photo by Dusty Harper

Dadeville's Terry Toler dribbles around a Childersburg defender during camp Friday at Central High School.

Childersburg knocks off Dadeville, Coosa

Central-Coosa and Dadeville both lose to Childersburg and defeat B.B. Comer Friday at Central High School

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Friday, June 12, 2009

It was the Childersburg Tiger basketball team who came away victorious from Friday’s four-team camp at Central High School.

The Tigers defeated Dadeville 65-49 in their first game of the morning and followed that with a 63-52 win over the homestanding Cougars.

But, each of the local teams did come away with one victory each. Central-Coosa hammered B.B. Comer 54-20 in the opening game of the day, while Dadeville took a much closer 52-46 decision over the Bobcats.

Central-Coosa head coach Joe Belyeu said one of his senior guards was the bright spot of the day.

“Marcus Judkins looked good,” Belyeu said. “He was much more aggressive. You’ve got to take the opportunities when the defense gives them to you, and that’s what he did.”

Judkins was the leading scorer in the Childersburg game for his team. He hit a couple of 3-pointers and scored in double figures in each half.

But, Belyeu wasn’t sold on his whole backcourt’s performance.

“Our guards still have a long way to go,” he said. “They’ve got to handle the pressure better. That’s what we’re going to work on.”

Joe Russell, Coosa’s all-state performer, struggled for much of the day, but Belyeu said he expects him to come around.

“He didn’t have his shot today, but he’s not in his best shape,” Belyeu said. “He’s got to step up for us. He’ll shed some pounds and come back and be good for us in the fall.”

William Tuck, who wasn’t available for his team at last week’s Dadeville camp, saw a lot of time at the point, along with Jeremy Murray. Belyeu said both of those players were “OK” Thursday, but will have to improve.

For Dadeville, things started slowly out of the gate against Childersburg. Rodney Taylor’s team fell behind 23-4 with 11:30 to play in the first half, but Dadeville actually outscored its opponent 45-42 the rest of the way.

Free throws were a big problem for the Tigers, as they missed 8 of 10 in the first half and were 11 for 26 altogether.

“We’re still a work in progress, but we’re going to be OK,” Taylor said. “When you miss about 20 free throws, you can’t win. Who knows what could’ve happen if we make our foul shots.

“On the boards, we were soft,” Taylor said. “We can’t go and bat the ball with one hand. It’s not volleyball. We’ve got to be stronger down low.”

Dadeville was playing without Zeke Heard, who has left the team and may or may not be back next season. He was a favorite to start alongside Kyle Caldwell in the backcourt.

Caldwell was on from the field Friday.The junior point guard had 13 points against Childersburg and added 12 against Comer. He nailed five 3-pointers in total.

Rashad Blackwell, Dadeville’s 265-pound post player, scored nine points in the second half against Childersburg.

“He’s a big body down low that needs touches,” Taylor said. “He saw what can happen when people play behind him down low, but he also saw what he needs to do on the other end. He can be a player for us.”

Kieran Sturdivant scored 13 points in the Comer game, including the first seven of the second half. Terry Toler chipped in with 13 total in both games.

The Tigers will be back in action June 22 at a camp at Horseshoe Bend, while Coosa travels to Childersburg on June 23.

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