BOYS 3A SEMIS: Montgomery Academy slams Glencoe to reach first championship game since 2004
MA’s Brewer Welch guards Glencoe guard Wade Segrest in the Eagles’ win on Tuesday at the Legacy Arena. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
BIRMINGHAM -- The numbers don’t lie.
Glencoe coach Ryan Chambless knew the challenge facing his players in their 3A semifinal matchup against Montgomery Academy at Legacy Arena on Tuesday afternoon. After his team’s 84-49 loss to the Eagles, Chambless didn’t need statistics to prove what he had seen with his own eyes.
“One stat you always look at is rebounding,” he said. “They outrebounded us and if you can’t outrebound a team, you’re going to have a tough time beating them. They rebounded it well and they’re very aggressive hitting the glass and going at the rim.”
It’s something the Eagles practice every day.
“They’ve realized that if I crash on offense and really go after the rebound, I’m going to get some easy baskets,” Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant said. “Those are easy ways to score points.”
The Eagles made it look easy, using an aggressive defense to force turnovers and dominating the glass, 45-17, to turn a three-point lead into a 14-point cushion in a four-minute span in the first quarter.
Montgomery Academy (33-2) will face Mars Hill Bible (24-8) for the 3A state championship on Friday at 2:15 p.m. It will mark only the second time Montgomery Academy has reached the finals. The Eagles lost in the 2A title game to Sumter County High in 2004.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Montgomery Academy’s Braden Gordon said.”It’s only the second time in school history and we’re the only sport that the school doesn’t have a state championship in. This is a big opportunity to bring it back to the school. I’m just happy to get the opportunity to play in the state championship game.”
Gordon was one of a heralded trio that included Jarrett Friendly and Skyler Stovall that combined for 50 points and 16 rebounds in a dominating performance that included pressure defense from the opening tip.
“I have all the respect in the world for Glencoe,” Arant said. “They’re one of the hardest teams we’ve had to prepare for all year. Really, it’s one of the first times we’ve taken time at practice to go over some things that they do in the halfcourt. Coach does a really good job. They have a lot of different wrinkles.”
The first objective was to slow down Glencoe senior guard Garett Morgan.
“All season, we’ve said we’re going to put Skyler on the other team’s best guard and see if he can take him out of the equation a little bit,” Arant said. “Garett is a really good player and a crafty left-handed kid and has a really nice game. We really felt if we could get in our pressure stuff early, it’ll take them out of some of their halfcourt sets that they wanted to run.”
The Eagles accomplished that goal as Stovall, Gordon and Friendly combined for 36 points in the first half and helped Montgomery Academy to a dominating 25-8 advantage in rebounding.
“We were playing like it was the Final Four at practice on Thursday,” Arant said. “I don’t know if Skyler’s competed harder against anybody this year than he does against Braden every day. I think that’s one of the biggest things that has allowed us to be as successful as we’ve been. We have full-blown battles every day in practice.”
Morgan had 20 points for Glencoe (25-8). Wade Segrest added 18.
Stovall finished with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Gordon had 17 points and six rebounds. Friendly added 16 points and six rebounds and Cade Segars had 11 points to steer the Eagles into the finals for the first time in 21 years.
“We didn’t come this far just to lose,” Stovall said. “We’re going to go get it. We’re going to bring it back to the city. We’ve just got to play hard and play how we play -- stay unselfish and stay aggressive. We’re going to get it done.”