By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
With his team averaging just over 60 points a game, Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawks coach Allen Gainer will be the first to admit that is not enough production to win at the junior college level.
Needless to say if 60 points a game is not enough to win, the 49 points JDCC scored in Monday's 83-49 setback to the visiting Chattahoochee Valley Pirates was even more insufficient.
Monday's setback was the Alabama Community College Conference opener for JDCC. Perhaps even worse, the Warhawks' loss came against a team it figures to have to battle for one of the south division's qualifying spots for the state tournament.
JDCC (2-10 overall, 0-1 in ACCC) got off to a good enough start, as it led for most of the first six minutes. The Warhawks' last advantage was a 9-8 margin after a basket by Sam Smith, who provided one of the few bright spots for the home team with 16 points.
Chattahoochee Valley's main ally in the first half was the three-point shot. The Pirates' first six field goals were all three-pointers. An item that made it even tougher for JDCC to defend the Pirates' perimeter shooting was those six treys came from five different players although Travis Matthews was the only one with more than one, as he had two.
The first two-point field goal for the Pirates (6-6 overall, 1-1 in the ACCC) did not come until the 4:40 mark of the first half when David Clark connected from inside the lane.
At that point, the visitors had a modest 25-18 lead. It quickly went downhill for the Warhawks after that point.
Jonquis Pritchett sparked Chattahoochee Valley on a 14-2 run to close out the first half that knocked the lead up to 37-20. Pritchett ignited that run with a steal that led to a layup, two fastbreak layups of his own and two free throws.
JDCC was never able to get closer than its 17-point halftime deficit.
The Warhawks were still in that 17-point hole after a free throw by Terrance Hazley made it 61-44 with just under seven minutes left.
JDCC connected on just one more field goal the rest of the way, as Chattahoochee Valley ended the game on a 22-5 run.
The Warhawks are home today for a 2 p.m. ACCC game against Faulkner State. JDCC also has a matinee special Saturday when it hosts Northwest Shoals at 4 p.m.
At JDCC
Chattahoochee Valley 37 46 – 83
JDCC 20 29 – 49
CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Jackson 5-0-3-13; Steward 1-3-0-11; Pritchett 3-1-2-11; Matthews 2-2-0-10; Darden 3-0-3-9; Clark 3-0-0-6; McLaurin 1-0-4-6; Johnson 3-0-0-6; Thomas 1-1-0-5; Carter 0-1-0-3; Rinehart 0-1-0-3 (Totals: 22-9-12-83)
JDCC (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Smith 4-2-2-16; Webb 1-1-3-8; Ford 3-0-0-6; Wilson 3-0-0-6; Hazley 0-1-1-4; Jackson 1-0-1-3; Richardson 0-0-3-3; Myers 1-0-0-2; Terry 0-0-1-1 (Totals: 13-4-11-49)
Saturday's game
One game after they saw a 17-point lead slip away at Bevill State-Fayette, the Warhawks suffered another frustrating loss Saturday when they dropped a 70-66 decision to the Huntington College junior varsity in Montgomery.
JDCC found itself down 35-26 at halftime, but it battled back and trailed just 68-67 in the waning moments.
After Richardson's miss, Huntington added a pair of free throws that helped secure its win.
Shooting as a hole was one of JDCC's downfalls, as the Warhawks hit only 33 percent of their shots (23-71). That figure included a bone-chilling 12 percent from three-point land (three-for-25).
At Huntington
JDCC 26 40 – 66
Huntington JV 35 35 – 70
JDCC (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Richardson 4-2-4-18; Wilson 3-0-6-12; Ford 4-0-3-11; Smith 4-0-2-10; Terry 2-0-1-5; Webb 1-1-0-5; Jackson 1-0-1-3; Madison 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 20-3-17-66)
HUNTINGTON (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Boykin 2-3-4-17; Eubanks 3-2-3-15; Turman 1-1-9-14; Gilliand 3-0-1-7; Driver 1-0-5-7; Glasscock 2-0-2-6; Roden 0-0-2-2; Schuler 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 13-6-26-70)