MONDAY HOOPS: Trinity girls wins Area title over Catholic; MA boys romp on Senior Night

Catholic’s Kierstyn Green loses ball while being defended by Maddie Smith (15) and Ellie Causey (22) in the battle between the two top teams in Class 4A Area 5 on Monday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Emory Causey hit one of her two 3-pointers with 46 seconds left and Maddie Smith added four free throws in the final 10 seconds to give the Trinity girls a 51-48 win over Catholic and the 4A Area 5 title in the Catholic gym on Monday night.

Both teams will share the regular-season championship with 7-1 area records, but Trinity also owns a one-point victory over the Knights in a December tournament, which serves as one of the tiebreakers for determining the area’s top seed and the host for the upcoming area tournament next week.

“I  think it’s nice to get it at your place,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said, “although we really like this gym. And they didn’t have a problem shooting in our gym, so I don’t know that it really matters.”

Catholic defeated Trinity 57-48 in the other regular-season meeting between the two teams on Jan. 7 at Trinity, displaying a full arsenal of scoring that didn’t return on Monday. Hannah Smith had 18 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals, Ajah Tuggle had 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals and Heaven Bailey had 11 points, six steals, four assists and three rebounds, accounting for 44 of the 48 points scored by the Knights.

“I’ve come into this thinking Catholic has grown and improved and they’re a really good team,” Smith said. “Their role players have gotten better because you’re going to have to help (as defenders) on Hannah and Heaven. Their role players have done a better job of hurting us this year. They killed us in the last game. We hoped we would have a little something different this time.”

Trinity was playing without Mya Moskowitz and Francie Morris as Morris continues to recover from an injury and Moskowitz was held out as a precaution. But the development of Lilly Smith, Ellie Causey and Emory Causey as scorers was enough to overcome the absence of Moskowitz, who played in the Jan. 7 meeting.

Early on, the Causey sisters shot from the perimeter and Lilly Smith scored seven first-half points on transition plays, helping Trinity to an early lead that Catholic would soon erase with an adjusted defense.

Ellie Causey scored 12 of Trinity’s 15 points in the third quarter to help the Wildcats pull even at 33-33 and Maddie Smith scored eight points in the fourth quarter to help the two-time defending state champions stay on top.

There were five lead changes in the fourth quarter before Emory Causey’s 3-pointer put Trinity ahead for good in the final minute.

“If you like basketball, you can’t be playing much harder and getting after it more than that,” Catholic coach Jill Clark said. “That was like a heavyweight bout.”

Ellie Causey finished with 20 points, followed by Maddie Smith with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals, Lilly Smith with seven and Emory Causey with six.

Clark was disappointed in the loss, but the two teams are likely to meet again next week in the 4A Area 5 finals at Trinity.

“Last time, we had a lot more balanced scoring,” Clark said. “Tonight, I know we didn’t hit some shots from the outside and in the paint that we have to hit. Everybody’s got to contribute offensively for us to have a chance. 

Trinity (24-4) will play host to BTW Magnet on Tuesday, while Catholic (15-6) will play host to Montgomery Academy on Tuesday and Brew Tech on Thursday.

Before the game, Bailey was honored by the school with a pair of basketballs, one for her 500 career steals, the other for her 500 career assists. 

Trinity boys win in Double OT

Monday’s game between Catholic and Trinity wasn’t going to settle anything in the 4A Area 5 race, buit Trinity coach Matt Arrighi would certainly have wanted his leading scorer, John Morris, available for the game.

“You never want to get the information on the morning of a game that one of your top guys is sick and isn’t going to be able to play,” Arrighi said. “For us, in this situation, particularly since it isn’t the postseason yet, it was something that I was excited to see how our guys would respond. It would force people into situations where they would no longer have to rely on someone else and hopefully gain some confidence in their own ability.”

Without Morris, a large percentage of the Wildcat offense, the team banded together and turned in an intense performance against the Knights, finally winning 60-56 in double overtime in the Catholic gym.

Catholic led 36-29 heading into the fourth quarter, a lead that seemed almost insurmountable given the Wildcats’ lack of offensive production. But the Wildcats finally caught up on a Brady Bennett 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining in regulation and would take the lead in the first overtime period on a 3-pointer by Wilson Cherry with 1:42 remaining.

“It did tick up to seven points at the start of the fourth quarter and I told the guys that seven points isn’t a whole lot in the span of a quarter,” Arrighi said. “I need two stops and some scores. We actually had some key turnovers (by Catholic) where we were able to get some easy looks.

“The big thing is we hit two big outside shots in key moments -- Brady hit a big 3 and Wilson hit a big 3. But everybody pitched in and everybody brought a lot to the table in a game where we needed people to do so. I was really proud of them.”

Bennett put the Wildcats up by five with less than two minutes left in the second overtime period and Trinity got four free throws from Kamari Hutson and two more from Persson Clements to hold off the Knights.

“We stood around on the defensive glass,” Catholic coach Mike Curry said. “They got quite a few second opportunities, second and third opportunities. We played hard, we just didn’t play good. Or I thought we played hard in spots but when the ball was shot, everybody just turned and looked. Nobody went and got it.”

Catholic (7-8) got 12 points from PJ Evans, 11 from Kingston Preyear and MJ Belser, nine from JJ Williams and eight from Kris Hampton. The Knights will play host to Montgomery Academy on Tuesday and Brew Tech on Thursday.

“We’ve got a group that we’re trying to grow up,” Curry said, “and tonight we took a step back. But we’ve got a couple more games, a couple more practices before we hit the postseason. We’ve got to see if we can show some signs of growth.”

Trinity (16-7) was led by Clements with 12, Hutson with 11, Patton Mitchell with 10 and Bennett with nine. The Wildcats play host to BTW Magnet on Tuesday.

Them, the two teams will meet again in the area tournament in Tuskegee next Monday, with the winner earning a sub-regional berth and the loser ending their season.

Monday’s win should give the Wildcats some confidence they can win games without their leading scorer, but Arrighi expects a different Catholic team next week.

“Number one, I’m always apprehensive when we’re playing Catholic because I think so highly of Coach Curry as a coach,” Arrighi said. “He finds ways to make his teams compete. I’m still on high alert going into next week and we still have things to fix. They turned us over a lot tonight. But it does help our guys believe they can compete.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. James 79, Thorsby 27

The Trojans completed 3A Area 5 play with an 8-0 record after beating Thorsby 79-27 on Monday night and tying the school record for most regular season wins in a season.

Jordyn McRae had a double double with a career high 24 points and 12 rebounds, along with three steals and two assists. Natalie Barton added 17 points, five steals and two assists, while Kaitlin Mitchell had 11 points, six rebounds, a steal and three assists.

The Trojans will play the Thorsby-Dallas County winner in the semifinals of the 3A Area 5 tournament next week at home, while Montgomery Academy will play Alabama Christian in the other semifinal game.

Saint James (27-2) will travel to Prattville Christian Academy on Thursday.

Prattville Christian 75, West Blocton 4

PRATTVILLE -- Senior forward Jenna McClendon was recognized in a pre-game ceremony for scoring her 1,000th career point on Saturday, then went out and had 27 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a 75-4 win over West Blocton on Monday night in the PCA gym.

Ally Blankinchip added 13 points, seven steals, five rebounds and four assists, while Kayden Carr had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds. Reagan Houston scored six points, followed by Laney Little with four points and four rebounds, Avery Mora with four points, Baylee Rogers with three points and four assists and Avery Mann with three points.

PCA completed 4A Area 6 play with an 8-0 record and will host the area tournament next week, playing the West Blocton-Holt winner in the semifinals. Bibb County and American Christian will play in the other semifinal game.

PCA (19-8) will play host to St. James on Thursday.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Montgomery Academy 84, Dallas County 33

It was Senior Night at Montgomery Academy and all eight seniors scored in an 84-33 romp over Dallas County in 3A Area 5 play at Joe Mooty Court.

The Eagles jumped out to a 24-5 lead in the first quarter and a 31-12 run in the second to lead 55-17 at the half.

In the first quarter, senior forward DJ Vinson scored six points to give him 1,000 career points to go along with 1,000 career rebounds, a milestone he hit on Saturday night at St. James. He finished with 11 points, all in the first half, along with four rebounds and a steal.

Skyler Stovall led Montgomery Academy in scoring with 14 points, along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Cade Segars added 10 points, two assists and three steals, followed by Jarrett Friendly with nine points, six rebounds and two steals, Camp Fiore with nine points, nine rebounds and an assist, Mason Ellis with nine points, two rebounds, six assists and three steals, Graham Martin with eight points, seven rebounds and a steal, James Marshall with five points, three rebounds and a pair of steals and Seth Edwards with three points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Montgomery Academy (26-2) completed 3A Area 5 play at 8-0 and will travel to Catholic for a Tuesday night game.

Prattville Christian 55, West Blocton 36

PRATTVILLE -- Cody Chapman led the Panthers with 20 points, six steals and four rebounds as PCA closed out area play with a 55-36 win over West Blocton in the PCA gym on Monday night.

One area game (American Christian and West Blocton) remains to be played on Tuesday to determine the final seeding for the area tournament, but PCA (5-3) trails Bibb County (6-2) and leads American Christian (4-3), Holt (3-5) and West Blocton (1-6).

Justin Chapman added 12 points and 11 rebounds for PCA in Monday’s game, followed by Carter Fiacco with 10 points, Wade Mora with eight points and six rebounds and Ethan Girlie with five points and six assists.

PCA (8-19) will travel to Alabama Christian on Tuesday.

Hooper Academy 47, Fort Dale Academy 25

HOPE HULL -- Hooper Academy’s defense held Fort Dale to one field goal in the first half, a 3-pointer by Harrison Scott, to defeat the Eagles 47-25 at Darrell Self Gym on Monday night.

The win improved Hooper to 5-1 in Class AA Region 1 Area 2 play, trailing Valiant Cross (5-0) and ahead of Evangel Christian (3-2), Fort Dale (1-5) and Lowndes (0-6).

Nolan Cole led the Colts with 14 points, followed by Dallas Henderson and Slade Russell with eight points each and Kaleb Jackson with six.

Scott added two more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high nine points.

Hooper Academy (20-2) will play host to Valiant Cross on Thursday before closing out area play with a game at Evangel Christian on Monday.