Talladega has earned a spot in the finals for the last eight seasons. The Tigers are looking to win their first County crown since the 2009 season.
“It was a good win,” Talladega head coach Chucky Miller said. “Childersburg came out and gave an A- plus effort. They attacked us good, they shot good and they hit free throws. Our offense came around. We got some work to do on defense, but our offense carried us tonight.”
Childersburg aggressively attacked the rim in the first quarter, which help them get out to an early lead. Attacking the offensive glass helped the visiting Tigers go on a 10-2 run. Childersburg scored six of their 10 points during the run on second chance opportunities. Tyrell Garrett scored four points during the run including a put-back to give Childersburg an 18-13 lead with 1:24 left in the first quarter.
Talladega turned to their big man, Scott, in the first quarter. The senior scored four of his 10 points in the quarter in the 45 seconds to help Talladega cut Childersburg lead to 20-19 going into the second quarter.
Talladega turned up their defensive intensity in second quarter. The top-seeded Tigers’
press defense helped them go on a 9-3 run to start the quarter. Scott capped off the drive with a layup to make it 28-22 with 6:37 left before halftime
“I though we played a real good first half for the most part,” Childersburg head coach Al Barnett said. “I thought we had two or three situations where we had four point swings where it looked like we were going to have an outlet pass and get a basket. They get their arms up and get a layup. You can’t have four point swings against a team like Talladega.”
Scott continued to dominate the low post the whole night. The senior scored six of his 20 first half points in a span less than 40 seconds to help Talladega increase to 46-33 with 2:09 left in the half. Talladega took a 49-38 lead into halftime.
“They came out to a good run in the first quarter,” Miller said. “I know they got a seven, eight or nine point lead. Right then we knew we had to make a charge on them if not it was going to be close all night.”
Talladega got a scare in the third quarter when Jacob Twymon crashed to the floor after being fouled on a fast break. The senior shooting guard rolled his ankle and had to be assisted off the court. His status for tonight’s championship game is uncertain. Scott picked up where he left off in the third quarter. The 6-foot-5, 240 pound center scored 14 of his career high 34 points in the third quarter.
“Stedman has come around,” Miller said. “He can score on the inside when we give him the ball. He has to work hard to get him open and we have to work hard to get him the ball.”
Tyrell Garrett scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Childersburg. Keonta Estell scored 17 points for Childersburg. Jalen Debardlabon had a solid fourth quarter as he scored eight of 16 points in the fourth quarter.
For the second year in a row the Tigers will match up against the Sylacauga Aggies with the county championship at stake. Last season, the Aggies defeated Talladega. This season Talladega has swept the Aggies in two regular season games.
“We expect another tough one (tonight), Miller said. “Sylacauga has been state ranked for two years. They are good at every position. We will just see how it goes (tonight). Maybe we will have a little energy left.”
The Tigers will take on Sylacauga in the finals tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Contact LaVonte Young at lyoung@dailyhome.com. Follow him on Twitter at LYoung_DHSports.
