AHSAA REGIONAL UPDATE: Possible storms causing reshuffling of tournaments

Auburn University commit Labaron Philon and the Baker Hornets were able to get in their game in the Class 7A South Regional semifinals at Garrett Coliseum, defeating Enterprise, 53-41, on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

The threat of inclement weather has forced changes to the Alabama High School Athletic Association regional schedule, moving some future games to a different time slot and moving several games to the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl after all Thursday afternoon games were canceled.

The first two Class 7A games in the South and Northwest regionals were played on Thursday, with the remainder of the day postponed. In the South Regional, the Enterprise girls defeated Davidson 45-41 and Baker defeated Enterprise 53-41, but games involving the Prattville girls and the Dothan boys were postponed.

A total of 32 games were moved with the most drastic action coming in Class 1A where the Central Regional games in Birmingham were moved to the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

In 7A, the Prattville-Mary Montgomery girls’ game and the Dothan-Mary Montgomery boys’ game were moved to Saturday at the Multiplex, with Prattville playing at 2 p.m. and Dothan following at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Other changes include pushing back the 5A girls’ games in the Central Regional three hours, which also happened with 2A girls’ games and the Southside-St. James girls’ game, which is now set for Monday at 6 p.m.

The other 3A girls’ semifinal, Trinity vs. Sumter Central, was moved to Tuesday at 9 a.m.

The Central Regional times were affected in every classification, with 4A, 3A and 2A games moved to a new day and time.

In the South Regional, the biggest changes were in 1A, where games that were scheduled for Thursday night will now be played on Monday. The finals, originally set for Monday, will now be held on Thursday. The remainder of the South Regional schedule was unchanged.  

In Friday’s brief action, Auburn commitment Labaron Philon had 32 points, seven rebounds, a pair of assists and four steals to lead Baker to a 12-point win over the defending state champs. Philon went 1 of 7 from behind the arc, but his lone 3-pointer broke a 39-39 tie, triggering a 14-point run as Baker scored 14 of the game’s final 16 points over the final 4:51.

“I had two big plays,” Philon said. “I hit a 3 in the corner and I came back and got an ‘and one.’ I made all (seven of) my free throws today so it was a good day for me and my team, just moving on to the next round.”

Now, Philon and his Baker teammates will have to wait two days to find out who they will face in the 7A regional finals.