CHAPMAN TIP OFF TOURNEY: MA girls open with win; Autaugaville boys top Pike Road
Action from the first day of the Larry Chapman Tip Off Classic featuring Montgomery Academy, Autaugaville and Pike Road High Schools. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Last year, there was a lot of buzz around the Montgomery Academy girls’ basketball team as they opened the season in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Classic with a senior-laden squad, new coach Reg Mantooth and transfer Chloe Johnson, the reigning Alabama Independent School Association player of the year.
This year, Mantooth and Johnson are almost the only pieces returning as a new group of players were elevated to the MA varsity this year.
The inexperience showed as the Eagles struggled mightily from the floor before scoring 18 unanswered points in a stretch late in the second quarter and through much of the third on the way to a not-so-convincing 46-19 win over the overmatched Eagles in the opening round of the tournament on Monday at Joe Mooty Court.
“Last year, we had the six seniors and all of them contributed really well,” Johnson said. “This year, it’s a little different. We have some younger girls coming up who have to contribute in a big way. Today, it might not have gone the way we planned, but I think as the year goes on, like every team, we’ll continue to get better and better.”
Montgomery Academy (1-0) never trailed but Autaugaville (2-3) had plenty of chances to overtake the tournament host as poor shooting plagued both teams for most of the first half.
“We did not play very well,” Mantooth said. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well. We didn’t play great but we’ve got a lot of inexperience that was playing for the first time on the varsity level. So it was kind of what I expected.”
Last year, Mantooth used the tournament to familiar himself as a first-year coach with a veteran team, putting different pieces of the puzzle in different places to maximize the team’s effort. A year later, it was the same substitution pattern but this time he was trying to find the best three players to put on the court with returning seniors Virginia Meacham and Johnson.
“We’re short on the bench right now just because we’ve got a couple that aren’t here (because of illness),” he said. “Hayes (Jenkins) got two early fouls that made us change the rotation a little bit but, yeah, that’s part of it because outside of those two this is all new for everybody else so we’re trying to find the best five that fit.”
To make matters worse, Johnson struggled with her shot the entire game, finally scoring her first points on a steal and layup with 3:20 remaining in the first half for a 12-8 lead that triggered a 10-0 run to close out the first half.
The senior point guard was 3 of 13 from the floor, including an 0 for 5 afternoon from behind the 3-point arc. She had five assists, six rebounds and four steals, missing the opportunity for double-digit assists because of the poor shooting of her teammates.
“Nothing was dropping,” she said of her eight-point performance. “Hopefully, that’s just a mindset type of thing. For some reason, I wasn’t in it today but tomorrow I will be.”
Claire Gary led MA with 10 points, followed by Meacham with nine, but Mantooth was expecting more than 17 points from his two seniors.
“Chloe and Virginia are going to have to score for us to be successful,” Mantooth said, “and both struggled with their shot a little bit. Both have been sick this week but that’s no excuse, they were good enough to play. But it’s very important for them to play well all-around for us.”
Arneshia Williams led Autaugaville with six points, followed by Makasiah Burns with five.
Both teams continue play in the tournament today, with Montgomery Academy playing Brewbaker Tech and Autaugaville playing county rival Marbury. Both games tip off at 1 p.m.
BOYS
Marbury 87, Montgomery Academy 55
With a mixture of junior varsity and varsity players, Montgomery Academy hung around for a half before Marbury put together a strong third quarter to defeat the Eagles in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Classic at Joe Mooty Court on Monday.
Sophomore Cole Caddell led the Eagles with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Freshman John Alford also had 18 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Eagles. Walton Norrell chipped in six points and eight rebounds while freshman Seth Edwards scored five points, grabbed six rebounds and had three assists.
Both teams continue play in the tournament on Tuesday. Montgomery Academy (0-1) will face Booker T. Washington at 10 a.m., while Marbury will play Jeff Davis at 10 a.m.
Loachapoka 60, Brew Tech 54
The Indians trailed virtually the entire game before scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter and hitting eight of 14 free-throw attempts down the stretch to defeat Brewbaker Tech in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Classic at Joe Mooty Court on Monday.
Jasavien Moore, like his team, just seemed to get better with each passing quarter, scoring 11 points in the first half, 11 in the third quarter and 12 in the final period to finish with 34 points. Teammate Jamari Payne scored six of his 10 points in the final quarter to help the 1A Indians knock off the 5A Rams.
For Brew Tech, Machi Gilchrist had 13 points, followed by Xavier Sutton with 10 and Jaden Stephens with nine.
Both teams continue play in the tournament on Tuesday, with the Indians playing Autaugaville at 2:30 p.m., while the Rams play area rival Pike Road at 2:30 p.m.
Autaugaville 53, Pike Road 47
The defending 1A state champions rallied with a strong effort on both ends of the floor in the second quarter, then held off the Patriots late to win their 36th consecutive game with a 53-47 win over Pike Road in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tournament Tip Off Classic at Montgomery Academy on Monday.
Autaugaville trailed 15-8 entering the second quarter, then got seven points from Jaden Nixon and a pair of 3 pointers from Ladarrien Golson on the offensive end of the floor while holding the Patriots without a field goal in the second quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a 10-point lead at the half.
Both teams continue play in the tournament on Tuesday, with the Eagles (6-0) facing Loachapoka at 2:30 p.m., while Pike Road plays area rival Brew Tech at 2:30 p.m.
Prattville Christian 51, Southside Gadsden 40
GUNTERSVILLE -- Carson Roberson scored 14 points to lead Prattville Christian to an opening-round win in the Supreme Courts Thanksgiving Tournament on Monday.
Coleman Hunter added 10 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Cade Segars with nine points and four assists, PJ Evans with eight points and Conner Williams with seven points and four rebounds. Brady Hughes dished out seven assists and Brady Roberson scored three points.
PCA (3-1) returns to action in the tournament against Sardis on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Fort Dale Academy 57, Edgewood Academy 56
GREENVILLE -- Sawyer Fossett and Ethan Alford hit crucial 3 pointers in the fourth quarter and Clay Benson added a free throw late for the game-winning point as Fort Dale held off the Wildcats 57-56 on Monday.
The Eagles used a 23-point third quarter to rally from a three-point deficit at the half and held off the Wildcats down the stretch. Alford led the Eagles with 15 points, scoring 12 in the first half before saving his biggest basket for late. Brady Long also had 15 points, followed by Clay Benson with 13.
Austin Champion led Edgewood (1-2) with 17 points, followed by Brock Whitt with 15. Cooper Hall had eight points, all in the first half.
GIRLS
Prattville Christian 49, New Hope 44
GUNTERSVILLE -- Hannah Jones had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Lady Panthers to an opening round win in the Supreme Courts Thanksgiving Tournament on Monday.
Ella Jane Connell added 13 points, six rebounds and five steals, followed by CoCo Thomas with 10 points and 18 rebounds. Avery Rogers added six points and four rebounds and Kayden Carr had four points.
PCA (6-0) returns to action in the tournament with a pair of games on Tuesday, playing Southside-Gadsden at 2:30 p.m. and Plainview at 7 p.m.
COACH LARRY CHAPMAN FOUNDATION
TIP OFF CLASSIC at Montgomery Academy
BOYS
Monday
Game 1 -- Loachapoka 60, Brew Tech 54
Game 2 -- Jeff Davis 70, Booker T. Washington 64
Game 3 -- Autaugaville 53, Pike Road 47
Game 4 -- Marbury 87, Montgomery Academy JV 55
Tuesday
Game 5 -- Jeff Davis vs. Marbury, 10 a.m.
Game 6 -- Booker T. Washington vs. Montgomery Academy JV, 10 a.m.
Game 7 -- Loachapoka vs. Autaugaville, 2:30 p.m.
Game 8 -- Brew Tech vs. Pike Road, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Game 9 -- loser game 6 vs. loser game 8, 10:30 a.m.
Game 10 -- winner game 6 vs. winner game 8, 10:30 a.m.
Game 11 -- loser game 5 vs. loser game 7. noon
Game 12 -- championship game, 3 p.m.
GIRLS
Monday
Game 1 -- Pike Road 49, Stanhope Elmore 45
Game 2 -- Brew Tech 70, Marbury 42
Game 3 -- Loachapoka 47, Jeff Davis 32
Game 4 -- Montgomery Academy 46, Autaugaville 19
Tuesday
Game 5 -- Pike Road vs. Loachapoka, 11:30 a.m.
Game 6 -- Stanhope Elmore vs. Jeff Davis, 11:30 a.m.
Game 7 -- Brew Tech vs. Montgomery Academy, 1 p.m.
Game 8 -- Marbury vs. Autaugaville, 1 p.m.
Wednesday
Game 9 -- loser game 6 vs. loser game 8, 9 a.m.
Game 10 -- winner game 6 vs. winner game 8, 9 a.m.
Game 11 -- loser game 5 vs. loser game 7. noon
Game 12 -- championship game, 1:30 p.m.