Gunnerson’s 23 points puts Gophers in a hole
By Robert Carter
The North Jefferson News
Hueytown got the attention of Gardendale by scoring two quick buckets to open Tuesday night’s game at Bragg Middle School.
And that was about it for the Gophers.
The awakened Rockets scored the next 10 points and ran away with the rest of the game, on the way to an 80-43 rout of Hueytown.
It was a big night for Gardendale’s Big Three, as Kadarius Gunnerson led the way with 23 points. Gunnerson scored nine points during the first period streak.
Drew Faile and Nigel Ramsey chipped in 17 points each, with Ramsey scoring all but three of his points in the first half. The remaining three came on a play that even dedicated hoops fans may only see once in a lifetime. With 1:11 on the clock in the third period, Ramsey hit a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot. Ramsey was slightly hurt and taken out of the game, with Clint Guin shooting the free throw instead. Guin’s shot was true, completing an very rare two-person four-point play.
Ramsey was slightly gimpy for the rest of the night, but otherwise healthy and unhurt. In addition to his 17 points, he also had seven steals and six assists.
Coach Mark Cornelius knew that stopping two key Gophers – Brandon Spain and Cordarius Samples – would greatly help his team’s cause.
“We knew that the name of their game was one thing: dribble penetration,” Cornelius said. “When we started, we were a little flat-footed. They woke us up a bit in the first couple of minutes.
“We made a little adjustment on our man-to-man coverage on (Spain and Samples), and that helped.”
The Rockets were in total command throughout, amassing an 18-point margin by intermission and 30 after three periods.
Cornelius was happy to see a big effort from Faile, who had some rough going in his early games. Faile led in rebounds with eight, and dished out five assists.
“I was very glad to see Drew doing well,” Cornelius said. “I knew the boy could play.”
Tyler Burgess also pulled down seven rebounds for the Rockets.
Spain led Hueytown (0-1) with 19 points, but 14 of those came in the fourth quarter largely against Cornelius’ reserves. Samples added 10.
Coupled with their 46-31 win over Walker on Saturday, Gardendale is off to a 3-0 start for the new season. They travel to Pinson Valley on Friday night.