By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
Pinson Valley
BOYS: In typical Darrell Barber fashion, he had his Indians playing all over the place over the Christmas/New Year break in order to put them up against the stiffest competition available, even if it means taking a few on the chin. Pinson fought in every game, but came up short a few times over the holidays.
The break started on December 18 against Thompson where the Indians picked up a 55-47 win. A shock to no one, Clyde Walters led the way with 19 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists. Quay Lynch had 17 points, five rebounds and two steals and Austin Coner had 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Pinson would head to Kentucky for the West Kentucky Hoops Classic and drop game one to a 14-2 (ranked second in Tennessee) Hamilton Heights Christian team 74-57. Pinson’s three-headed monster of Walters, Coner and Lynch would lead the way once again. Walters had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists to go with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals from Coner and 12 points and four rebounds from Lynch. Round two of the tournament would have the same results as Pinson lost to Ben Davis out of Indiana, who was 5-2 at gametime, by a score of 67-48. Walters had 16 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Coner had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Pinson would get two days rest to lick their wounds before heading to Pine Bluff, Arkansas for the King Cotton Classic. First up for the Indians would be 10-6 Silsbee (TX), a game that Pinson dropped 78-68 in a hard-fought game. Walters would continue his domination on the court with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Coner had 13 points while Camron Frost and Jamarcus Thomas got in on the action with 12 points each in the contest. Game two would be against an 8-6 White Hall (AR) team with the Indians bouncing back and getting a 48-45 win. Walters had 20 points and 11 rebounds to go with 10 points from Frost and 13 rebounds from Thomas. Pinson finished the break by dropping their last game in Arkansas to Sandy Creek (GA) who was 9-2 and ranked 40th in the nation. It was a close 56-50 game where Coner led the Indians with 16 points to go with 12 from Walters and 11 from Frost who also had 10 rebounds.
The Indians, now 11-7, look to get rested before taking on Parker (14-6) on Thursday night before heading to Clay Chalkville on Friday night.
GIRLS: The young ladies from Pinson had a good holiday break, winning both games that they played to improve to 8-7 overall on the 2023/2024 season.
The first win came in a holiday tournament game by a score of 37-24 (could not find the name of the opponent) on December 28. Tamia Williams led the way scoring with 10 points with Alissa Hawkins following with eight points.
The second game of the break was against Stratford (TN) and the Indians dominated the Spartans 59-17. Senior Khameriya Riley led the way with 14 points followed by Alissa Hawkins who had 13 and Jaliyah Anderson with 10.
Pinson sits at 8-7 on the season before taking on Parker Thursday and Clay Chalkville Friday.
Moody
Boys: The 411 Boys find themselves struggling at midseason and the holiday break did not get much better. Moody has now lost six straight with four of them coming during the break.
The holiday season started with a loss to Alexandria 64-52 on December 21. The Blue Devils traveled to take on Glecoe but dropped a 69-64 heartbreaker to the Yellow Jackets.
Moody would host the Moody Christmas Classic where they took on Southeaster and lost 75-70 on Thursday, followed by a 64-27 loss to 7A Hewitt Trussville on Friday.
The Blue Devils sit at 5-10 and take on 9-10 Oak Mountain Tuesday night before hosting Leeds on Friday night.
Girls: The 411 Girls remain undefeated with the exception of the one blemish against Springville earlier in the season. The lady Blue Devils took five in a row over the break, beating McAdory 61-52 in the first game of the 2023 Cavalier Holiday Tournament at John Carroll Catholic High School. The second game was a 77-55 whipping of Chilton County.
Next up for the girls from Moody would be a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to participate in the Gatlinburg Winter Classic. Game one was a 48-28 win over St. Henry’s out of Kentucky. Day two was a 61-37 victory over Hampton, Tennessee and the championship round against Cumberland Gap to take home the trophy with a 40-28 win.
Moody sits at 14-1 on the season now heading into a busy week that will see them take on Oak Mountain (Tuesday), travel to Oxford on Wednesday and host Leeds on Friday night.
Leeds
Boys: The Greenwave performed well over the break going 2-1 in the Minor Hoops Tournament at Minor High School.
Game one was against Pelham on Wednesday, a game the Greenwave lost 50-31.
Day two would see Leeds take on Cornerstone and get a great bounce-back win by a score of 61-43 to even their holiday record.
The final contest saw Leeds dominate Saint Clair County 74-30 to close out the Christmas/New Years break and head into the new year with an 8-9 record and two-game winning streak.
Leeds will travel to Moody on Friday night for a cross-town rivalry matchup.
Girls: The Lady Greenwave continue to struggle in the 2023-2024 season, dropping all three of their games during the holiday break.
On Wednesday, December 27, the Greenwave dropped a road game to Boaz 49-16 in their first contest of the break. The following day, the Gaston Bulldogs came to town and left with a 49-41 victory over the Lady Greenwave. Glencoe then came to town and beat Leeds 72-39 on Friday morning.
Leeds sits at 3-13 now as they head into a rivalry game against Moody on Friday night.
Springville
Boys: Brandon Easterwood’s Springville Tigers went undefeated during the break to start the new year on a six-game winning streak.
Game one was against Glencoe in a 69-66 win on the Tigers’ home court. Springville would travel to region foe Alexandria on Friday where they took down the Cubs 64-53. Etowah would head to Springville and be sent home with a 20-point loss, 72-52 on Thursday night and then Springville would take the trip to LaFayette to take on a tough Bulldog team, another dominant win, a 26-point 72-46 win.
Springville improves to 13-6 overall heading into a Tuesday night trip to Geraldine followed by a trip to region opponent Saint Clair on Friday.
Girls: The Lady Tigers got back-to-back wins during the break, bookended by losses to start and end the holidays.
The first one was against a very good Mountain Brook team on the Spartans’ floor. Springville came up just short, losing 52-46 to begin the break.
Next up was the rubber match between Springville and Jacksonville and, much like the first two, this one did not disappoint. Springville picked up a 47-43 win over the familiar opponent on Wednesday.
Thursday would be a trip to Sardis and another win by the Tigers, this time a 60-39 thumping.
Springville ended the holiday season on Friday, December 29 against Cherokee County in a hard-fought 60-58 loss.
Springville sits at 9-8 on the season with a trip to Geraldine on Tuesday night before heading to Saint Clair on Friday.