Bibb County 59 – West Blocton 38
Choctaws topple Tigers in physical hoops match
By Daniel L. Bamberg
Less than a week after suffering a heartbreaking semi-final state championship loss in football, some Bibb County High School athletes were ready to join in on a new season. Basketball season had already begun, but players like Jalen Goree, Tevin Crews, Marvell Bell, Andrelle Smith and J.J. Rutledge had not yet made the transition from gridiron to wooden court. That all changed on Thursday, December 2nd. It was time for hoops and for them; there were not many opponents better to begin with, than county rivals, the West Blocton Tigers.
“The football loss last week effected many of our players,” explained BCHS head basketball coach, Terry Morton. “It’s tough to go from the kind of season they had directly into another sport. These guys play with a lot of heart and character. We have a complete team right now, and we are going to get better as the year goes on.”
There was an impressive crowd on hand, turning out several notable local figures. Both High School principals and vice principals were in attendance, as well as football players from both teams.
The Choctaws and Tigers played with serious intensity from tip-off until final buzzer. Even as the Tigers remained down by no less than 8 points for most of regulation, the passion of the athletes seemed dead even.
The Tigers were able to match the Choctaws’ giants, Bell and Smith under the basket with the powerful duo of Charro White and Chris Holt.
The Tigers even seemed to be on a verge of a comeback on a few occasions. There were moments where West Blocton went on 6-10 unanswered point rallies. Bibb County’s physical take away defense however proved too much for the home team. BCHS junior, Ratell Hardwick led the defensive impression with 5 of the Choctaws 16 steals.
When it appeared that West Blocton had an answer it would be only a matter of a few possessions before the Choctaws were scoring consecutive unanswered goals of their own.
Other than their take-away ability the speed of BCHS seemed to be the advantage, which lead to the game’s decision. When the final quarter came to an end, the Choctaws secured a win on the road against a formidable team with an electric home crowd.
“Right now we are a young team,” explained West Blocton head coach Steven Motley. “Bibb County has a very athletic team. We played tough tonight and I am proud that we never gave up. There’s some work to be done but we are going to get better.”
Bibb County’s scoring leader was Deonte Harrell, who had 11 points. Johntarrio Goode led the team in rebounds with 11. The Tigers leading scorer was Chris Holt who had 23 points.
Lady Choctaws defeat Lady Tigers
The Bibb County High School Lady Choctaws defeated West Blocton on Thursday, December 2nd. The leading scorers were Shynice Huckleberry (13) and Qunia Moore (9). Kenya Billingsley and Moore tied as rebounding leaders.
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