By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
RAGLAND – The first round of the boys Saint Clair County Tournament looked eerily similar to the first round of the girls side in that Ashville was the victim and it was a blow out win for the team playing against them. This time, it was the Moody Blue Devils who would be the victors in dominant fashion, 79-39.
Moody Coach Chad Bates coaches up his team. (Photo by Johnny Sanders)
Moody busted right out of the gate on the offensive side of the ball and Davion Dozier was the ring leader. Moody put up 25 points as a team with Dozier having 9 of them while Caden Helms scored 8 in the quarter. On the defensive side, Moody didn’t necessarily lock down the Bulldogs, allowing 15 points, but they built a big enough lead and that would prove to be insurmountable over the course of the game.
The second quarter was another 20-plus point scoring effort for the Blue Devils, this time outscoring their first quarter total by one point, scoring 26 for the period. Kobly Seymour would join the scoring party, leading Moody with 8 points to go with 4 from Dozier and teammate Mason Myers. The defense would tighten up and allow Ashville just 7 points in the quarter. The halftime score would be all Moody, 51-22.
It has been said, “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.” Moody kept doing what they had been doing and, yes, they kept getting exactly what they had been getting. Another 20-plus points and another dominant quarter of basketball. Moody outscored Ashville 24-13 in the third with Dozier adding 7 to his point total before taking the night off and Carson Dillashaw scoring 6 of his own I the quarter. The score would be 75-35 heading into the final period of the game.
The final quarter would consist of hot clocks and a lot of possession basketball from Moody, just passing the ball around to get the game over with. Both teams would score just 4 points to end the game 79-39, Blue Devils.
Davion Dozier would lead all scorers on the night with 20 points. Carson Dillashaw and Caden Helms both added 13 points each and Koblby Seymour scored 10.
Coach Chad Bates said, “It was a good team win tonight. I thought the whole team played with good energy and effort.”
The Blue Devils will need to keep that momentum going as they draw the top-seed Springville Tigers in the second round of the tournament, which will be held on Moody’s home court. Moody and Springville split the regular season rivalry games between them with the Blue Devils winning 66-58 on December 16. Springville would avenge the loss on January 10 by a score of 70-56. The rubber match will send one of these two teams to the county championship game scheduled for Saturday evening.
