Bob Jones and James Clemens renew rivalry this week
Dalton Barkley and Xavier Wherry in action for Bob Jones
Bob Jones and James Clemens take their rivalry to the basketball court this week. The first meeting between the two Madison city schools will be Friday night at James Clemens High gym. The girl’s game will be at 6 p.m. with the boys to follow.
Led by Lindsey Jennings, who is averaging 18 points per game, the Bob Jones girls will put their perfect 7-0 record on the line. Jennings is backed by teammate Sydney Booker who had her best game of the season last Friday night with 14 points in a 55-39 win over Austin. Chandler Elder is averaging 9 points per game.
James Clemens girls are led by China Leary and Markala Parker who played for Bob Jones varsity last year. The Jets (1-2) posted a 46-13 win against Russellville on November 27 for the team’s first win.
Bob Jones boys come into the game after a close 57-53 loss to Austin last Friday night. The loss puts the Patriots record at 2-2 but head coach Graham Aderholt is encouraged even with the close loss.
“We wish we had that one back,” Aderholt said this week during a break in practice. “We were up 8 with about two and half minutes to go. Some bad decisions swung the momentum to Austin but those are great learning experiences for our team. Our guys have responded well to that loss.”
In that game, Ryan Flanigan led Bob Jones in scoring with 14 followed by Tanner Finley with 9 and Jamarcus Jones with 7. It was the first game this season that Jamarcus Jones was not the teams leading scorer. Jones is still averaging 15 points per game.
With little experience returning on the team, the players are still finding their roles for the Patriots.
“The seniors have not played a lot in the past because of the great players we had last season so it could be a little surprising for fans to see Jamarcus playing as well as he has,” Aderholt said. “We need him to play well and hope he continues to play well.”
Bob Jones has shot well from the perimeter so far this season. Dalton Barkley has six 3-point baskets and Jones has seven.
“We have some great shooters on the team. If one guy has an off-night then we have other guys that can step up and knock shots down,” Aderholt said.
Tanner Finley and Ryan Flanigan are getting significant playing time for the first time on varsity. Both bring length to the guard position and have allowed Aderholt to play an effective zone defense at times.
Both teams are off this week leading up to the game Friday night.
“I expect it to be a great crowd. It should be a fun environment. It’s a big gym and hopefully we can fill every seat. The guys are excited to play in it. It should be a great night for Madison city,” Aderholt said.
Both teams know each other’s personnel very well. Josh Mitchell, the James Clemens point guard, played on the Bob Jones freshmen team last year.
“He’s a really good point guard, one of the best we will face this year,” Aderholt said. “They will do a good job at whatever style they play. They have been in every game they have played this year. They will be very competitive, well-coached, and play hard.”
Another Jets player, Jordan Harris was on Bob Jones varsity team last year.
James Clemens comes into the game with a 4-2 record. The Jets are on a two game winning streak having posted wins against Russellville and Muscle Shoals. They also have wins against Columbia and Butler.
The game is a non-area game for both teams. Bob Jones will host Buckhorn next Tuesday and play at Sparkman next Friday in their first area 15 games.
