CHAPMAN BOYS TOURNEY: MA, JAG reach finals; rain delay hits tourney
Montgomery Academy’s Seth Edwards passes to DJ Vinson during the MA Eagles’ game against Brew Tech. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
A day after racing past an overmatched Lanett team, Montgomery Academy found Tuesday’s opponent, Brewbaker Tech, was a bit more formidable.
The Eagles passed the test with flying colors, taking on the challenge of a physical but fast-paced 5A squad and holding the Rams at bay in the second half on the way to a 64-53 win in the semifinals of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament at Montgomery Academy’s Joe Mooty Court.
Montgomery Academy (4-0) will play for the tournament championship against J.A.G. on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
While Monday’s win featured a heavy barrage of perimeter shooting, Tuesday’s battle with the Rams was a much different challenge as the Eagles would face a team that could play physically in the paint if necessary while utilizing its athleticism to create shots.
When Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant was drawing up the tournament bracket, he knew all too well the Eagles’ path to a championship would have to go through Brewbaker Tech.
“We knew all along we were probably going to be playing them,” Arant said. “They’re a good basketball team. They’ve got some really athletic guys and those are really the types of games we want to put ourselves in, especially early in the year, to see where we stack up and how we can improve ourselves going forward.
“We handled it pretty well. There were moments in the game where we made some silly turnovers or took some bad shots. Toward the end, we took some bad shots that made it a little closer than it was but overall I thought we handled it pretty well.”
Skyler Stovall helped stake the Eagles to an early lead, but a 10-point cushion was whittled down to three points in the final minute of the first half. DJ Vinson took over in the third quarter to help the Eagles build a 10-point lead once again, but the Rams continued to rally.
Each time the Rams rallied, the Eagles would come up with a couple of turnovers and expand the lead again.
“Our three main things are attitude, effort and focus,” Arant said. “And when we’re focused, we’re pretty good.”
Stovall led all scorers with 27 points, along with eight rebounds, four steals, four assists and a blocked shot. Vinson added 14 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots. Brewer Welch had 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists and Seth Edwards added six points and five rebounds.
Kevin Honer led Brew Tech with 20 points, including 14 in the first half. Tyler Dixon added 10.
A leak in the roof of the Joe Mooty Court at Montgomery Academy cause a delay in action of the Larry Chapman Tourney. The game resumed after a short cleanup time. (Tim Gayle)
Rains delay game
Play was halted for more than an hour in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament at Montgomery Academy’s Joe Mooty Court on Tuesday as a line of heavy storms moving through the area led to a leak in one of the ventilation fans that left water on the court.
Prattville Christian Academy and Pike Road were playing on the main court when officials halted play with a little more than four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“I’ve never seen that,” PCA coach Jason Roberson said. “That’s why basketball is my favorite sport because I don’t have to worry about rain delays. But, today, we had a rain delay.”
Players were sent to their respective benches as school officials and the officiating crew worked to clean up the leak. But with the rain outside contributing to the leak, the players were allowed to continue to warm up but play couldn’t resume until the storm subsided.
The quick work of Montgomery Academy athletic director Wright Ward and his staff kept the situation from getting worse by moving the PCA-Pike Road game to the auxiliary gym and allowing Lanett and Notasulga players -- who were scheduled to start a 1 p.m. game in the auxiliary gym -- to warm up on the main court as PCA and Pike Road finished up.
Having Lanett and Notasulga going through warmups sped up the transition period as they moved to the auxiliary gym to start their game and Brew Tech and Montgomery Academy started their game on the main floor 75 minutes after the scheduled start time.
PCA players seemed to show no ill effects from halting the game and moving it to another gym, resuming play with a rejuvenated defensive effort that kept the Patriots from rallying in the game.
“I thought it might (affect us) because we had the lead,” Roberson said. “Sometimes, when you’ve got the lead, you tend to get complacent. I told them I was so proud of them for the way they came out in the last quarter and a half after sitting around for 30-45 minutes and going to a new venue.
“I thought we played with a lot of energy and effort and probably played as good as any point in the game.”
Pike Road didn’t seem to have the same energy when the Patriots finally returned to the court.
“That hurt us, trying to get back started,” Pike Road coach Barry Fencher said. “This is new one. I’ve had (a rain delay for a wet floor) happen to me at Montgomery County (High), but not this long.
“But even when I was here (as a coach in 2014-20), it was doing the same thing. A good rain storm comes through, this gym is going to leak.”
COACH LARRY CHAPMAN FOUNDATION TIP OFF TOURNAMENT
at Montgomery Academy
BOYS
Monday’s results
JAG 62, Alabama Christian 33
Brew Tech 77, Notasulga 31
Pike Road 57, Prattville Christian 41
Montgomery Academy 74, Lanett 46
Tuesday’s results
Montgomery Academy 64, Brew Tech 53
Lanett 50, Notasulga 36
JAG 52, Pike Road 39
Prattville Christian 00, Alabama Christian 00
Wednesday’s schedule
Seventh place, Notasulga vs. Alabama Christian, 10:30 a.m.
Fifth place, Prattville Christian vs. Lanett, 10:30 a.m.
Third place, Brew Tech vs. Pike Road, noon
Championship, JAG vs. Montgomery Academy, 3 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Monday’s results
JAG 40, Pike Road 32
Montgomery Academy 67, Brew Tech 46
Tuesday’s results
Consolation, Pike Road 45, Brew Tech 44
Championship, Montgomery Academy 50, JAG 42
All tournament: Dwellyn Jackson, Brew Tech; Kaleb Wilson, Pike Road; Jamon Adair, J.A.G.; Will Renfroe, Montgomery Academy. MVP -- Braden Gordon, Montgomery Academy.