CHILDERSBURG - The Childersburg Tigers dethroned five-time county champion Talladega 100-75 in the Talladega County Tournament finals on Saturday night.

“Well I’m going to tell you what you really have to embrace it because it is not easy,” Childersburg head coach Al Barnett said. ”The first two years that I was here we won it and you kind of think that you might win it every year, but for the last five years it has been a tough go.

“I’ll tell you this, I am going to really cherish this because it is something the kids should be proud of, the school should be proud of and the coaching staff. This is something that they can cherish for the rest of their lives.”

Big Blue carried the momentum they gained against Sylacauga in the semifinals on Friday into the first quarter on Saturday. The host Tigers were able to break the Talladega press and score easy baskets. LaDavious Battle benefited from his guards breaking the press, as he was able to scored 11 points off of layups and free throws. The Tigers also got it done from the perimeter in the first quarter. Childersburg knocked down five three pointers in the quarter as they took a 32-21 lead into the second period.

“We are not a high-scoring basketball team,” Barnett said. ”One thing that we have really worked on in the past few weeks is breaking pressure. I know when you talked to LaDavious he said breaking pressure is really one of our problems so we have really worked on it.

“It has really turned into an asset now because we can break the press and get some easy baskets and the kids just feed off that. They were really focused tonight and ready to play.”

The defending county champions fought back in the second quarter behind easy transition baskets. JaMarkius Truss’ dunk with 6:21 left in the quarter cut the Childersburg lead down to six points 32-26.

“Childersburg came out in the first quarter and played off of last night’s emotions and got the lead,” Talladega head coach Chucky Miller said. ”No matter what we did we couldn’t get into it, so I congratulate Childersburg. They had an excellent game tonight.”

Childersburg’s Jamison Cook responded for the Big Blue Tigers as he knocked down a three pointer to make it 35-26. Cook drained back-to-back three pointers at the end of the half to push Childersburg’s lead to 20 points, 51-31.

“Jamison has really been shooting the ball really good,” Barnett said. ”I think that one thing that has helped is that we have been playing a shooting game before and after practice with the coaches.

“We have been competition some and he has really got his jumper going. Like I tell my perimeter guys, shooters shoot the ball even if they are missing. A good shooter has to have a short memory.”

In the third quarter Tyler Mosley tried to carry the load for Talladega on the offensive end as he knocked three shots from behind the arc on his way to an 11-point quarter, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Childersburg continued to pound the paint, as they scored 15 of their 18 points in the paint.

Battle had a monster game with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Battle earned offensive MVP for the tournament.

“LaDavious is such a competitor,” Barnett said. “He is just a gritty, gritty guy; he never wants to come out of the game. He works so hard every day and he loves the game of basketball.

“He loves competing; he is a great player.”

Cook scored 21 points; Tarrey McElrath added 15 points and Jones had 11 points for the Tigers in blue.

“Our guard play, Tarrey McElrath, Isaiah Jones, Jamison Cook, Kinnis Leonard got some big rebounds, hit a couple shots for us,” Barnett said. “The bench guys are into the game, they are cheering, their not sitting over there pouting and guys on the bench are a huge assest for us.”

Mosley led Talladega with 22 points, while Truss scored 15 points for the Tigers.