CCC TOURNEY: St. James earn win over Pike Road; PCA girls top MA
By TIM GAYLE
A pair of 3 pointers by Ethan Beard staked St. James to a seven-point lead over Pike Road at halftime of the opening round of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament at Trinity.
Just as quickly, Jayden Cooper would score nine of his 19 points in the third quarter to pull the Patriots even with the Trojans.
They were still there seven minutes later before a Bradley Thomas free throw and a steal by KJ Jackson that led to a layup by Beard put the Trojans in control for a 59-52 win on Saturday afternoon.
St. James (5-1) avenged its only loss of the season, a 58-41 setback to the Patriots two weeks ago in the Pike Road gym, and will face Trinity in the winner’s bracket semifinals on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
Pike Road (7-5) rallied with second and third shots in the paint in the third quarter, but the Trojans adjusted early in the fourth quarter, allowing St. James to regain the lead
“We just had to recognize some things they were doing, in particular trying to hit the mid-post and dump the ball in low,” St. James coach Nigel Card said. “We had to do a better job of guarding the mid-post. With that team, second shots are a huge key and we had to keep them off the backboard and keep the guards out of the lane, which gave us a chance.”
On the other end of the court, K.J. Jackson picked up seven of his 17 points in the third quarter as the Trojans made a conscious effort to get the ball in to the biggest player.
“They just needed to stay with it a little better,” Card said. “I thought we got impatient there for a little bit. We were unwilling to make the inside post pass.
Bradley Thomas broke a tie with a free throw with just a minute remaining, then Beard scored on a layup after Jackson scooped up a loose ball under the Patriots’ basket as the Trojans pulled away late, frustrating first-year Pike Road coach Obadiah Threadgill.
“We just don’t do a good job of executing our stuff,” Threadgill said. “We’re not really communicating with each other right now, we have a hard time getting where we need to be. Offensively, we hold the ball too long. We’re not polished yet.
“We have a mentality of me-me-me. Everybody thinks they can do things by themselves.These kids really haven’t grown up with each other, don’t really know how to play basketball together. We’re incorporating guys that are just getting out of football -- as most of these other schools are -- but our guys are uncomfortable in our offense and they’re impatient. They’re a little slow with their reads and their decision making is a little hazy. It’s just going to take time.”
KJ Westry followed Cooper in scoring with 13 points. Roman Mothershed added eight.
Jackson and Thomas each had 17 points for the Trojans, followed by Beard with 10.
Trinity 64, BTW Magnet 54
Cal Bennett scored eight of his 23 points in a wild fourth quarter to hold off Bryce Brown and BTW Magnet 64-54 in the opening round of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament at Trinity on Saturday.
Trinity will face St. James in the winner’s bracket semifinals on Monday at 2:30 p.m. BTW Magnet will play Pike Road in the consolation bracket on Monday at 1 p.m.
Bennett and Chapman Pouncey had seven points each in the first quarter as the Wildcats stormed out to a 20-6 lead, a double-digit lead that would hold up for much of the next two quarters. But Brown hit four 3 pointers in the fourth quarter as BTW scored 22 points and the two teams combined for 38 points in the final eight minutes.
Brown finished with 19, followed by Jalvon Griffin with 11.
Bennett had 23, followed by Pouncey with 12.
Montgomery Academy 65, Alabama Christian Academy 44
After a tightly contested first half and a halftime lead of 25-24, Montgomery Academy raced out of the halftime break going on a 30-6 run over the duration of the third quarter.
Montgomery Academy was led by Jamal Cooper who had 15 points, six assists, six steals and three rebounds. Nigel Walker chipped in 12 points, had seven steals and grabbed seven rebounds. Cole Caddell also added 11 points and had four steals.
Brewer Welch had eight points, had three steals and three assists, Jashawn Cooper added four points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four steals while DJ Vinson had four points, eight rebounds and three steals. Seth Edwards also added six rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
MA (1-2) and will play Highland Home in the winner’s bracket semifinals of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Monday at 4 p.m.
Highland Home 60, Prattville Christian 44
Cade Segars led the Panthers with 13 points but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Flying Squadron in the opening round of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Carson Roberson added nine points for the Panthers followed by Brady Roberson with eight and Conner Williams with six. Coleman Hunter had four points and five rebounds. PJ Evans added four points and four rebounds. Brady Hughes and Camron Coleman each grabbed four rebounds.
PCA (5-8) will play ACA on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
GIRLS
Prattville Christian 43, Montgomery Academy 37
Playing without leading scorer and leading rebounder Hannah Jones, the other half of the “Twin Towers” dominated the game as CoCo Thomas scored 22 points and pulled down 27 rebounds to lead the Panthers to a hard-fought win over area rival Montgomery Academy in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament at Trinity on Saturday.
Ella Jane Connell added 15 points and seven rebounds while Sarah Williams and Kayden Carr each scored three points. Avery Rogers had five rebounds and four assists.
PCA (15-0)will play St. James in the winner’s bracket semifinals on Monday at 4 p.m.
Chloe Johnson led the Eagles (4-4) with 17 points, followed by Virginia Meacham with eight. MA will face G.W. Long in the consolation bracket on Monday.
Other games
BOYS
Macon East Academy 72, Valiant Cross 48
CECIL -- Maurice Poole led the Knights with 21 points, four steals and three assists as Macon East cruised to a 72-48 win over Valiant Cross on Saturday in the Macon East gym.
Tyler Daniels had a double double for the Knights, scoring 17 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, along with three blocked shots and three assists. Keagan Roney added 11 points and three steals and Jacob Wilson had 10 points, eight rebounds, three steals and four assists.
Macon East (10-3) will resume play on Jan. 4 in Lanett against Springwood School.
GIRLS
Southern Academy 54, Hooper Academy 46
LOWNDESBORO -- Hooper cut a 17-point deficit down to four points in the second half but could not overtake Southern in a 54-46 loss in the Lowndes Academy Christmas Tournament on Saturday.
Southern advanced to the finals before losing to Lowndes.
Grace Seale led the Colts with 14 points, followed by Sydney Dicks with 10 and Victoria Hagemann with seven.
Lisa Lewis led Southern with a game-high 19 points.
Hooper (6-6) will break for the Christmas holidays, returning to action on Jan. 4 against Meadowview Christian in Selma.
Hooper Academy 50, Crenshaw Christian 18
LOWNDESBORO -- Freshman Grace Seale led a balanced attack with 14 points as the Colts ran past Crenshaw 50-18 in the opening round of the Lowndes Academy Christmas Tournament on Friday.
Seale, who was selected to the all-tournament team, was followed in scoring by freshman Kaylee Midkiff with 13 points and sophomore Victoria Hagemann with nine.
Hooper (6-5) continued play in the tournament on Saturday against Southern.
27th ANNUAL JACK SCHWEERS
CAPITAL CITY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
BOYS
Saturday
St. James 59, Pike Road 52
Trinity 64, BTW Magnet 54
Montgomery Academy 65, Alabama Christian 44
Highland Home 60, Prattville Christian 44
Monday
St. James vs. Trinity, 2:30 p.m.
Montgomery Academy vs. Highland Home, 4 p.m.
Pike Road vs. BTW Magnet, 1 p.m.
Alabama Christian vs. Prattville Christian, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Finals -- St. James/Trinity winner vs. MA/Highland Home winner, 5:30 p.m.
3rd place -- St. James/Trinity loser vs. MA-Highland Home loser, 1 p.m.
5th place -- Pike Road/BTW winner vs. ACA/PCA winner, 2:30 p.m.
7th place -- Pike Road/BTW loser vs. ACA/PCA loser, 11:30 a.m.
GIRLS
Friday
Trinity 50, Alabama Christian 21
Saturday
Trinity 2, BTW Magnet 0
Catholic 34, Pike Road 31
Prattville Christian 43, Montgomery Academy 37
St. James 49, G.W. Long 37
Monday
Trinity vs. Catholic, 1 p.m.
Prattville Christian vs. St. James, 5:30 p.m.
Alabama Christian vs. Pike Road, 2:30 p.m.
Montgomery Academy vs. G.W. Long, 4 p.m.
Tuesday
Finals -- Trinity/Catholic winner vs. PCA/St. James winner, 4 p.m.
3rd place -- Trinity/Catholic loser vs. PCA/St. James loser, 1 p.m.
5th place -- ACA/Pike Road winner vs. MA/G.W. Long winner, 2:30 p.m.
7th place -- ACA/Pike Road loser vs. MA/G.W. Long loser, 11:30 a.m.