MONTGOMERY – Athens High School senior guard Sam Boyles has developed a very unusual talent during his high school basketball career. He has become the AHSAA’s all-time leader in taking a charge.
Boyles upped his season total to 18 and his career total to 190 as Athens (14-7) beat Decatur 55-48 Tuesday and split a couple of Class 6A, Area 15 games – earning him this week’s AHSAA Boys’ Basketball Spotlight.
Boyles’ defensive prowess edged out a shootout of sorts between two of south Alabama’s finest scorers – Carroll-Ozark’s LaKeith Person and Red Level’s Javen Poindexter, and a 50-points-plus effort by Tommy Tidsale of Keith. Poindexter followed up his 41-point night with a 73-point performance in a 95-89 double-overtime win over Pleasant Home in the Tigers’ final Class 1A, Area 3 game of the regular season Tuesday night.
For those who wonder just what a charge is, the official definition states:
Officially, a charge is an offensive foul that happens when a player runs into a stationary defender who has established a legal guarding position. Charging can happen with or without a ball, when dribbling or when shooting. The flip side of a charging foul is a blocking foul.
The ability of a defender to take a charge is, well, an art form. If so, then coach Danny Anderson of Athens High School has a budding Picaso in his lineup.
Here are Boyles’ numbers after 21 games this season. He had 57 charges as a freshman, 56 as a sophomore, 59 last season as a junior, and 18 this season for 190 total. With two regular-season games remaining and possibly the postseason, he has a chance to go over 200 charges for his career.
According to statistics reported to MaxPreps since the 2004-05 season, Robertsdale’s Ja’leal White had 75 in 30 games last year – ending the season and his prep career with at least one charge in 16 consecutive games. He had five charges in one game and four in nine other contests. He had 78 charges as a junior and finished with 161 total. North Sand Mountain’s Drue Carlton had 76 in 2022 to lead the nation, and he had 24 in 2021 to finish with 131 in three seasons – also according to statistics on MaxPreps. He had seven charges in an 82-79 loss to Ider in 2021.
The single season record for most charges nationally could well be held by Kolby Parker of Shelbyville (TX). He had 107 in the 2019-20 season and 227 for his career (2017-2020). His career-high was eight in one game.
Boyles has taken a charge in his last 17 games, according to Athens Athletic Director Linda Moore, and he had one game with nine charges – which is a state record and possibly a national record.
In the meantime, Boyles has proven to be quite a floor leader and is adept at 3-point shooting.
Anderson says his player’s ability to create a turnover in a very selfless way can have a tremendous effect on the momentum of a game. A charge creates a turnover for the defensive team and adds a foul to the offensive team – a double whammy that adds up quickly in the big games. “He’s the toughest kid I have ever coached,” said Anderson.
Tisdale netted 51 points in the Bears’ 94-25 win over A.L. Johnson Tuesday night for a career-high performance. The senior also had eight rebounds and eight assists.
Person scored 39 points and sank 6-of-6 free throws in overtime to lead Class 5A Carroll past Class 1A Red Level 83-80. Poindexter, the state’s leading scorer, had a game-high 41 points. The game was tied 67-67 at the end of regulation and Poindexter quickly brought his team back from a 78-69 deficit in overtime with a bucket and free throw, followed by a steal and bucket. However, he fouled out with just under two minutes remaining and Person’s clutch work at the foul line held off the host Tigers’ final challenge in the final minute.
Poindexter’s 73-pound effort was the most points scored by an individual in an AHSAA game since Dustin Duncan had 72 for Gardendale in a 2001 contest. The state record is 97, set by Walter Garrett of Birmingham’s West End High School in a 97-54 win over Glenn in 1963. His mark is still a national record for most points in a game when the player scored all his team’s points.