By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
CLAY – Underdogs typically play well when playing against their rivals. In the Iron Bowl, no matter how much better one team may be on paper, the game is usually a closer game than the experts think it will be. It is no different with Pinson Valley and Clay Chalkville in basketball.
The 2023 edition of the Pinson Valley Indians’ basketball team is nothing short of spectacular. They are undefeated, top-ranked in 6A, nationally ranked and have beaten some of the best Alabama, and Georgia for that matter, have to offer. Tuesday night, the Clay Chalkville Cougars gave it all they had, but fell just short against the visiting Indians. “It was a defensive game that came down to ball security and rebounding,” said Chris Richardson, Head Coach of the Clay Chalkville Cougars.
In the first quarter, the Cougars held the high-octane offense of the Indians to just 7 points while putting up 12 in the process. Devon McKinnon led Clay with 6 points to go with 3 from Kevin Kirk and Tiawan Hardy. For Pinson, Ray McCants, Terry Coner and Amarion Bowens all had 2 points to lead the Indians.
Pinson found some offensive success in the second quarter, putting up 16 points while the Cougars managed just 10. Caleb White got revved up, scoring 9 of the 16 to go with McCants’ 3 points. For Clay, Kirk had 4 points while McKinnon, Hardy and Immanuel Dothard had 2 each. The score heading into the break would be a close 23-22 Indian lead.
Coming out of the locker room, Clay would continue to go toe to toe with the top team in the classification, only getting outscored 16-12 and keeping themselves within striking distance of their rivals. Kirk would lead the Cougars for the quarter with 5 points, paired with 3 from both McKinnon and Hardy. The Indians would be led White with 7, McCants with 5 and Clyde Walters with 4. The lead would grow to 39-34 in Pinson’s favor heading into the final quarter of play.
In the fourth quarter, Caleb White would take over on the offensive side of the ball for Pinson, scoring 10 of his team’s 19 in the final period. Bowens would add 4 points to help the Indians. Kirk would continue his great night shooting for the Cougars with 8 points in the quarter to lead his team, but 14 points would be all Clay could get on offense and it would not be enough to take down Pinson. The final would be 58-48 Indians.
“Pinson did a better job on defense and rebounding than us so they came out on top,” said Coach Richardson. “Both teams struggled from the field which displayed how both teams defended.”
Pinson coach Darrell Barber said, “We knew going on the road would be tough. They always play us tough at their house. Although it was not pretty, our guys showed grit and fight to get through some adverse situations.”
Caleb White would lead the Indians in scoring with 27 points on the night. Ray McCants and Jaylen Tyus would get some attention as well with Coach Barber saying, “Raymon McCants (13 points and 3 three-pointers) and Jaylan Tyus (5 points and 10 rebounds) had solid games for us.”
For Clay, Kevin Kirk had an outstanding night, scoring 20 points to lead the Cougars. Teammate Devon McKinnon would add 14 for the Cougars.
Pinson is now 22-0 on the season and 4-0 in area play. With the win, Pinson wins the 6A Area 12 regular season championship and will host the area tournament for the fifth year in a row.
Clay falls to 12-10 overall and 1-2 in area play. They will travel to Mortimer Jordan Friday night to take on the Blue Devils.