Red Bay falls to Calhoun in state semifinals
An historic season for the Red Bay boys basketball program came to an end on the floor of Legacy Arena in Birmingham Monday night in a 46-30 loss to Calhoun in the Class 2A semifinals.
The Tigers couldn’t overcome poor shooting performance early in the game, combined with the athleticism of a Calhoun squad that boasted the top-rated junior in the state of Alabama.
J.D. Davison of Calhoun was as good as advertised, scoring 18 points, pulling down 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists and blocking three shots – not bad for a point guard.
In the first half, Red Bay was 3-for-25 from the field and 1-for-7 from behind the arch. A lot of the shooting woes for Red Bay were a direct result of the leaping ability of Calhoun and some very active hands.
“Obviously we are disappointed,” said Red Bay coach John Torisky. “We just didn’t play very well. We missed a lot of easy shots – shots that were uncontested.”
Calhoun jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Red Bay scored its first shot of the game – a corner three by Braden Ray with 3:32 to go in the first quarter. Calhoun led Red Bay 10-3 at the end of the first period.
Calhoun extended the lead to 16-3 early in the second quarter and led 20-5 when Ray and Clay Allison hit back-to-back shots to cut Calhoun’s lead to 20-9 with 2:25 to go in the first half.
Calhoun led 24-9 at the half.
Red Bay picked up the scoring in the third quarter, getting a pair of baskets from Lane Shewbart and Arden Hamilton to cut Calhoun’s lead to 34-18. Calhoun led 38-20 at the end of the third quarter.
What seemed like a Calhoun runaway tightened in the fourth quarter when the Tigers went on a 10-2 run. Ray sank a three to open the quarter, followed by baskets from Jalen Vinson, Allison and Lane to cut Calhoun’s lead to 40-30 with 3:51 to go in the game.
Calhoun regrouped, however, stepping up its defense and pulling away at the end.
Red Bay didn’t have a player get in double digits, with Ray leading the way with nine points. Shewbart followed with eight points but pulled down 14 hard-earned rebounds. Allison added five points, Arden Hamilton four points, Vinson two points and Tanner Hamilton two points.
The Tigers end the season with a 23-11 record.
