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Yellow Jackets sting Southside in boys county championship 

Photo: Glencoe High’s Wade Segrest (4) brings the ball into the paint area as Southside’s Silas Osborne defends during the Yellow Jackets’ 67-55 victory in the boys championship game of the Etowah County Schools Basketball Tournament on Friday, Jan. 17 in Sardis City. (Courtesy of Average Joe’s Sports Talk)

By Chris McCarthy/Publisher

Glencoe High boys basketball head coach Ryan Chambless had no doubt as to why the Yellow Jackets won their third Etowah County Schools Tournament title over the past three years on Friday, Jan. 17 in Sardis City.
“Honestly, I think that was the best man-to-man defense we’ve played all year,” he said after guiding his team to a 67-51 victory over Southside. “I thought we did a really good job of matching up defensively. I also thought that we did a heck of a job rebounding, especially on the defensive end. It’s really important at this point of the season to give teams one shot (at the basket) and then get the ball right back.”
Not to be overlooked was the Yellow Jackets’ shooting a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line over the game’s final few minutes.
“That was big, because if we don’t make those, then [Southside] would have had a chance,” said Chambless. “I was really happy with the way we finished out the game.”
Tournament MVP Wade Segrest finished with 23 points, including five 3-point baskets. He knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers during a span of a minute and 23 seconds in the second quarter to help give Glencoe a 29-25 advantage at halftime.
“Wade’s first couple of shots came up really short, but his confidence didn’t waver, and he shot the ball really well from then on,” said Chambless. “I don’t know if he missed again after that point.”
The Yellow Jackets (18-5) extended their led to nine points during the third quarter. Southside remained within striking distance, however, with Cooper Horton’s 3-pointer at the buzzer closing the gap to 40-35.
“Southside always does a good job and plays really hard,” said Chambless. “We knew that they weren’t going to go away and that we had to keep up the intensity on defense.”
But the Panthers managed just two field goals over the final eight minutes and never got within nine points down the stretch. Glencoe finished off the game on a 10-4 run, with Segrest accounting for eight of the Yellow Jackets’ last 10 points.
Grant Smith added 12 points for the Yellow Jackets, followed by Garrett Morgan and Jayden Patton with nine each and Bryce Borntrager with seven. Drew Clark paced the Panthers with 21 points, followed by Cayden Reason with 13, Mason Stephens with eight and Horton with five.
“We didn’t come out super-great for the first couple of minutes, but after we got in a halfcourt trap we were able to pick up our tempo,” said Chambless. “We had a couple of guys make some 3’s and had a couple of other guys step up and make big plays on defense.”
Joining Segrest on the All-Tournament team were Grant Smith, Garrett Morgan and Jayden Patton from Glencoe; Cayden Reason, Mason Stephens and Drew Clark from Southside; Bryce Whitaker and Anderson Morgan from Hokes Bluff; Cade Holcomb and Lucas Montgomery from Sardis; Mica Merriman from Gaston; and Jaxon Hamby from West End.
Southside reached the finals with a 42-40 win over Hokes Bluff on Thursday, Jan. 16. Cayden Reason finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, Silas Osborne scored 10 points, Mason Stephens contributed nine points and 22 rebounds and Drew Clark added six points. For the Eagles, Bryce Whitaker scored 15 points, followed by Noah Johnson with 12 and Ronan McFadden with seven. Anderson Morgan contributed six points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, three deflections and two blocks, while Drew McCarver grabbed six rebounds. In the other semifinal game, Glencoe posted a 94-77 win over Sardis.
In other tournament action, Hokes Bluff defeated West End, 76-42, and Sardis beat Gaston, 72-63. Bryce Whitaker paced Hokes Bluff with 14 points, followed by Logan Carr with 14, Noah Johnson with 13, Ronan McFadden with 10, Anderson Morgan with seven and Anthony Gooch with six. Jaxon Hamby scored 17 points for the Patriots, followed by Logan Proctor with 13. Conner Walker contributed seven points, six rebounds and five assists.

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