FRIDAY PREPS: Trinity girls hold off Midfield in Schweers Classic; LAMP breaks losing streak to Brew Tech
Braden Gordon scored 44 points to lead Montgomery Academy to a win over Pike Road in the Jack Schweers Classic on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
With two of their best players missing, Trinity’s offense needed a boost in the 30th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Classic at Captain Jack Court on Friday afternoon.
Ellie Causey hit a crucial 3-pointer and Maddie Smith added another, then withstood a furious rally in the final two minutes to hold off Midfield 33-32 and advance to the championship game of the tournament.
Trinity (15-3) will face Catholic (8-4) for the tournament title on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
“Our girls played with so much grit and determination,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said. “Look, we didn’t shoot the ball like we would like to shoot the ball. They were geared up to not let Maddie get anything. But people kept being aggressive and hit some shots when we had to have them. Ultimately, it was just the grit and determination to do, defensively, what we were asking them to do, to rebound the ball well. All of that was huge for us.”
Ellie Causey hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, followed by Emory Causey with six and Smith with five.
The Wildcats played the game without Mya Moskowitz, who was home with an illness, and Francie Morris, who was not dressed out but was on the bench as she recovers from an injury.
Emory Causey, fouled with seconds remaining and a one-point lead, missed the first free-throw attempt, but made the second to give the Wildcats a 33-31 lead. Midfield raced downcourt and Otiscia Towns missed a shot in the lane but was fouled with six-tenths of a second remaining. She missed the first free throw, but made the second, leaving Midfield a point short.
Towns and Kamaya Webb had nine points each to lead Midfield, which plays Prattville Christian on Saturday at 9 a.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Montgomery Academy 84, Pike Road 71
Sophomore Braden Gordon had 44 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to thwart Pike Road’s upset bid as the Eagles held off the Patriots 84-71 in the second round of the 30th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Classic at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Friday afternoon.
The Eagles fought out to a lead, but the Patriots were never far behind, closing to within five points late in the game. But each time the Patriots tried to rally, Gordon was there, hitting 14 of 16 attempts from the free-throw line, hitting 5 of 9 from the 3-point arc and 6 of 9 from inside the arc.
Skyler Stovall added 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocked shots, followed by DJ Vinson with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Montgomery Academy (11-1) advances to the championship game against Trinity (10-3) and will face the Wildcats on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
For the Patriots, Braylon Barker scored 23 points, followed by Jamall Canty with 12 and Jaxson Penery with 11. Pike Road will play Prattville for third place in the tournament on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
LAMP 51, Brew Tech 47
The Golden Tigers pulled off their first win over the Rams since 2008 in the rivalry between the magnet schools on Friday in the Brew Tech gym.
Ezekial Griffin scored 21 points, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out three assists to lead LAMP. Ben Akwuba added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Tigers.
Jamari Thomas led the Rams with 12 points, followed by Kameron Honer with 11.
LAMP (5-7) will travel to Billingsley next weekend and face the Bears in the opening round of the Billingsley Christmas Tournament.
Prattville Christian 44, BTW Magnet 41
Cody Chapman had 18 points, six rebounds and four steals to lead Prattville Christian to a 44-41 win over BTW Magnet in the 30th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Classic on Friday at Trinity.
Ethan Girlie added eight points and four steals, followed by Carter Fiacco with seven points and five rebounds and Justin Chapman with four points and five rebounds. Sam Wheeler scored three points and Easton Miller grabbed four rebounds.
PCA (4-11) will close out play in the tournament on Saturday against Montevallo at noon.
Evangel Christian 54, Cornerstone Christian 26
Tylon Shine led all scorers for the third-ranked Lions in their win over the Cornerstone Chargers on Friday night.
Shine finished with three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Mekhi Williams added eight points, five assists, three rebounds, three steals and Kamaurye Tabb chipped in eight points and three rebounds.
The Lions (9-1) will play in the Lakeside Christmas Tournament on Dec 28.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Catholic 53, Prattville Christian 37
The Knights started out on fire, building a 15-point lead in the first quarter and maintaining a comfortable margin the remainder of the game to advance to the championship game of the 30th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Classic at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Friday.
Catholic (8-4) will face Trinity (15-3) for the tournament title on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Hannah Smith scored 12 of her 17 points in the first quarter as Catholic built a 21-6 lead in the first eight minutes. The Knights maintained the 15-point cushion the remainder of the half, leading 32-17 at the break, then extended the lead over the short-handed Panthers to 45-25 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Smith had eight rebounds and four steals to go with her 17 points. Heaven Bailey had 18 points, six steals and six assists. Kierstyn Green had nine points, four steals, four rebounds and four assists.
PCA (10-5), which was playing without two starters, got 12 points and five assists from Kayden Carr, 12 points from Reagan Houston and 10 points and 18 rebounds from Jenna McClendon. Ally Blankinchip returned briefly from an ankle injury and contributed three points.
The Panthers will play Midfield in the final day of the tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Catholic 66, G.W. Long 25
The Knights had to wait until Friday afternoon to play their first game in the 30th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Classic, but responded with a 66-25 win over the Rebels to advance to the semifinals later in the day against Prattville Christian.
The Knights jumped out to a 25-3 first quarter lead and were up 36-14 at the half. Hannah Smith had 24 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, followed by Heaven Bailey with 19 points and 20 steals.
Bailey’s 20 steals are the second highest single-game total in Alabama High School Athletic Association history behind Speake’s Wanda McDaniel, who had 23 in a game during the 1992-93 season.
Kaylie Foster led G.W. Long with six points.
Evangel Christian 51, Cornerstone Christian 25
Erica Burton scored 18 points to lead the Lions to a 51-25 win over Cornerstone on Friday night.
Mariah Curry added eight points for Evangel, followed by Symone McNeil and AK Davis with six points each.
Evangel Christian (8-3) returns to action on Dec. 28 at a holiday tournament at Lakeside School.