Andalusia put forth a valiant effort and fought to the end, but lost to Enterprise 65-61, the finals in Richard Robertson’s 57th annual Andalusia Santa Tournament, which took place on Dec. 16.
Andalusia’s Cadariyus Love flies through the air in a shot attempt Keondre Matthews defends shot for Enterprise.
AHS Director of Coaching Marcus Mickles was proud of his team’s performance in the face of a tough 7A team from 7A.
“Even even when the odds were for us, we stepped out fighting and showed resilience today. This tournament is huge for this region. We had a number of good teams and fantastic players who were given the chance to be exposed. The most memorable thing for me was seeing college coaches at the game and giving our players the exposure they’re due. I’m extremely proud of how the event went, and I’m glad that people showed up to show their appreciation,” Mickles said.
Eric Winters gave the visitors an early lead of 2-0 before seeing Tyler Sigers tie the score at 2-2 after a jumper. Jordan Stallworth swished back-to-back threes while Jaquez McMeans sank with a layup, and helped the Bulldogs to a 10-4 advantage. The Wildcats came back by scoring 13 consecutive points, capped by the three of Brady Wadsworth and two free shots from Jordan Knight. Cadariyus Love scored a three-point shot with 33.4 seconds remaining and cut the deficit down to 17-13 in one.
Tevin Sigers started the second quarter with a 3 and was two-for-two for an 17-17 tie. Winters, Keondre Matthews, and Malachi Reed all had an individual bucket and extended the lead of the opponents to 23-17. Tyler Sigers trimmed the deficit to just two points with four consecutive points. Hudson Kelley finished off a seven-point run with a three-pointer while Andalusia had a 2423-point lead with just 1:57 left in the first period. Stallworth made a great drive into the hoop to give Enterprise an advantage of 26-25, but Reed made a 3-pointer with just 30 seconds remaining and gave Enterprise an advantage of 28-26 at halftime.
Matthews began the second period with a three-pointer that was long, then Tyler Sigers scored the next three points with the jumper and a free throw. Tucker Wadsworth took the lead to 36-29 after an uncontested three at the 4:26 mark. The Bulldogs made a comeback and came close to 36-35 when McMeans and Stallworth scored baskets and Tyler Sigers added a free throw. The Wildcats were able to get some air by scoring the subsequent five points. Kelley made a layup as Tyler Sigers made two free throws in the final 27.9 seconds remaining at the end of third. The teams did not score again, and the score was 41-39 after eight minutes.
After Reed began the fourth quarter with a three-point shot, Tyler Sigers sliced the deficit to 44-41 with just 6:35 remaining at the end of the match. The teams exchanged baskets for the next four minutes up to Andrew Purcell scored four of six points and the score was 53-46. Tevin Sigers hit the ball with 3:49 remaining before the teams switched sides in their shots. Tyler Sigers sank two foul shots and brought Andalusia down to 60-57 when 1:07 remained. Enterprise expanded its lead by eight points and continued to hold on despite scoring two points from McMeans as well as Tyler Sigers.
Nashaun Wilson, from Andalusia, is working his way through Enterprise’s Damorion Jones (15) and Walker Clark (2).
Tyler Sigers led the Bulldogs (6-2) with 24 points. Stallworth also posted an impressive double-digit score at 13 before being closely followed by Tevin Sigers with nine. McMeans and Kelley added five and six points respectively. Love finished the scoring with three points.
Jordan Stallworth runs an offensive game with Jordan Stallworth’s Bulldogs and Eric Winters keeps up on defense for the Wildcats.
Tucker Wadsworth paced the Wildcats (9-1) with 16 points for the Wildcats (9-1). Winters was second with 14 points, followed by Reed at 10. Purcell scored eight points and Matthews had five points in the victory.
The All-Tournament team is as follows:
- Eric Winters – Tournament MVP (Enterprise)
- Tucker Wadsworth (Enterprise)
- Malachi Reed (Enterprise)
- Jordan Stallworth (Andalusia)
- Tyler Sigers (Andalusia)
- Tevin Sigers (Andalusia)
- Nasir Cheatham (Georgiana)
- Trey Simpson (Hillcrest-Evergreen)
Other tournament results from the last two days of the tournament are:
- Red Level 62, Opp 44
- Monroe County 63, McKenzie 53
- Enterprise 53, Georgiana 44
- Andalusia 53 Straughn 50
- Hillcrest 70, Park Crossing 53
- Georgiana 66, Monroe County 58
Andalusia closes the first half of their regular schedule with a road game against Hillcrest Evergreen on Thursday, Dec. 21 and a game for boys only against Southside-Selma at the Wilcox Central Holiday Classic on Friday Dec. 22.
The article Bulldogs finish second to Enterprise in the tournament championship was originally published at The Andalusia Star-News.
