By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
PINSON – The Pinson Indians basketball team continues to be one of the biggest stories in our state. Thus far, the Indians have a perfect record at 25-0, are ranked first in the state in 6A basketball, first in the state power rankings (regardless of classification) and ranked 34th in the nation.
On Thursday night, before a standing room only crowd with many more standing outside, Pinson looked to continue their dream season by beating their rivals from just up highway 75, the Huffman Vikings. The Vikings, however, had different plans and, for a little while, looked like they may be the “1” in 24-1. But Pinson would take over in the second half and prove why they are the best around.
Huffman would find success early in the game, jumping out to an 11-2 lead and eventually outscoring the Indians by 3 points in the first quarter, 16-13. Pinson would be led in scoring for the period by Terry Coner who had 8 points. Caleb White would add 3 to help the Indians.
In the second, Pinson stepped up on defense and held the Vikings to just 11 points. The high-octane offense of the Indians just could not get going, however, scoring just 16 points. White added 5 more points to his nightly total and Connor had 4 to go with 3 from Clyde Jennings. Pinson would be in uncharted territory, heading into the half trailing Huffman by a score of 30-27.
It must have been an interesting locker room at halftime because Pinson got serious in the second half, beginning with a 23-point third quarter. White would explode with 11 points in the quarter to go with 5 from Coner and 4 Walters. Huffman would still find some success on offense, scoring 17 for the period. Pinson would feel a bit more comfortable, heading into the fourth with a 53-44 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth, Pinson would see their best quarter of play. While they did allow Huffman to put up another 18 points, the Indians would explode on offense, scoring 30 points in the final stanza. White would add 12 points to his fantastic night while Amarion Bowens added 6 and Coner had 4. Defensively, the Indians would allow another 18 points from the Vikings, but that offense could not be stopped. Pinson would end the night with their perfect record still intact and an 83-62 win over Huffman.
Caleb White would end the night with 30 points to lead all scorers for the night. Terry Coner added 22 points and Clyde Walters had 11 of his own.
“It was a real big game for us. Another rival game and we knew coming in that they were licking their chops to beat us,” said Pinson Coach Darrell Barber. “They came out and hit us early and often. It’s unorthadoxed but I didn’t call a time out. I like to see how my team is going to respond. After being down 11-2 we closed it to 11-8 (in the first). We responded in the second quarter and played better.”
Barber continued, “At halftime we talked about playing better defense and playing better as a unit. We went on a big 19-4 run to take a 53-44 lead. The one who made a big difference for us was Freshman Clyde Walters. He had some blocks and one of them was really crucial during one of their runs. At 6’6” and being able to play all 5 positions helps us. Another difference maker was Cam Jennings. In the second quarter, I took Caleb (White) out of the game and put Cam in. He hit a big 3 that sparked our run and 3 crucial rebounds during that time.”
When asked about his seniors, Coach Darrell Barber said, “These guys are so selfless. Terry Coner has been in the program all 4 years and means a lot to Pinson. He’s the face of the program. Chauncey Thirkill is a kid that was affected by Covid his Sophomore year. Then he had some issues with his grades his Junior year and gained a lot of weight. He slimmed down 39 lbs over this past summer. Jaylan Tyus is another guy. He’s been in the program for 3 years. He does great for us on the interior. The last guy, Sean Allen. He doesn’t really get a lot of playing time. He’s going to college to be an engineer, I think. Basketball isn’t his dream and it’s just a blessing to have him on the team. We are going to miss them all and I hope we continue this run with these guys.”