January 11, 2022
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Alexandria gives fans their money’s worth after coach’s wake-up call in second quarter, pulls away to beat Saks in potential county tournament quarterfinal preview
t’s a good thing for Saks’ gate receipts Alexandria basketball coach Jason Johnson didn’t pay to get into Monday afternoon’s game. The effort his team was giving early on, he might have asked for his money back – and he wouldn’t be surprised if others in the stands followed suit.
The Valley Cubs were uninspired at best at the start of the Monday matinee and were locked in a two-point game with a team they could potentially meet in the upcoming Calhoun County Tournament.
But after a time out midway through the second quarter the Valley Cubs eventually gave the crowd their money’s worth and pulled away for a 71-41 victory.
The Valley Cubs trailed 20-18 with 4:20 left in the second quarter when Johnson called time to tell his team to get with the program. They returned to the floor and scored the next 15 points that became a 19-4 spree by the end of the half and grew into a 33-6 run into the third quarter.
“We didn’t come out with a whole lot of energy or effort, I didn’t think, and it kind of put us in a hole,” Johnson said. “We can’t come out like that anymore.
“I was questioning why they weren’t getting after it on the defensive end. We were just being lazy with passes. We were lazy getting back on defense. I just couldn’t understand why we were wanting to play like that, so I was questioning their character. In the last part of the second quarter the energy level picked up a little bit, but it was dead.
“You could’ve had a whole lot of excuses for it, but when you get out there and play, you’re supposed to get out there and play. The people are spending six or eight bucks, however much it is, to (get in). One day they’ll work and you don’t want to just throw away six or eight bucks for nothing. I would not have wanted to pay to watch that first-half effort.”
The game could be considered a preview of a potential Wednesday night County Tournament quarterfinal or a validation of the separation between the county’s top four teams and the rest of the field.
The Valley Cubs were installed as the No. 4 seed in the county tournament and Saks pulled in right behind at No. 5. The Wildcats would have to beat the winner of the Jacksonville Christian-Ohatchee game in their tournament opener to make the matchup happen.
“I guess (the tournament matchup is) in the back of your mind a little bit, but, really it was just the next game on the schedule,” Johnson said. “But I did mention to them this will be the team we’ll play in the county tournament, I think, so it was important for us to come out and get after those guys.”
“I looked at it like that,” senior guard Collin Taylor said. “We wanted to just completely destroy them. Last year we beat them by four points and we wanted to come out here and set the tone. Hopefully we’re going to see them again and we’re going to beat them again.”
Saks coach Jonathan Miller said the difference between the definitive top four seeds (Jacksonville, Oxford, Anniston, Alexandria) and the rest of the field is the size and length they have the others don’t.
Julian Wright gave Alexandria his best game of the season, the kind of game an assertive big man needs to deliver for the Valley Cubs to make a postseason run. He scored eight points in that run from the timeout to halftime – the first two to tie the game and the last six – had 16 overall on 8-of-9 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and dished five assists.
D’Anthony Walton had 16 points, Taylor scored 13 points and dished five assists, and Javais McGhee had 11 points and six rebounds.
“I just feel like I needed to pick up the energy a little more these past games,” Wright said. “We’ve got some big games coming up for area, I’m just trying to get my reps in and make sure I’m good and feeling good for the rest of the games.
“My role has expanded a lot. With Landan (Williams) last year he was the main big man and now I’m one of the main big men so I’ve got to take over his role.”
Saks was playing without leading scorer Connor Martin. Sean Parnell was the only Saks scorer in double figures with 12 points. [**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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