AISA reschedules championship games due to weather

By TIM GAYLE

Monday’s schedule in the the Alabama Independent School Association state basketball tournament was postponed due to inclement weather in west Alabama, executive director Michael McLendon announced.

AISA games set for Tuesday, which included Class A and AA games, have been rescheduled for later in the week.

Temperatures were forecast to drop to 15 degrees in the Tuscaloosa area on Monday night and the low 20s on Tuesday with a slight chance of snow flurries on both nights. Worse, the area will have heavy rain throughout the area on Monday and the roads will become icy overnight, making travel hazardous.

“Pickens Academy’s coach lives in Mississippi and he couldn’t even make it to practice (on Sunday night) and they’re having ice trouble there,” McLendon said. “I don’t see their situation improving and them being able to travel in the morning. Southern is probably the worst after Pickens and Heritage Christian is questionable on travel, so it didn’t make sense to bring in the (city) staff to work one game. 

Wednesday’s games will include the AAA games as regularly scheduled, with the addition of the AA boys’ game between Macon East Academy and Escambia Academy at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s a better balance to have three (games on Wednesday) and three (on Thursday),” McLendon said. “If you’ve got to move the Macon East-Escambia game, you might as well play it on Wednesday.”

Thursday’s games will feature the remaining three A and AA games at their originally scheduled times, just two days later.

McLendon said AISA officials will be keeping a close eye on the weather, which is set to go through a similar cycle on Thursday as rain is expected, followed by low overnight temperatures. AISA officials originally had set aside Thursday as a weather date, but planned to play the AISA all-star boys’ and girls’ basketball game at the Multiplex on Friday night, leaving them little flexibility in scheduling at the end of the week.

AISA STATE FINALS

Wednesday

AAA girls: Glenwood School vs. Clarke Prep School, 12 p.m.

AAA boys: Tuscaloosa Academy vs. Pike Liberal Arts School, 2:30 p.m.

AA boys: Escambia Academy vs. Macon East Academy, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday

A girls: Abbeville Christian Academy vs. Pickens Academy, 10 a.m.

A boys: Evangel Christian Academy vs. Heritage Christian Academy, 12:30 p.m.

AA girls: Southern Academy vs. Lowndes Academy, 3 p.m.