Winterboro, AL – Faith Christian back to playing as one after midseason slump, shifts to defense and then back Donoho in the area tournament
Class 1A AREA 8 TOURNAMENT
Girls games
Wadley the 63rd Faith Christian 27
Winterboro 75, ASD 16
Boys games
Faith Christian 59, Donoho 43
Winterboro 51, Wadley 48
Thursday’s game
Girls’ championship: Wadley vs. Winterboro 5 p.m.
Boys’ championship: Faith Christian vs. Winterboro at 6:30 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Anyone who might have wondered the reason Faith Christian coach Cory Hughes placed his team of Class 1A through the gruelling schedule they played this year were given the answer on Tuesday afternoon. The focus was on preparing up for the uphill grind going ahead in post-season play. The Lions played their defensive game on the line during the semifinals of the 1A Area 8 tournament and defeated Donoho, a neighbor with a shorthanded team without a field for throughout the second quarter , en route to a 59-43 triumph.
They’ll take on top-ranked Winterboro for the region championship on Thursday, around 6:30 p.m. No matter what happens the teams will be guaranteed a place in the subregional round, which will be played with the winner of Ragland as well as Appalachian (Area 10). “That’s another of the main reasons that we decided to schedule the players who we scheduled in the late game,” Hughes said. “We’re an offensive-oriented team which is why defense is the top priority for us. We played defensively as we had to do. “We followed the plan we’d been practicing. We’ve been practicing defense for the whole throughout the last few days. We performed really well with White Plains Friday night, so on the defensive side, I’m happy with us. Some people wonder why you’re playing full-court defense for teams of 5A, 6A. We have to improve.”
The Lions’ gauntlet comprised Fort Payne, White Plains, Oxford and Jasper. They were not able to win any of these games, and they lost badly in a few but in the end, they became more resilient. “When we faced Jasper and Jasper, they played like us, they play defense-first,” Thomas Curlee said. “It is teams such as this that were stronger and more skilled than you in all aspects of the game. It can help us tremendously. “We could have put together an all-1A scheduleand played three poor 3A teams, but that’s not going to assist us in getting better. That’s not going to assist us to get through these difficult times that are coming towards the season’s end.”
Curlee made his first baskets of the game , and the Lions never were in the lead in a match which could end their season. They kept the Falcons to nine points up to the end of the second quarter . They did not concede any field goals in the second quarter till Cash Worley’s putback 3.5 seconds remaining in the first half. The game was much similar in the third quarter. Curlee was able to score an all-time high of 28 points. Conner Richerzhagen recorded a career-high 17 points and helped keep the offense moving well. Also, Yashi Arevalo had 10 points, and was a tyrant blocker and rebounder. “Our players are acting as one at the moment,” Hughes said. “We’re 100% optimistic and I’m thrilled. We weren’t shooting the ball very well and if our shot drops, we’ll cause a lot of trouble for the teams.” “We have had these problems in the past couple of weeks, similar to how it was prior to the county tournament, where we had that “family gathering”,” Curlee said. “We did not have a gathering similar to that, but we were focusing on the small things like playing defense in the right way and be aggressive, take excellent shots, and simply play our game, the way we’re familiar with playing. We’ve not changed anything in our way of thinking. We’re continuing to play the same tough-nosed, 110 percent effort basketball, but we’re getting better.” Read more… Learn More…]
GIRLS GAME
WADLEY 64, FAITH CHRISTIAN 27: The season was tough and ended with an extremely difficult game for the inexperienced Lady Lions in the area tournament. Wadley had three scorers with double figures, while holding Faith to single figures in every quarter. They Lady Lions had only six players, yet they battled until the end. “The first half started slower,” Faith coach LaRay Williams declared. “I informed them at halftime that I’m just looking for the effort you put into it and your heart. Give me that I’m good and I was glad they showed me the opportunity to show them that. I’m glad they never gave up on me, and that’s something that I can build upon for the next season.”
Serenity Pace was the leading scorer for Faith with eight points to lead Faith. Six Faith players scored points, not including junior Maya Montgomery, who scored her first field goal in the league with just 30 seconds remaining during the 3rd quarter. “It’s difficult to be a part of a team with six players, but with these six in the long run, so long as they show me everything they can whenever they take to the flooring, I’m not going complain,” Williams said. “We’ve been challenged to improve, take this into the offseason, improve as a group and we’ll return.” Shakerriunna Wilkes, Amya Brown and Celest Angel scored 21 and 19 respectively, to make it 19 for the Lady Bulldogs.
