we didn’t come back out, there was a possibility we’d got beat.
“We didn’t want that.”
Ry Holbrooks led Piedmont with nine points, and the Builldogs got eight apiece from Brothers, Jenna Duke and Morgan Studdard.
Modasti Carr led JCA with 14 points. Addy Lee added 13, including three 3-pointers.
Piedmont will face Jacksonville for the first time this season Saturday at 4 p.m.
“I know they’re going to press us from end to end,” Piedmont coach Shane Morrow said. “They’re going to be super athletic.
“This is the story since I’ve been at Piedmont the last two years. If we can limit our turnovers, it’ll give us a chance.”
— Joe Medley
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WEAVER 46, WHITE PLAINS 39: Two weeks after hitting being airlifted to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, Aaliyah Marks scored 18 points to help No. 9 Weaver beat No. 8 White Plains and become the tournament’s first lower seed to win.
Marks helped Weaver get out to a 32-22 lead at the end of the third quarter then made a key three-point play after White Plains rally. Her fastbreak bucket plus the and-one free throw made it 42-33 with 1:51 left.
Weaver’s Brenley Russell made three of four free throws down the stretch, and Rayleigh Partner hit one of two. Russell finished with 11 points, and Kimora Miles added 10 as the Bearcats (4-20) won the fifth meeting between the two teams this season.
Marks took a scary fall in Jan. 7, hitting her head on the floor while attempting a shot at the halftime buzzer in a home game against Saks. She suffered a seizure while paramedics tended to her, prompting the precautionary helicopter flight to Birmingham.
She was examined and released later that night. She called the chance to play and win in the county tournament two weeks later “a blessing.”
“I thought basketball was over with, but God has plans,” she said. “God got me the whole time.
“This game was all about defense. Our goal was to play defense and that’s what we did.”
Monday’s game was Marks’ second game since the Jan. 7 fall. She also saw action in an area game against Wellborn.
“She’s been fine” Weaver coach Amanda Noah said. “She got on some medicine, and she’s been resting. Thank goodness we haven’t had a ton of games since that happened, so she’s been able to rest. She’s practiced some.
“She seems to be back now.”
Brooksly Thielker led White Plains with 16 points, Abbie Dickeson added 12.
— Joe Medley
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ANNISTON 45, OHATCHEE 34: Liberty Lewis led the way with 16 points, and Anniston fought off No. 6 Ohatchee to reach the semifinals.
The Bulldogs (16-5) will play the Jacksonville-Piedmont winner Monday at 4 p.m.
That was the good news for Anniston. The rest involved a young team with several players seeing their first significant minutes in the county tournament.
“You already know I ain’t satisfied,” veteran Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “That’s the hardest game I had to coach since I’ve been coaching this group this year.
“We just didn’t do some things right, and Ohatchee never gave up, so credit to them. They played a tough game, and those girls fought the whole time.”
Led by Payten Walker’s 10 points and nine from Emily Riddle, Ohatchee stayed within reach and pulled within 38-32 with 3:30 to play. Bullock called timeout and played keepaway, forcing Ohatchee to foul.
Tabi Davidson committed the final two of her five fouled in that stretch, and Walker had four fouls. Anniston didn’t hit a fourth-quarter field goal but hit eight of 15 free throws.
“I just feel like we didn’t play our game,” said Lewis, who hit two 3-pointers. “We’ve got to work on some things.”
— Joe Medley
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ALEXANDRIA 61, SAKS 50: Three days removed from a bout with the flu, point guard Charlee Parris attacked and attacked and attacked and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead No. 5 Alexandria past No. 4 Saks and into the semifinals.
The Valley Cubs (10-13), winners of seven of their last nine games, will play the winner between top seed Oxford and Weaver on Monday at 7 p.m.
Parris had plenty of help as Alexandria avenged a 53-41 loss to Saks from Dec. 6. Sumira Duncan added 12 points, and Landry Patterson’s nine came on three 3-pointers.
But Parris’ relentless drives into the lane keyed the Valley Cubs to the tournament’s second upset by seed.
“We knew we were in better shape, and that was just the game plan,” Parris said. “It was just from the film we’ve watched and the last time we played them.
“We knew we wanted to beat them really bad.”
Such an individual performance should come as no shock, coming from the libero on Alexandria’s volleyball team, point guard in basketball and catcher in softball. Oh, Parris cheers, as well.
“She’s tough as nails,” Alexandria coach Craig Kiker said. “How many times did she hit the floor? How many times did she get back up and just keep playing?
“She’s done it since she was an eighth-grader for me. … If there’s anybody that plays harder in the state of Alabama, I’d like to see it.”
Saks got a chunk of its offense from 22 offensive rebounds, which led to a lot of center Madison Turner’s 14 points. The Wildcats also got 15 points from Alonna Crews, 12 from Saniya Angel and nine from Meorri English.
— Joe Medley