AISA QUATERFINALS: Evangel hangs on to advance in Class A

By TIM GAYLE

It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective, at least, for most of the game.

When Restoration Academy finally took its first lead of the game with less than a minute remaining, Marcus Townsend sank a pair of free throws to rescue Evangel Christian with a 29-27 win over the Bulldogs in the Alabama Independent School Association Class A quarterfinal in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday afternoon.

Evangel Christian (8-5) will advance to the semifinals for the seventh time in Kerwin Washington’s nine years as the Lions’ basketball coach, but it may be the most unlikely appearance with a team that features just one returning player with any significant playing experience in a program that has reached the state finals in each of the last four years. 

“I expect this team to come through adversity, like they have throughout the season,” said Townsend, the only senior and the only returning starter from last year’s state championship squad. “But I feel like we’re at the level to compete for a state championship. We’re just taking it one game at a time.”

The Lions found themselves in an unusual position after dropping their final area game to Abbeville Christian, losing a coin flip and playing a first-round game at home in order to qualify for the Elite Eight. Once there, a team that is accustomed to having as much talent as any other team and battle tested from a rigorous schedule was instead rebuilding through a pair of COVID shutdowns this season and facing a talented Restoration squad that could potentially run the Lions out of the tournament.

So the Lions turned defensive, playing a deliberate style that clearly frustrated the Bulldogs, even relying on the mismatched defense of post players Aaron McNeil and Nii Addy against the smaller, quicker Restoration guards.

“That was a dilemma,” Washington admitted. “That was basically a five-guard team. I was trying to get my point guard to understand we want to play at our pace, not at their pace, because they wanted to run. Most of the time, I thought we played well defensively. We gave up some drives late and the kid got a wide-open 3 pointer on the out-of-bounds play that cut the lead to three.”

Point guard Kennedy Holland was the difference early, scoring on a pair of drives to the basket and hitting a 3 pointer for eight of the Lions’ 10 first-quarter points that gave Evangel the lead it needed to dictate the pace of the game. 

In the second quarter, Evangel would continue to have the margin despite poor free-throw shooting, largely because of a defensive effort that held the Bulldogs to eight points in the first half. Restoration upped the tempo briefly in the third quarter and cut the lead to four points, but Cyrek Smith hit a huge 3 pointer for the Lions midway through the quarter.

“First of all, we weren’t expecting them to come out in man,” Townsend said. “We were expecting them to come out in a zone. Then we came out sluggish in the second half and our defense wasn’t right.”

Evangel, which hit just 7 of 23 free-throw attempts in the game, watched its lead dissipate as the Bulldogs traded baskets for free-throw misses. Aaron Morris hit a 3 pointer for his only points of the game to trim the deficit to 26-23 with 3:41 left and the Lions missed a pair of free throws, turned the ball over on a charging call and missed a shot over the next three minutes.

Restoration, meanwhile, used a baseline drive by Jaylon Bailey and another by Noah Rhodes with 45 seconds left to put the Bulldogs on top 27-26. Townsend would drive into the lane but miss, leading to a missed tip by Addy, then a foul on Townsend’s putback attempt with 31.1 seconds remaining.

The senior sank both attempts to put Evangel in front 28-27. Restoration’s next possession ended with a turnover and Smith was fouled, making the first of two attempts with 7.1 seconds left. 

DeMarcus Sumpter’s off-balance 3 pointer at the buzzer came up short and the Lions advanced to the semifinals, perhaps the most unlikely state tournament win in the last five years for the program. 

“If we had more experience (it would make a difference),” Washington said. “But we only have Marcus with deep experience and Kennedy coming off the bench (last season). Him stepping in and running the team this year is a big adjustment for him. All in all, (a lack of) experience is kind of hurting us.”

AISA Class A Boys Quarterfinals

Pickens Academy 39, Jackson Academy 34

The Pirates rallied from a double-digit deficit with 20 points in the fourth quarter to rally past Jackson 39-34 in the Alabama Independent School Association’s Elite Eight Class A boys tournament at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.

William Parker scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as Pickens trailed 10-2 at the end of the first quarter and 25-19 at the end of the third before catching fire in the fourth quarter.

Rafe Brown added 15 points, including five in the fourth quarter, to help Pickens advance to the semifinals on Wednesday against Evangel Christian at 11:30 a.m.

Chrishaun Wimbley led Jackson with nine points, followed by Dakota Baxter with eight.

Abbeville Christian 69, North River Christian 51

Dre Cobb led three players in double figures as the Generals advanced to the semifinals with a strong performance against North River Christian on Thursday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

Cobb finished with 20 points, followed by Jackson Blalock and D.J. Williams with 17 points each as Abbeville jumped out to a quick 17-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never seriously challenged.

Abbeville Christian will face Heritage Christian in the semifinals on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

Montae Callaway led North River with 17 points, followed by La’Kweili Rice with 14.

Heritage Christian Academy 61, Crenshaw Christian 39

Heritage Christian used a 23-point first quarter to take command of the quarterfinal matchup with Crenshaw and the Eagles rolled to a 22-point win on Thursday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

Greyson Sanford led Heritage with 22 points, followed by Tobias Stoutermire with 18 and Michael Hart with nine.

Demetric Toney led Crenshaw with 19 points, hitting 8 of 12 at the free-throw line.

Heritage Christian advances to the semfinals of the Class A tournament, where it will face Abbeville Christian on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.