MIDWEEK PREPS: Trinity celebrates Senior Night with win; MA tennis opens with win
BOYS BASKETBALL
Trinity 79 , Montevallo 52
For a half, Trinity and Montevallo were locked in a back-and-forth offensive battle on Captain Jack Court.
Then, as the Bulldogs faltered, Trinity shifted gears with a barrage of 3-pointers and buried Montevallo 79-52 on Senior Night.
“Honestly, I thought it was our best game all season,” Trinity coach Matt Arrighi said. “From start to finish, we were aggressive. We moved the ball really well. Obviously, we shot it pretty well. We played well in transition without too many turnovers. We just had better ball security and we were good in our half-court defense. Even some of the shots they hit in transition early were shots that we want other teams to take. They were just making them.”
The two teams traded baskets -- and the lead -- for much of the first half, with Trinity claiming a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 37-35 lead at the half. But the Bulldogs would manage just five field goals in the third quarter while Trinity pulled away with a 26-point outburst.
“In the second half, I thought we continued to play better and I thought they looked a little tired and started playing worse,” Arrighi said.
The Wildcats averaged just 48.8 points per game in the last six games, but found an offensive touch on Monday as seven different players connected on 3-pointers. Trinity was coming off of a heartbreaking 37-36 loss at St. James on Friday, but looked like a different team on Monday
“You turn it over 26 times and you shoot 19 percent from the free-throw line and you still have a chance to beat a really good team on the road,” Arrighi said. “So that means you’re doing some things well. But the continual message for us, all season, has been if we limit our turnovers and have an average night at the free-throw line, we feel like we’re going to be a difficult team to beat. When our turnover ratio gets high, then we lose games.”
Cal Bennett led Trinity with 23 points, followed by Jackson Taylor with 10, Wesley Stallings with nine and John Morris with eight.
“That’s the team, in my mind, I’ve been envisioning all year,” Arrighi said. “It’s just can we find the consistency to play that way, night in and night out? I’m really proud of that performance.”
Javon Chism led Montevallo with 23 points, scoring 19 in the first half. Javon Rogers added eight.
Trinity (17-8) remains home to play LaFayette on Tuesday and BTW Magnet on Thursday before traveling to St. James on Tuesday for the first round of the 3A Area 6 tournament against Montgomery Academy.
St. James 58, LAMP 34
The Trojans outscored the Golden Tigers 13-4 in the second quarter to break open a close game in the LAMP gym on Monday on their way to their seventh consecutive victory.
K.J. Jackson had 11 points and Clint Houser added seven. All nine Trojans who dressed out tallied at least three points.
Ezekiel Griffin tied for game-high top scorer with 11 and Matthias Green added 10 for the Golden Tigers, who play host to Montgomery Academy on Tuesday.
The Trojans (12-5) will travel to Prattville Christian Academy on Tuesday.
Montgomery Academy 60, Prattville Christian Academy 49
Montgomery Academy used a huge second half on Senior Night, outscoring the Panthers 32-15 in the final two periods.
Skyler Stovall led all scorers with 16 points. Stovall also had six rebounds, four steals and three assists, while DJ Vinson added 14 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals. Brewer Welch chipped in nine points and four assists, followed by Cole Caddell with seven points and senior Walton Norrell with seven points and five rebounds.
Brady Roberson led the Panthers with 14 points and four rebounds and took two charges, while Carson Roberson scored 12 points. PJ Evans added 10 points and five rebounds, Cade Segars had eight points, four rebounds and took two charges and Conner Williams scored five points.
Montgomery Academy (12-10) travels to LAMP on Tuesday, while PCA (14-14) returns home to play host to St. James on Tuesday.
Evangel Christian 51, Valiant Cross 46
Quendarius Rudolph scored a season high 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Evangel to a win in its final regular season game against Valiant Cross.
Will McCord added 10 points while Nii Addy chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions (7-15) will play host to the winner of a first-round state tournament game in the AISA quarterfinals on Feb. 7 in the Evangel Christian gym at 6 p.
Edgewood Academy 47, Lowndes Academy 36
ELMORE -- The Wildcats closed out the regular season by winning their 14th game in the last 15 outings, defeating Lowndes 47-36 in the Edgewood gym on Monday night.
For Lowndes, Clay Duncan had 11 points and 11 rebounds, along with a steal and a blocked shot, followed by Ashton Yelder with seven points, 14 rebounds, two steals, an assist and seven blocked shots, Luke Lovell with seven points, three rebounds and a blocked shot, Zach Azar with five points, three rebounds, a steal, an assist and a blocked shot, Tyler Hollingshead with three points, Andrew Myers with two points, four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists and Watters Box with one point, four rebounds and four steals. Will Brassell had a pair of rebounds and Reid Owen had a rebound.
Lowndes Academy (16-3) returns home to play the winner of a first-round state tournament game in the AISA quarterfinals on Feb. 7 in the Lowndes Academy gym. The winner advances to the Class A semifinals in the Multiplex on Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m.
Edgewood (20-4) will return to action on Feb. 7 in the Class AA quarterfinals at home against the winner of a first-round state tournament game. The winner advances to the AA semifinals in the Multiplex on Feb. 9 at 2:15 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
St. James 67, LAMP 28
The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Tigers 23-4 in the second quarter to break open a close game in the LAMP gym on Monday for their 19th victory of the season.
Ava Card led all scorers with 31 points. KK Hall added 11 and Natalie Barton added nine.
St. James (19-7) travels to Prattville Christian on Tuesday and hosts Marbury on Friday night before opening play in the 3A Area 6 tournament against Alabama Christian on Monday.
Prattville Christian 68, Montgomery Academy 16
Hannah Jones had 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals to help the Panthers cruise to a 52-point win over the Eagles at Joe Mooty Court on Monday.
Kayden Carr added 14 points, six assists, six steals and five rebounds for PCA, followed by CoCo Thomas with 14 points, five steals and four rebounds, Jenna McClendon with 10 points and four rebounds, Avery Rogers with nine points, six assists and six steals and Ally Blankinchip with three points.
PCA (25-2) returns home to host Saint James on Tuesday.
Edgewood Academy 55, Lowndes Academy 34
ELMORE -- Edgewood closed out the regular season unbeaten, defeating the Rebels 55-34 in the Edgewood gym on Monday.
For Lowndes, Molly Powell had 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals, followed by Cameron Hess with eight points and six rebounds, Catie Wallace Self with five points, a rebound, three assists and a pair of steals, Riley Lane with five points and a pair of rebounds, Haley Briggs with four points, eight rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocked shots and Alice Murchison with two points and a steal. Harley Hooper had a rebound.
Lowndes Academy (13-6) returns home to play the winner of a first-round state tournament game in the AISA quarterfinals on Feb. 6 in the Lowndes Academy gym. The winner advances to the Class A semifinals in the Multiplex on Feb. 8 at 9 a.m.
Edgewood (24-0) will return to action on Feb. 6 in the Class AA quarterfinals at home against the winner of a first-round state tournament game. The winner advances to the AA semifinals in the Multiplex on Feb. 8 at 2:15 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
Montgomery Academy 7, Hoover 3
Montgomery Academy, playing for the first time in Class 7A as a result of Competitive Balance Factor, opened the 2023 tennis season with a sweep of 7A Hoover in boys’ and girls’ tennis at Lagoon Park Tennis Center on Monday.
Hoover finished as the 7A boys’ runner-up and in fourth place in the girls’ state tournament last year, while Montgomery Academy was fourth in boys and third in girls in the 6A tournament.
The Eagles swept the doubles competition in boys’ tennis to win 7-2 with wins by Whit Davis and Charlie Hill in No. 1 doubles, John Alford and Jackson Brown in No. 2 doubles and Ron Sharma and Ford Morano in No. 3 doubles.
In singles, Davis, Alford, Brown and Morano all secured wins as well.
Montgomery Academy (1-0) will travel to Birmingham on Monday to play Mountain Brook, which finished as the runner-up in the 6A state tournament a year ago.
The Montgomery Academy girls won 6-3 over Hoover, earning a pair of doubles wins at No. 1 by Gabby Barrera and Jenna Chandler and at No. 3 by Marianna Lassner and Lola Campbell.
In singles, the Eagles picked up wins at No. 1 by Barrera, No. 2 by Chandler, No. 3 by Mae Mae Voltz and No. 6 by Lassner.
Montgomery Academy (1-0) will travel to face five-time defending state champion Mountain Brook on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Trinity 5, St. James 4
The Wildcats and the Trojans split their singles matches in the 2023 season opener, with Trinity winning two of the three doubles matches to edge the Trojans 5-4 on Monday.
Trinity’s Timothy Hornsby won at No. 1 singles, defeating Josh Harvey (6-1, 6-3), while James Treadwell won at No. 3, beating Danny Trock (6-0, 6-3). Charlie Franklin won at No. 6 singles, defeating the Trojans’ David Rees (6-3, 6-1).
St. James’ Toba Rios won at No. 2 singles, beating Samuel Treadwell (6-3, 6-0), Ryan Jeong won at No. 4 by edging Trevor Wilson (6-1, 7-6) and No. 5 Jason Jeong defeated Grant Speagle (6-2, 6-4).
In doubles, Samuel Treadwell and James Treadwell won at No. 1, defeating the Trojans’ Harvey and Rios (4-6, 6-3, 10-4) and Hudson Cornett and Hornsby won at No. 2, beating Trock and Ryan Jeong (6-4, 6-7, 10-4)
At No. 3 Jason Jeong and Rees teamed up to beat Trinity’s Wilson and Speagle (6-1, 2-6, 10-8).
WRESTLING
PCA wrestlers place third in prestigious Piedmont Dogfight Invitational
PIEDMONT -- Prattville Christian’s wrestling team placed third in the 21-team Piedmont Dogfight Invitational on Saturday, missing second place by just 4.5 points.
The Panthers had four wrestlers make the consolation finals and one made the finals of the tournament.
Brysen Pugh and Jace Copeland both placed fourth, while Matthew Post and Brody Pugh finished in third place. Aiden Cockrell made the finals and finished second.
Every member of the team that competed this weekend contributed to the team score that allowed the Panther to finish third.
PCA returns home on Thursday night for their last meet of the season against Tallassee and Northside Methodist. The Panthers will honors their two seniors on Senior Night. Wrestling will start at 6 p.m.