By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
PINSON – This season has just been…different for the Pinson Valley Indians. A few things have changed. Caleb White is not there this year as he passed away back in the summer of 2023. He was the team’s leader. Overcoming something like that has challenges that only someone who has gone through it can sympathize with. But, these coaches and these boys, despite the loss of their leader, have fought through the adversity and had a season that many people would love to have.
Last year, the Indians made their way through the regular season without a loss. If you look at the teams they played, that was quite an impressive accomplishment. This season, however, Pinson lost several games during the regular season.
So, it was definitely different.
If any team has fought through adversity and made things better for themselves, it is this team. They have found a way to get themselves into a situation now to play in the area championship game on Wednesday night.
The Indians finished off their regular season with a win over Center Point last Thursday, beating the cross-town rival Eagles by a score of 71-47.
That brought the Indians to the area tournament, where they drew the second seed and played a round-one game against Mortimer Jordan. The Blue Devils presented a familiar foe for the Indians, but one that Pinson had beaten in the previous meeting 62-30. The two also met on January 9 where Pinson won 58-49.
Monday night, Mortimer Jordan and Pinson both walked onto the Clay-Chalkville basketball court for the right to play against the top-seeded Cougars on their home court on Wednesday night.
Pinson was all-business as they won the game 69-35 over the Blue Devils.
The Indians opened the game by outscoring the Devils 17-10 in the first quarter. Clyde Walters exploded out of the gate with eight points in the first while Cam Frost added six points.
The second quarter was a bit tighter despite Pinson coming out with on a seven-point run. Pinson won the quarter 19-16 with Walters leading the way once again, this time with six points. Austin Coner also got five points in the period. Pinson headed into the break with a 36-26 lead.
Pinson’s defense put the clamps on in the second half, starting with a 20-4 third quarter in which Coner and Quay Lynch both tallied eight points each.
The fourth quarter saw Pinson begin to sub in players but the defense held and the Indians outscored Jordan 13-5 in the final stanza. Walters had five points in the quarter to go with four more from Lynch to cap off the 33-9 second half and the 69-35 final.
Walters finished the night with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Coner had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Frost had 13 points to go with seven rebounds.
“We came out well in the first quarter, said Pinson head coach Darrell Barber. “We got a little lax on defense and they came out and hit a couple of shots. We just challenged them at halftime to just sit down and play defense and things would go in our favor. We did that to the tune of them only scoring nine points in the second half. Our guys who were supposed to step up did and we are proud of them.”
Cam Frost said of the game, “It’s been a rough season, starting in the summer. We had a tough road. Tonight, though, we did good and we did a lot of talking.”
Clyde Walters spoke of the game, “We had a really rough season but played good tonight. We played as one, as a team. Playing Clay, I’m looking to get a win and get back to the Elite Eight, where we were at last year.”
Austin Coner added the following comments. “We did great tonight. Still not satisfied and we’ve got work to do. I’m looking forward to beating Clay on Wednesday and head back to Wallace. We have to play defense and play disciplined to beat them.”
The Indians get to play Clay-Chalkville for the area championship on Wednesday night. The Cougars have had Pinson’s number this year, beating them in both games the two have played with the last one being a two-point win. Coach Barber said the following about the upcoming matchup. “This game will come down to who wants it the most. It’s hard to beat somebody three times. You can have all the x’s and o’s but you have to have some Billies and Joes out there. Coach (Richardson) does a great job and they play hard. We are excited.”