Calhoun County, AL – New post Johnson emerging as force for White Plains; Jacksonville holds on against Cherokee County, Faith’s Curlee surpasses 1,500 career points, Piedmont holds off late Weaver rally, and more
TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Alexandria 62, Glencoe 59
B.B. Comer 78, Thorsby 55
Faith Christian 64, Wadley 59
Gadsden City 64, Fort Payne 63
Gaylesville 63, Gaston 60
Hokes Bluff 53, Westbrook Christian 37
Jacksonville 65, Cherokee County 62
Munford 48, Cleburne County 41
Piedmont 65, Weaver 55
Pleasant Valley 74, Coosa Christian 50
Randolph County 42, Woodland 39
Saks 64, Wellborn 33
Sand Rock 76, Fyffe 63
Spring Garden 68, Jacksonville Christian 61
Talladega at Southside
Trinity Presbyterian 61, Handley 56
White Plains 49, Anniston 41
Winterboro 61, ASD 41
By Al Muskewitz
Early in the season, like most players getting thrown into varsity action for the first time, White Plains’ post Carter Johnson was finding his way. When Wildcats coach Chris Randall told him to “go find the porch,” the 6-8 junior had to make sure he wasn’t being sent off to play somewhere else.
That’s just what the Wildcats call playing down on the low block, where Randall knew his big man would be most effective. Johnson has had half a season now to get comfortable on the big high school stage and Tuesday night he was a difference maker in the Wildcats’ 49-41 win over Anniston.
“Carter’s emergence as an inside force for us, he’s starting to become a matchup problem for folks,” Randall said. “Early in the year he was still working his way into the lineup because this is his first varsity experience.
“He didn’t play as a freshman, played JV as a tenth grader, so early in the year he’s having to earn his stripes, he’s having to learn the game, the speed, the intensity — the difference in playing at 5 and 7:30 is the Grand Canyon – and getting into that he’s settled in and now he doesn’t make me nervous.
“His emergence as a guy who can get us a bucket to stop the other team’s run and a guy who can get something at the rim when we’re having trouble has been big. We don’t have slashers. Carter’s an inside guy who’s going to draw some help and get our perimeter guys open; they’ve got to respect him. We’re starting to expand what we’re doing offensively and a lot of it’s through him.”
Johnson’s size erased some of the Bulldogs’ athletic ability. He scored 15 points, but he grabbed a bunch of rebounds and blocked or altered just as many shots. More importantly, he got to the free throw line. He hit four free throws in the final 1:23 – and five in the fourth quarter – to keep the Bulldogs at arm’s length.
Just as important as the Wildcats’ finish was the way they started – or particularly how Josh Wheeler started. Wheeler scored their first seven points of the game and had nine in the quarter, and the Wildcats never trailed.
“That start he had was huge,” Randall said. “We need Josh to score the ball for us to be at our best,.”
Anniston only scored 13 points in the first half. They did make a couple runs at the Wildcats in the second half, but each time Johnson stepped in to keep the Bulldogs from getting too close. The Bulldogs got it 24-19 midway through the third quarter, then Johnson scored four of the Wildcats’ last seven points to help them take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
Then in the fourth quarter when Anniston was making a final push Johnson had a bucket and a free throws to take the lead back to 13 and later hit those four free throws to close it out.
“I think all of us knew coming into this game we were going to win,” Johnson said. “Everyone on the team had so much improvement since we last played them, not to mention the fact we were fired up.
“(The earlier loss to the Bulldogs) was heartbreaking. All we had to do was get our mind right and we came out ready to play.”
WHITE PLAINS 49, ANNISTON 41
ANNISTON – Jacorey Lane 1 0-1 3, Devin Coleman 0 1-2 1, Kyron Brown 2 0-2 5, Jayden Lewis 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Allen 0 0-0 0, Jace Roberson 2 0-0 5, Javon Croft 3 2-8 8, Malik Bailey 2 2-2 7, Delroy Francis 0 0-0 0, Hezekiah Harris 5 0-5 10. Totals 16 5-20 41.
WHITE PLAINS – Dylan Barksdale 0 0-0 0, Paul Laube 0 0-0 0, Z.J. Rosario 0 4-6 4, Josh Wheeler 5 3-4 14, Coleman Ray 2 0-0 5, Daniel Williams 0 0-0 0, Luke Bussey 4 0-4 11, Carter Johnson 5 5-9 15. Totals 16 12-23 49.
Anniston 7 6 8 20 – 41
White Plains 13 8 12 16 – 49
3-point goals: Anniston 4 (Lane, Brown, Roberson, Bailey); White Plains 5 (Wheeler, Ray, Bussey 3). Technical fouls: Roberson. Fouled out: Barksdale. Total fouls: Anniston 22, White Plains 17. Officials: Kelley, Howell, Jarrett.
FAITH CHRISTIAN 64, WADLEY 59: Senior forward Thomas Curlee scored 30 points and passed 1,500 for his career in the Lions’ area victory. Curlee, Calhoun County’s leading scorer through the Christmas holidays, reached the milestone in the third quarter. He now has 1,508 points in his career.
“I’ve always had that thought in the back of my mind of reaching one of those milestones,” Curlee said. “It’s a big deal to me because it shows the hard work I’ve put in for years. I didn’t even know I was close until right before the game.”
WADLEY – Jaques Wilkes 4 3-6 11, Damarious Spraddling 4 3-4 13, Callan Hutchinson 2 5-8 10, Isacc Minnifield 8 0-1 16, Frisco Robertson 2 2-4 7, Jabari Burns 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 13-23 59.
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Thomas Curlee 14-25 2-6 30, Yoshua Arevalo 3-10 1-2 10, Conner Harris 3-10 2-2 9, Conner Richerzhagen 2-15 1-2 6, Eli Robinson 1-2 2-4 4, Parker Robertson 0-0 0-0 0, Will Smith 0-1 0-1 0, Tyler Bell 2-6 1-1 5. Totals 25-69 9-17 64
Wadley 15 19 13 12 – 59
Faith 22 5 19 18 – 64
3-point goals: Wadley 4-12 (Da. Spraddling 2, Hutchinson, Robinson); Faith 5-22 (Curlee 0-4, Arevalo 3-5, Harris 1-5, Richerzhagen 1-5, Bell 0-2, Smith 0-1). Fouled out: Minnifield. Total fouls: Wadley 18, Faith 21.
PIEDMONT 65, WEAVER 55: Alex Odam scored 33 points and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter after Weaver cut an 18-point deficit to four.
Tristan Brown hit five 3-pointers and led Weaver with 25 points, moving to within six of 1,000 for his career. Dawson Brooks had 17. Brown had two of his 3-pointers and eight points total in the fourth quarter.
“Our rally was fantastic,” Weaver coach Beau Winn said. “We kept it close, but when they kept giving it to (Odam) we couldn’t foul anybody else and you saw what he did from the free throw line.”
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 9 2-4 25, Elijah Smith 0 0-0 0, Jeffrey Miles 1 0-0 2, Dawson Brooks 7 2-2 17, Dalton Homesley 0 0-0 0, Jackson Williams 2 0-0 5, Zack Garner 0 1-2 1, Armone Burton 2 0-0 5. Totals 21 5-8 55.
PIEDMONT – Alex Odam 11 10-10 33, Rollie Pinto 4 0-0 9, Ish Bethel 5 3-7 16, Colten Proctor 0 0-0 0, Luke Rhinehart 0 0-0 0, Trevor Pike 0 0-0 0, Chance Murphy 1 0-0 2, Rhett Alford 1 1-1 3, Cole Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 14-18 65.
Weaver 11 17 11 16 –` 55
Piedmont 21 16 20 8 – 65
3-point goals: Weaver 8 (Brown 5, Brooks, Williams, Burton); Piedmont 5 (Odam, Pinto, Bethel 3). Fouled out: Brooks. Total fouls: Weaver 16, Piedmont 8. Officials: Hoffman, Hollingsworth, Batey.
JACKSONVILLE 65, CHEROKEE COUNTY 62: John Broom led four Jacksonville scorers in double figures with 15 points, Caden Johnson had a double-double and the Golden Eagles held on for an area victory.
Johnson built his double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds; he also had five assists. Cam Johnson had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. And Devin Barksdale had 12 points and three assists.
The Warriors battled back from an eight-point halftime deficit to tie the game after three quarters. They missed two 3-pointers by their best shooters in the final seconds to tie it. On the game’s final play, Jack Amos stole an inbounds pass and his half-court shot at the buzzer glanced off the rim.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Landon Caldwell 6-9 2-2 15, Jaden Wilson 5-9 1-4 12, Jack Amos 4-7 0-0 11, Cade Hopper 3-7 0-0 9, Malachi Horton 2-8 1-2 5, Jack Neyman 2-3 0-0 4, Eli Martin 2-6 0-0 4, Jacob Cornejo 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-52 4-8 62.
JACKSONVILLE – John Broom 6-11 2-3 15, Caden Johnson 4-6 6-7 14, Cam Johnson 5-9 2-2 13, Devin Barksdale 4-8 2-3 12, Ethan Duke 3-5 2-2 8, Jaquan Ervin 1-3 0-2 2, Dee Prothro 0-1 1-2 1, Jaleik Long 0-1 0-0 0, DaMonte Sinclair 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 15-21 65.
Cherokee County 14 14 20 14 – 62
Jacksonville 18 18 12 17 – 65
3-point goals: Cherokee County 8-21 (Caldwell 1-3, Wilson 1-2, Amos 3-6, Hopper 3-7, Horton 0-1, Martin 0-2); Jacksonville 4-19 (Broom 1-6, Cd. Johnson 0-1, Cm. Johnson 1-4, Barksdale 2-5, Duke 0-1, Ervin 0-1, Long 0-1). Rebounds: Cherokee County 22 (Wilson 6, Caldwell 5); Jacksonville 32 (Cd. Johnson 10, Duke 8, Cm. Johnson 7). Fouled out: Wilson. Total fouls: Cherokee County 17, Jacksonville 8
SAKS 64, WELLBORN 33
WELLBORN – Ryan Wilson 0 0-0 0, Conner Woodard 0 0-0 0, Avery Odom 5 1-4 11, C.J. Hubbard 2 2-4 7, Chris Williams 0 0-0 0, Jackson Long 3 0-2 7, Devon Danford 1 0-0 2, Trey Downs 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 3-10 33.
SAKS – Jakari Streeter 10 0-2 21, Tyreic Foster 1 0-0 3, Christian Smith 2 1-4 5, Jay Weeks 0 0-0 0, Anthony Bothwell 7 1-3 17, Joshua Todd 1 0-0 2, Dee Elston 1 0-0 2, Keondre Johnson 3 0-0 6, Christian Hall 3 2-2 8. Totals 28 4-9 64.
Wellborn 7 7 12 7 – 33
Saks 20 12 18 14 – 64
3-point goals: Wellborn 2 (Hubbard, Long); Saks 4 (Streeter, Foster, Bothwell 2). Total fouls: Wellborn 7, Saks 11.
PLEASANT VALLEY 74, COOSA CHRISTIAN 50
COOSA CHRISTIAN – Jaylen Jones 1 0-4 2, Jaden Burns 1 0-0 3, Vincent Dupree 2 0-2 5, Grayson Malone 1 0-0 2, Drake Albury 3 0-3 9, Sam Reeves 1 0-0 3, John David Justus 0 0-0 0, Dartavius Mackey 8 0-0 16, Elijah Motes 1 1-2 3, Jacoby Tucker 4 2-6 10. Totals 22 3-18 50.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Jaden Sparks 3 0-0 6, Jesse Gannaway 6 0-0 13, Hunter Sparks 7 0-0 14, Jayden Veazey 1 0-0 2, Bryce Freeman 5 3-4 13, Kolby Battles 4 1-5 9, Braxton Williams 2 0-0 4, Caleb Green 1 1-5 3, Kyle Smith 3 1-2 10. Totals 32 6-16 74.
Coosa Christian 9 19 10 12 – 50
Pleasant Valley 20 22 17 15 – 74
3-point goals: Coosa 3 (Bruns, Dupree, Reeves); PV 4 (Gannaway, Smith 3). Total fouls: Coosa 13, PV 16. Officials: Lackey, McGraw, McCord.
MUNFORD 48, CLEBURNE COUNTY 41
MUNFORD – Demetrius Norwood 2 0-0 4, Sylvester Smith 3 3-6 10, Keyshawn Castleberry 0 0-0 0, Alex Petty 2 1-3 5, Lathan Stephens 1 0-0 2 B.J. Anderson 2 2-3 6, Austin Wynn 0 2-2 2, Kelby Tucker 0 0-0 0, Javion White 8 3-3 19. Totals 18 11-17 48.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Jacob Cavender 2 0-0 5, Dawson Haynes 3 4-6 12, Rico Hughley 1 0-0 3, James Cotton 0 0-0 0, Nathan Adams 3 0-0 8, Jake Littleton 1 0-0 3, Greyson Freeman 4 2-4 10. Totals 14 6-10 41.
Munford 4 11 12 21 – 48
Cleburne County 8 7 11 15 – 41
3-point goals: Munford 1 (Smith); Cleburne County 7 (Cavender, Haynes 2, Huguley, Adams 2, Littleton). Fouled out: Adams. Total fouls: Munford 19, Cleburne County 13. Notes: Javion White scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to key the Lions’ surge.
