Moody’s Dee Williams was named the St. Clair County Jr. High Tournament Most Valuable Player Saturday as he led the Blue Devils to a 44-22 victory over Springville in the title game. Williams scored 26 points in the two games during the tournament.
They defeated Ragland to earn a shot in the title game, then doubled up the Springville Tigers 44-22 to win the crown.
Fast-paced, run and gun, full-court defensive pressure and unselfish play are the ways to describe this group of men from Moody.
Here is a closer look at each game played in the tournament.
Ragland 33, Ashville 27
Ragland outscored Ashville 13-9 in the fourth quarter that helped the Purple Devils to a 33-27 victory over the Bulldogs.
After one quarter of play, the game was tied 6-6 and it was still tied at the break, 14-14.
By the end of the third quarter, Ragland held a slim two-point, 20-18 lead. They then scored 13 points in the final 6 minutes of play to win the game 33-27.
Two Purple Devil players scored in double figures and leading the way was Kelton Killings with 11 points. Close behind was Christian Morrow with 10 points. Levi Campbell added 6 points while Blake Jones finished the game with 4 points.
Leading Ashville and all scorers was Dorsett Tipton with 12 points. Randy Williams and Sam Howard netted 6 points each while Jimmy Williams scored 2 points. DJ Cook had 1 point.
Springville 59, Steele 18
In the last game of the first night of the tournament, nine Springville players scored enroute to a 59-18 win over Steele.
The Tigers were up 12-5 after the first six minutes of the game and then went on a 17-6 run in the second quarter to make it 29-11 at halftime.
By the end of the third quarter, the Tigers were on top 45-18 and they held the Raiders scoreless in the fourth quarter to make the final score 59-18.
Leading Springville and all scorers was Connor Winston with 14 points. Isaiah Benson knocked down 11 points while Jermell Patrick added 9 points. Alex Ryant poured in 8 points while Alex Conwell totaled 7 points. Casey Mize netted 4 points while Chris Reaume, Austin O’neal and Connor Daniels had 2 points each.
Leading Steele was Zach Walker with 11 points. Noah Cater added 5 points while Josh Dedmon had 2 points.
Springville 34, Odenville 29
Trailing 23-21 in the fourth quarter, the Springville Tigers went on a 12-0 run to take a 33-23 lead and went on to win the game 34-29. The win put Springville in the title game.
The Tigers controlled the first half as they were up 9-2 after one quarter and 16-12 at intermission.
Odenville fought back in the third quarter outscoring the Tigers 9-4 to take a 21-20 lead. Springville then went on a 12-0 run and won the game.
Austin O’neal led Springville with 8 points. Jermell Patrick, Isaiah Benson and Alex Conwell all scored 6 points each while Casey Mize netted 4 points. Connor Winston chipped in 2 points.
Leading Odenville was Chris McCugh with 8 points. Hakeem Davis and Willie Buchannon both netted 6 points each while Bailey Lee totaled 4 points. Deshawn Williams chipped in 3 points while Taylor Mickens added 2 points.
Moody 52, Ragland 32
Moody advanced to the championship game to face Springville after they defeated Ragland 52-32.
The Blue Devils scored the first 4 points of the game before Ragland fought back to tie it at 4-4. From that point on, it was all Moody. The Blue Devils finished the first quarter on a 10-2 to open up a 14-6 lead.
By halftime the score was 26-14 and by the time the third quarter ended, Moody’s lead was 41-21. The final score was 52-32.
Ten Moody players scored and leading the way was Dee Williams with 14 points. Close behind was Noah Graham with 12 points. Kujuan Crawford netted 5 points while Rodrellas Garner totaled 4 points. Christian Weems and Terry Brown added 3 points each while Riley Campbell, JP Archer and Miles Webster finished the game with 2 points each. Isaac Vacheresse had 1 point.
Leading Ragland was Christian Morrow with 11 points. Levi Campbell netted 8 points while Blake Jones scored 4 points. Donovan Turner and Kelton Killings had 3 points each while Jagger Phillips chipped in 2 points. Alex McClendon had 1 point.
Moody 44, Springville 22
From the opening tip, Moody was out to prove they were the best jr. high boy’s team in the county. They quickly took a 9-2 lead over Springville and never looked back.
The Blue Devils were up 16-2 after the first quarter and increased their lead to 28-11 at intermission.
Moody won the scoring battle in the third stanza 10-3 to make it 38-14 and they went on to win 44-22.
Isaac Vacheresse led Moody with 14 points. Close behing was Dee Williams with 12 points. Kujuan Crawford pumped in 8 points while Christian Weems netted 3 points. JP Archer, Noah Graham and Miles Webster all had 2 points each while Terry Brown had 1 point.
Springville was led by Jermell Patrick with 9 points. Rusty Colley scored 4 points while Connor Winston added 3 points. Austin O’neal, Casey Mize and Alex Conwell had 2 points each.
Moody’s Dee Williams was named the tournament MVP.
Joining Williams on the All-Tournament Team included Noah Graham, Isaac Vacheresse and Miles Webster from Moody; Jermell Patrick, Austin O’neal, and Isaiah Benson from Springville; Christian Morrow and Levi Campbell from Ragland; Hakeem Davis and Bailey Lee from Odenville; Zach Walker from Steele and Dorsett Tipton from Ashville.
Contact Gary Hanner at ghanner@thestclairtimes.com.
