By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
Pinson – The top-ranked Pinson Valley Indians (#1 in ASWA 6A polls as well as ASWA Power Polls) took on the state of Georgia over the holidays this year, participating in 3 invitationals.
The first of these was the Peach State Classic, where the Indians defeated East Coweta, GA 60-42. Terry Coner Jr led all scorers with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. Caleb White had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Amarion Bowens and Austin Coner combined for 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Next up was the WKY Hoops Invitational where Pinson would face off against a tough Sandy Creek, GA team and beat them 76-75 in double overtime to stay perfect on the season. Caleb White, who won the tournament MVP, scored an amazing 31 points to go with 3 rebounds in the game. Terry Coner Jr. had 13 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds and Amarion Bowens added 12 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
The final game of the holiday season was in the Big South Shootout, where the Indians faced off against Georgia’s defending 6A state champions, the Grovetown Warriors, who have 3 Division 1 commits, one of which is Darrion Reid, who has 14 offers himself. Pinson held Reid to just 10 points in the 77-55 win. Caleb White stole the show once again with 24 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Terry Coner was not far behind with 21 points of his own to go with 4 assists. Raymon McCants added 14 points, 4 of those shots from behind the arch.
Coach Darrell Barber said of the win, “We knew coming into this game we had our work cut out for us. This team was preseason #14 in the country and their frontcourt are 6’8”, 6’9”, 6’7” and a 6’5” guard. I must say, our guys did an excellent job of following the scouting report. They shared the ball and played extremely well in transition. I believe our tenacity and shot making was the difference in this game (We made 14 3pointers).
“I’ve always said if we’re defending like I know we can and hitting shots it’s going to be hard to beat us.
I’m proud of where we are now going into the second half of the season, but we know the road will get tougher as we begin Area play and strive towards our ultimate goal.”
Pinson improves to 14-0 coming out of the holiday season. They will host rivals Clay-Chalkville on Friday night.