CHILDERSBURG – The battle between Talladega and Childersburg went down to the wire Saturday night, but a three-pointer by Damien Stone with less than 15 seconds remaining gave Childersburg the win, 77-76. The home standing Tigers (4-1) jumped out in front of Talladega (9-1) early and led 22-11 at the end of the first quarter. Talladega battled back in the second quarter and Chartavious Keith’s shot with 2:27 to go in the first half tied the game at 30. O’Bryan Davis then scored with 2:08 remaining in the second period to give the men in red the lead. Talladega led by three at halftime.
“We had a big lead at the end of the first quarter,” Childersburg head coach Al Barnett said after the game. “We went down at the half and I was a little worried about our mental state, but the guys never got down.”
The home team trailed the entire third quarter despite getting several outside shots. Jordan Connell, Stone, Robert Turner and C.J. Estelle each hit shots from behind the arch in the third period.
Talladega’s Evans and Davis had nine and seven points respectively during the third stanza to help the visiting Tigers in the lead. Talladega entered the fourth quarter with a 63-56 advantage.
Davis led Talladega in scoring with 23 points. Keith added 20 while Evans chipped in 13. The loss was Talladega’s first of the season. The Tigers face Moody on Tuesday.
Estelle led Childersburg in scoring with 24 points. Robert Turner had 13 while Connell and Stone each added 11. Antonio Hamilton scored 10 points on the night.
“Robert Turner really played well for us tonight,” Barnett said. “He’s a post player, but he can really handle the ball. He really helped us break the press. Talladega High School is just so quick. Coach Miller did a great job with them and we were fortunate and happy to get the win.”
