AISA TOURNEY RECAP: Evangel Christian wins state championship

Evangel Christian celebrates its second-straight state championship on Friday. (By Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

When Chambers Academy scored five consecutive points early in the second half, Evangel Christian Academy found itself trailing for the first time in the state tournament.

The Rebels were packed tightly in a zone to prevent post players Jakolvian Johnson and Jordan Grice from doing any damage in the paint and neither Marcus Townsend nor David Werking had found any rhythm from the outside.

Werking responded with five consecutive points to put the Lions back in front and added a 3-pointer to seal the victory as Evangel captured the Alabama Independent School Association Class A state championship with a 50-40 win over Chambers on Friday night at the Multiplex.

It was the second consecutive year Evangel defeated Chambers for the title and their third championship in four consecutive trips to the finals.

“I’d say this one is a lot more gratifying,” said Werking, one of three seniors on the team. “Last year, it was my first year coming in and I wasn’t too familiar with the program Coach (Kerwin) Washington was teaching us. I feel like I grew a lot and he’s helped me a lot and that’s how I feel I became the player I am today.”

Evangel (28-1) needed everything Werking could deliver to win its 22nd consecutive game and bring home the state title. With Johnson and Grice held in check, the Rebels dared Werking, Townsend and point guard Tyree Curry to beat them from the perimeter.

“They made us change the way we run our offense,” Curry said. “They packed it in and made us shoot nothing but 3s. They mainly focused on our paint play.”

Werking fired four consecutive times from the 3-point arc, but all of his missiles bounced harmlessly off the rim, rebounded by the Rebels. 

“We knew what kind of defense they were going to be in,” Werking said. “But we weren’t ready like we thought we were. We had to make some adjustments.”

The first of those adjustments came late in the first quarter as Washington replaced Townsend with Kennedy Holland and pulled aside Werking for a few quick comments.

“He was off some and we told him now it’s time to drive,” Washington said. “He had some key, key drives that we were able to get some baskets and some fouls on them. His action gave us some motivation to push through.”

After four misses, Werking took the next pass and squared up at the free-throw line, draining the shot to give him – and his teammates – some much-needed confidence.

“After the first quarter, I saw the 3-ball wasn’t falling,” Werking said, “so after Tyree passed it to me on the hand off, I took a mid-range shot and it went in and I started getting in a rhythm. That’s pretty much how I adjusted to it.”

Holland bailed out the struggling offense with a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter and Curry’s defense on Chambers star Payton Allen was crucial to help the Lions maintain a slight lead throughout the first half.

“If he can guard all five guys on the floor, he will,” Washington said of Curry. “But our lightning rod all season has been Kennedy Holland. My young little point guard has defensive intensity and worked on his jump shot a lot with assistant coach Darius Dixon. For him to come out in the first half and give us two big 3s, that was a big lift for us.”

 Holland’s six points gave Evangel a 21-17 halftime lead, but when Josh Holliday scored the first five points of the second half to put the Rebels in front for the first time, it was time for Werking to take over the game.

“He stepped up big time,” Curry said. “We all had a bad first half. We tried to get into the paint more, drawing fouls from the ‘bigs.’ Coach told him we needed him and he stepped up and did his part.”

Werking’s 3-pointer with 7:23 left in the game gave Evangel a 39-30 and Chambers would go nearly four minutes with just one basket, sealing the Rebels’ fate.

“They played with the passion of their coach,” Washington said. “And what (Chambers coach) Jason (Allen) puts into his kids is a fight to the end. We knew they were going to be tough. They scrapped as much as any team that we’ve played in years. It’s not going to be pretty, you’ve just got to find a way to persevere and chip at it.”

Payton Allen led the Rebels with 17 points, followed by Holliday with 11. Werking had 16 points, three assists and three rebounds, followed by Curry with 12 points, five assists and three steals, Townsend with six points and four rebounds, Holland with six points and two assists, Johnson with five points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot and Grice with five points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Joining Curry, Werking and Johnson on the all-tournament team were Southern’s Kurt Tucker and Raphe Daniel and Allen of Chambers Academy.

And while every state championship is gratifying, Evangel’s journey in 2019-20 is remarkable in that the Lions played all three of the other teams in the Class A final four, three of the final four teams in AA and six of the final eight teams in AAA, compiling a 15-1 record in the process.

Washington made out the schedule, but said the concept is one he learned from former Evangel coach Dale Kemsel, who Washington worked for as an assistant before taking over as head coach in 2013.

“I make sure I schedule nothing but championship-level programs,” Washington said. “We know that because we’re Class A we’re sometimes going to play weaker schools, but if we’re going to consider ourselves one of the best we’ve got to play the best. This year was like none other.

“God is so good. He blessed us with health. We had six key guys and two other reserves that we can count on and we went nearly 30 games with that. We’re just thankful all we had was a sprained wrist, a sore knee and a couple of scrapes.”

GIRLS

Lee-Scott 65, Northside Methodist 45

For a few minutes, Lee-Scott Academy struggled to find its outside shooting touch.

Once the Warriors sighted in from the perimeter, the only question was the margin of victory.

Mary Prewett hit five 3-pointers and Chloe Johnson added three as the Warriors caught fire in the second quarter and rolled past Northside Methodist 65-45 in the Alabama Independent School Association’s Class AAA girls’ state tournament at the Multiplex on Friday.

Lee-Scott will play Glenwood for the AAA championship on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Northside, playing in its final basketball game as an AISA member before moving to the Alabama High School Athletic Association, had an inspiring first quarter, keeping within 17-14 as the Warriors struggled from the perimeter.

Once Prewett and Johnson found their range, the Warriors stormed out to a 20-point cushion they were able to maintain for the remainder of the game.

Prewitt led the way with 17 points, followed by Mary Baxley Smith with 14 points and Johnson and Sterling Tucker with 12 points each. 

Ashlyn Simpson led Northside with 15 points, followed by Lucy Griffin with 12.

Glenwood School 46, Pike Liberal Arts 24

Mya Brooks had 17 points and Ja’Marra McDowell and Katie Suarez each added 10 as Glenwood jumped out to an early lead and cruised to victory in the AAA semifinals on Friday.

Glenwood will face Lee-Scott for the AAA championship on Saturday at 5 p.m. 

The Gators led 23-7 at the half after holding Pike Liberal to just one field goal in the first half. Tiffany Johnson, who had the 3-pointer in the second quarter, led the Patriots with nine points.

Southern Academy 73, Chambers Academy 54

Southern Academy was impressive in the first eight minutes, storming out to a 24-1 lead in the first quarter on the way to the Class A state title with a 19-point rout of Chambers Academy on Friday afternoon.

Magan Chapman scored 23 points and Augusta Arnold added 22 as the Cougars climbed out to a comfortable lead and coasted to the title.

Britten Stephens, whose free throw was the only point by the Rebels in the first quarter, added 17 more points over the final three quarters to keep the margin from getting worse. Shelly Keebler added 15 points for the Rebels. 

Joining Arnold and Chapman on the all-tournament team were Southern’s Mary Grace Sheffield, Stephens and Keebler and Sparta’s Mary Katelyn Riley.  

BOYS

Pike Liberal Arts 55, Bessemer Academy 41

The Patriots shot their way into the state tournament, but relied on their defense to earn their way into the title game, shutting down Bessemer Academy in the AAA semifinals on Friday afternoon.

Pike Liberal will face Tuscaloosa Academy on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Patriots trailed 18-12 at the end of the first quarter but four players hit at least one 3-pointer in a 16-point second quarter that swung the momentum to Pike Liberal.

More importantly, the Patriots turned up the defense and held the Rebels to just five points in both the second and fourth quarters to secure the victory. Christopher Workman hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter to give Bessemer the early lead but managed just six points the remainder of the game. 

No other Rebel had more than six points.

Javon Christian led the Patriots with 21 points, followed by Austin Cross with 11 and Drew Nelson with 10 as Pike Liberal hit 12 3-pointers in the game.