January 9, 2022
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Anniston’s senior guard ‘comfortable’ in pressure situations, comes up big in final 20 seconds to help Bulldogs get past Talladega; Anniston girls take a step forward
SATURDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Anniston 62, Talladega 61
Model (Ga.) def. Piedmont
Valley 72, Handley 61
SATURDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Anniston 58, Talladega 30
Model (Ga.) 45, Piedmont 39
Spoodie saves them again. Would you expect anything less?
Alabama-bound Antonio Kite hit a game-tying layup in traffic with 17.6 seconds to play, then after making a steal in the backcourt hit the second of two free throws with three seconds left to help the Bulldogs escape Saturday with a 62-61 victory over Talladega.
“Since I’m going to ’Bama (for football), I’m like Bryce Young in the pocket, man; I’m comfortable (in late-game situations),” Kite said.
It wasn’t without some tense moments of the senior guard’s own doing, though.
Kite didn’t mind saying he missed the first of his two free throws at the end on purpose just to make things more interesting and sharpen his focus.
“I missed on purpose to put the pressure on,” he said. “I like pressure.”
The Bulldogs (10-8), perhaps stoked by another set of new uniforms coach Torry Brown wouldn’t let them wear until the shooting shirts came in, led by 13 at halftime. But with Kite on the bench for most of it, the Tigers came back in the third quarter and actually took a 42-41 lead.
The Bulldogs didn’t make a field goal in the quarter; all six points came from the line (6-for-13). Kite was out of the game so Brown could get his attention – not because the guard was being punished for not doing right but because the coach actually wanted him to see that he needed to be more selfish.
It was a circumstance that served the Bulldogs well later in the game. Kite finished with 17 points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
“I kind of left him over there in the third quarter when they were making a run because I thought he gave up too many wide-open shots and I told him you’ve got to be selfish sometimes,” Brown said. “I didn’t think he was being very selfish tonight. Some of the other guys were getting shots, but he was giving up a better shot than what he was giving them.
“I was just trying to get his attention with that because he’s got to be on the court for us to be successful, that’s just what it is.”
Talladega took a six-point lead with 1:46 to play and much of the partisan Anniston crowd started heading to the exits. They missed all the fun.
Kite’s three-point play got the Bulldogs within three, Talib Christian hit two free throws to make it a one-point game, and C.J. Munford hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 59 with 49.7 seconds left.
D.Q. Truss drove the length of the floor and gave Talladega a 61-59 lead with 31.6 seconds left. The Tigers had the ball after Kite’s go-ahead free throw but Truss fired aa pass into the frontcourt that Christian deflected out the bounds as the horn sounded.
“I saw them entire fans leaving over there,” Brown said. “After the game I said, man, they didn’t get their money’s worth. They needed to stay around a little while.”
The Bulldogs’ bigs played a key role in the victory. Christian scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kam Sandlin scored four points, but grabbed 12 rebounds. And Troy Hall scored three points, but grabbed nine rebounds in a game Brown didn’t expect him to play after getting hurt in the Midfield game.
“I told our guys at halftime our big guys have been playing their butts off,” Brown said. “Kam’s done a great job rebounding, two hands and when he got it low on the rebound he put it back up.
“We’re running the floor a lot better than we ever have with our big guys and Talib was a factor. And then Troy Hall, you just can’t do anything to replace him. I like to refer to him as an animal. He goes and goes and goes and does a lot of the grunt work.”
In another game, Piedmont ventured across the border and lost to Rome’s Model High School. The Bulldogs were without Omarion Foster and Alex Odam, who reinjured his left foot in Thursday’s win at Weaver.
Girls games
ANNISTON 58, TALLADEGA 30: It’s been a different kind of year for the Anniston girls this season. The wins haven’t come with the regularity they have in the past, so when they do, it’s cause to feel progress being made.
The Lady Dawgs took what coach Eddie Bullock agreed was a step forward in routing Talladega Saturday night.
Serena Hardy scored 22 points and Shiwanna Jackson and Akayla Perry had 11 and 13, respectively, for Anniston. Jackson had 17 rebounds, Hardy had five steals and three assists, Tiauna Thomas had five rebounds and took three charges, Perry had four rebounds and four assists, and Tykeria Smith had nine rebounds.
Perry hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and Hardy scored 14 in the first half as the Lady Dawgs jumped out to a 31-15 halftime lead.
“We’re young, man,” Bullock said. “I don’t have any experience back. I don’t have any people who have been through my program as a starter like I normally do.
“We’ve lost about five games we should have won because we were ahead … but we don’t know how to win and that’s because I don’t have somebody who’s been in my program who knows how to win. Hopefully by February we can win some of those close games. Tonight we took a step forward, a little step.”
MODEL 45, PIEDMONT 39: The Lady Bulldogs crossed into Georgia and came up just a little short.
Ava Pope got off to a quick start for Piedmont, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, and finished with 21. LeLe Ridley added 11, with six coming in the third quarter. [**read more]
**When you click read more you will be taken to the EA Sports Today website. Please make sure to come back to read more Calhoun County News.
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