By Erik Harris
CLAY – While watching to see who his team would be playing in Saturday’s Class 6A, Area 12 tournament championship game, Clay-Chalkville head basketball coach Jeremy Monceaux said it best: “Donevan came to play.”
Pinson Valley senior point guard Donevan Waldrop drew that statement in the fourth quarter of his team’s 55-54 win over Center Point on Thursday night, a game in which he saw 50 percent of his shots fall to finish with a game-high 29 points.
With a sub-regional berth and area championship invite on the table, Waldrop never took his foot off the gas, willing the Indians to victory.
“It’s amazing,” Waldrop said. “This is what you live for right here.”
However, his efforts would have been for nothing without Trey Minnifield. The senior went to the charity stripe with Pinson Valley down 54-53 with 10 seconds remaining and calmly bottomed both shots to punch the playoff ticket.
The Eagles saw to it that the ticket was earned by completely flipping momentum in the fourth quarter.
“Give credit to Center Point for the momentum swing and getting back in the game with two of their best players in foul trouble all night long,” said Pinson Valley head coach Clint Argo.
Center Point started the final frame down seven after losing the third quarter by a count of 16-9, but Dedric Foreman sparked an explosion with his pull-up 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining.
On the ensuing Indians’ possession, Bryant Bernard evened the contest at 48-all with a steal and lay-in. From there, the Eagles continued to attack the rim, and it worked.
They went back-to-back-to-back with aggressive finishes in the paint to give Center Point a 54-50 lead with under a minute to go.
But free throws told the story late. Pinson Valley went 7-of-8 from the stripe in the closing moments, while the Eagles botched a pair of critical one-and-ones.
Tournament host Clay-Chalkville welcomes the Indians back on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the area crown. The winner claims home-court advantage in the sub-regional round of the Class 6A playoffs; the loser has to visit the Area 11 champion Monday night.
“That’s going to be a tough game. We know how good Clay is,”Argo said. “The good thing is, we play another day even after Saturday.”
Pinson Valley started the game 4-for-4 from the field and held a 16-10 advantage after one, but the challenger countered with a flurry of second-quarter 3-pointers to tie the game at 26 going into the break.
Center Point took a brief one-point lead midway through the third quarter, but that’s when Waldrop went to work. He spun, crossed and powered his way inside for six quick points before ripping a triple through to send his team into the final eight minutes up seven.