By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
HANCEVILLE — Unranked Scottsboro stunned Pinson Valley here Friday, February 18, with a dominant 79-60 win to move onto the Elite 8 in the AHSAA 6A state tournament.
Pinson Valley’s Isaiah Sims, coach Darrell Barber, Terry Coner Jr. and B.J. Diakite at the post-game presser after falling 79-60 to Scottsboro. (Photo by Bobby Mathews)
The Wildcats hit 60 percent from the floor in the first quarter and raced out to a 22-6 lead by the end of the period, nailing four-of-seven three-point attempts and limiting the Indians to 14.3 percent shooting in the opening frame.
It was a deficit Pinson Valley could not overcome despite outscoring Scottsboro 17-12 in the second period behind 14 points from Terry Coner Jr. The Indians’ point guard almost single-handedly got Pinson Valley back in the game, at one point cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 8.
“These guys are just so unselfish,” Scottsboro head coach Jason Bell said about his squad. “They’ve been that way the whole time. It’s not a conscious effort that we’re making to get any of them the basketball … They’re very unselfish so it makes it fun to coach them They give great effort, and they can all shoot because they stay in the gym and work on it.”
But Scottsboro exploded for another 22 points in the third quarter and limited the Indians to 14 points. While Pinson Valley managed to match the Wildcats point-for-point in the fourth quarter, they could never go on the run they needed in order to make up the difference.
A key factor was the 34 defensive rebounds by Scottsboro, limiting Pinson Valley’s second-chance attempts.
The Wildcats’ Tyson Sexton was 9-for-15 from the floor, hitting four three-pointers and going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Sexton finished with 33 points.
“I can tell how a team looks at us during warm-ups,” Sexton said afterward. “We don’t pass the eye test at all. I knew as soon as we stepped onto the court, as soon as they took the ball. They thought it was going to be a cake-walk. They didn’t really respect our skill.”
Blake Jones scored 18 and Parker Bell added 17 for the Wildcats.
Following the loss, an emotional Pinson Valley head coach Darrell Barber spoke about his disappointment in the outcome.
“It’s tough, man. We’ve battled through a lot all year,” Barber said. “We haven’t played one game with our full roster … They made shots, we missed assignments. Look at our shots, five out of 27 on threes. Last game we made 13 of them. The ball didn’t bounce our way.”
Senior forward B.J. Diakite made his first start since December 20, and it looked like he would make a difference early, getting the tip-off and tearing down a defensive rebound early. But the shots didn’t fall for Pinson Valley. For Barber, this year’s Indians squad was special — a group of players who had grown up playing with and for one another.
“For me, every year I want to win a state championship,” Barber said, wiping away tears. “But this group right here, this group was special.”
Caleb White went 9-of-27 on the game, including 2-for-9 from three-point range. He finished with 24 points, while Coner had 20.
