AREA ROUNDUP: Opelika boys crush Smiths Station

Opelika cruised to a 97-31 area win over Smiths Station at home Friday night.

LaDecker Johnson led the Bulldogs (10-2, 2-1 area) with 18 points. Eric Dowdell had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Tay Calloway had 14 points and nine rebounds and Morris Lockhart had 10 points and two rebounds.

Smiths Station’s girls topped Opelika, 64-45.

Erika Jones led the Panthers with 32 points.

Alicia Beasley had 14 for Opelika (7-5), and Bethany Howard had 10.

The Opelika JV team also took an easy win over the Panthers, 64-24.

Bernard Smith had 12 for the Bulldogs (8-1) and Channing Stribling had 8.

The Bulldogs will host Auburn High today.

Lee-Scott boys, girls advance to title game
The Warriors opened the Lee-Scott Holiday Tournament with impressive wins over Eastwood Christian on Friday night.

Lee-Scott’s top-ranked girls (9-0) defeated Eastwood, 48-28.

Melissa Maddox led the Warriors with 18 points, five rebounds and five steals. Gabby George had 8 and Savannah Starr scored 6.

Lee-Scott’s boys topped Eastwood, 74-46.

MarQuen Mitchell led the Warriors (8-1) with 13 points. Hayden Gunter had 12, Micah Pointer 11 and Tucker Carl 9.

The girls will play in the tournament championship game at 2 p.m. against Macon-East. The second-ranked Warrior boys will face third-ranked Evangel Christian at 3:30 p.m.

Ballard rolls to home win
Ballard closed out the calendar year in style with a 56-33 win over Faith Christian on Friday night.

Jonathan Stith led the Eagles (6-3) with 14 points. Joseph Sullen pitched in 7, and Judson Butler had 11 rebounds and six steals.

The Eagles’ boys basketball team fell to Griffin Christian, 63-41, on Thursday despite a double-double from Butler.

Butler had 11 points and 12 rebounds, Judson Scott scored 12 and David Shirley added 6 for Ballard.

Ballard will next hit the court Jan. 5 at Skipstone.

Beulah gets past Wadley
BEULAH — Led by a career-high 31 points from Jordan Wimberly, Beulah rolled to a 74-63 win over Wadley on Friday night.

Wimberly had a double-double on the night for the Bobcats (6-4), hauling in 15 rebounds. He also had four blocks and four steals.

Justin Harper had 19 points and Dylan Aikens had 14.

The Bobcats next hit the floor Jan. 2 at Geraldine.

Valley tops LaFayette
VALLEY — Valley picked up a 71-52 win over LaFayette on Friday night.

Teon Jones led the Rams (6-1) with 22 points and six rebounds. Josh McBride had 11 points and five rebounds, Erique Florence scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds, and Darien Briscoe also scored 10.

The Rams will next play Jan. 2 at Lanett.

Glenwood falls to Southland
AMERICUS, Ga. — No. 2 Glenwood suffered a 51-47 defeat at the hands of Southland (Ga.) at a tournament Friday night.

Bree Nowlin scored 32 points in the losing effort for the Gators (5-3). She also had eight rebounds and seven steals.

Glenwood will face Fullington today at 2 p.m. as the tournament continues.

Auburn B-team tops Poka
LOACHAPOKA — The Tigers’ boys basketball B-team took a 42-14 road win over the Indians on Friday.

Corey Hall led the way with 13 points for Auburn.

Beauregard girls top LaFayette
BEAUREGARD — Laveeta Bellamy’s 20 points led the Hornets to a 58-32 win over the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Paris Oglesby scored 15 and Valeeta Bellamy added 12 for Beauregard (3-7, 0-1 area).

The Hornets travel to Valley for an area game Jan. 5.

Poka sweeps area rival
WADLEY — Loachapoka’s boys and girls basketball teams each took area blowouts over Wadley on Thursday, with the girls winning, 60-35, and the boys winning, 66-26.

Chantal Hall led the Indians’ girls (5-2, 2-0 area) with 15 points, Samone Yancey scored 14, and Karly Whitlow added 10.

Qunidravious Richardson led the No. 7 Loachapoka boys (3-0, 2-0) with 25 points, and Ricky Hunter added 10.

Opelika 7th and 8th graders take wins
Opelika Middle School’s seventh grade boys basketball team improved to 5-1 on the year with a 63-51 overtime win against Russell County Middle School on Thursday, and the school’s eighth graders also handled Russell County, 43-27.

T.J. Hamby led the way for the seventh graders with 27 points and seven rebounds, and A.J. Butler added 14 points and four assists.

Twelve players scored for Opelika’s eighth graders (9-1) in their win, with Malcolm Buggs leading the way with 6 points.