MONDAY PREPS: ACA gets two key victories over LAMP; MA tennis opens season with win
ACA’s Clay Williams puts up a shot against the LAMP Tigers in Monday’s Area win. (Dylan Hurst)
By DYLAN HURST
Alabama Christian has struggled this season to put together a winning streak, but head coach Steven Thomas knows that everything can change during area games and he has been giving his team extra motivation this season.
“With a newer team, and we’ve been preaching from the get-go, that in the region games we need to be able to come in with the expectation like we have a target on our back,” said Thomas, “that we’re going to give 100 percent with our energy and our effort.”
The ACA Eagles used that energy and effort in a stifling defensive effort that contained the LAMP Golden Tigers’ offense to give ACA a 47-40 win on Monday in a must-win situation for the Eagles in area tournament seeding.
ACA had just lost 10 days ago to the Golden Tigers and a second loss would have handed LAMP the result season title. By beating the Golden Tigers, ACA created a rare three-way tie for first place at 2-2 in Class 4A, Area 5 with the Eagles, Tigers and BTW Magnet all splitting their regular-season games and forcing a three-way coin flip to determine the host site for next week’s 4A Area 5 tournament.
ACA got a monster game from Avery Stuart, who had 30 points in the win. D’andre Sneed added six points, followed by Issac Warrick with four. Devin Mosley hit a late 3 pointer for his only points, while Ricky Rizzotto and Mason Kimbro each scored two points.
For the Golden Tigers, Jezreel Fishoe and Nick Harris both led the team in scoring with 10 points each. Landon Townsend added six points, Smith Carter scored five, Ezekiel Griffin had four, Ethan Russell scored three points, and Tatum Owen had two points.
The Eagles’ defense got off to a great start, shutting down the Golden Tigers in the first quarter and leading by a score of 14-5. In the second quarter, LAMP had closed back in, but ACA was still leading 27-22 at the half. By the end of the third quarter, the Golden Tigers had rallied to take the lead, 36-33, but couldn’t contain Stuart and the ACA offense as the Eagles rallied for a seven-point win.
ACA travels to Trinity on Tuesday, while LAMP travels to St. James.
ACA girls grab important win
Being at home for the area tourney is down to a flip of a coin.
But to get there, Alabama Christian was going to have to beat LAMP in a season that hasn’t featured a lot of wins.
The Eagles picked up the win, getting 20 points from Rachel Rine and 19 from Jaide Newkirk to defeat the Golden Tigers 54-44 in the ACA gym on Monday night.
“This win feels excellent,” ACA coach Augusta Guthrie said. “All of the adversity that we’ve had to overcome throughout this season, it was all for that moment, and they were ready to play and fight…they knew what they had to do to win this game.”
The win left both teams with a 3-1 record in 4A Area 5 play. A coin flip will determine the host team for the three-team area tournament.
ACA was the host a year ago and defeated LAMP for the area tournament title a year ago, but prior to 2021 the Eagles had not had a sub-region win since 2007 and an area tournament title since 2010.
LAMP doesn’t have much history on its side, either. The Golden Tigers have only hosted an area tournament once (2012) and winning the coin flip guarantees the winner a berth in the area tournament finals and an automatic berth in a sub-regional game on Feb. 14.
“I’m really proud of our girls, but I’m not as worried about our (playoff) history or the lack thereof,” LAMP coach Michael Thornton said. “I’m more worried about this group in front of me, and they’ve been working hard and building for years, and we just have to take advantage of our opportunities.”
The loser of the coin flip will have to defeat BTW Magnet in the opening round of the area tournament next week to reach the finals. Both teams in the finals advance to sub-regional play on Feb. 14, but the area tournament runner-up will be on the road.
The Golden Tigers fell behind early and ACA managed to play one of its best games when it counted, taking an 18-9 lead into the second quarter and a 25-22 lead at the half before extending the lead back to nine points heading into the final period.
“It felt really good to win, and I glad we could all come together at the end and just play really hard,” Newkirk said. “I thought we all came together as a team and we all played our hardest today.”
Izzy Warwick added nine points for the Eagles (6-20) and Katelyn Sutton scored six points.
Caitlin Russell led LAMP (10-12) with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Ariana Cannida had 14 points, four rebounds and four steals. Serenity Griffin scored four points and nine rebounds and Grayson Dickert had four points and six rebounds.
Both teams are on the road Tuesday, with ACA visiting Trinity and LAMP traveling to St. James.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Trinity 54, G.W. Long 35
SKIPPERVILLE -- Emma Kate Smith had 22 points and three steals to help the Wildcats defeat the Rebels on Monday night in the G.W. Long gym.
Mya Moskowitz added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Maddie Smith scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Kaylee Peevy grabbed eight rebounds for the Wildcats.
Trinity (22-5) returns home to play Alabama Christian on Tuesday at Trinity before facing Catholic at Prattville Christian Academy in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Feb. 8.
Montgomery Academy 49, Highland Home 32
HIGHLAND HOME -- Chloe Johnson had 26 points to help the Eagles to a 49-32 win over the Flying Squadron in the Highland Home gym on Monday night.
Virginia Meachum added nine points for Montgomery Academy (9-10) returns home to play Chilton County on Tuesday and Wetumpka on Thursday before facing Prattville Christian in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament in Prattville on Feb. 8.
Prattville Christian 65, Wetumpka 32
PRATTVILLE -- Hannah Jones led the Lady Panthers with 18 points and 17 rebounds as PCA cruised to a 33-point win over the 6A Indians on Monday night in the PCA gym.
Ella Jane Connell added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, followed by Avery Rogers with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. CoCo Thomas added eight points and nine rebounds, while Kayden Carr scored six points and LB NeSmith scored three points. Ally Blankinchip and Nya Davis each grabbed six rebounds.
PCA (28-0) will host Montevallo Tuesday night for Senior Night, then travel to Montgomery to play St. James on Friday before hosting Montgomery Academy in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Feb. 8.
St. James 53, Bullock County 24
UNION SPRINGS -- Ava Card scored 17 points to help the Trojans wrap up the top seed in 4A Area 3 with a 53-24 rout of Bullock County on Monday to finish the area with a 4-0 record.
St. James (19-5) won its ninth consecutive game, which guaranteed the Trojans a berth in the state playoffs by earning the top seed in the three-team area. St. James will face the winner of the Bullock County-Booker T. Washington game next week in the area tournament championship at home.
KK Hall added 13 points in Monday’s win, followed by Danielle Greene with nine.
St. James returns home to play LAMP on Tuesday and Prattville Christian on Friday before hosting the area tournament next week.
Stanhope Elmore 49, Prattville 45
MILLBROOK -- Jace Haynes had 15 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots to help the Mustangs win their fifth consecutive game with a 49-45 win over the 7A Lions on Saturday night.
Ariel Gilchrist added 15 points, 12 steals and eight assists for Stanhope Elmore (19-4), which travels to Pelham on Tuesday before returning home to play Tallassee on Thursday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Autauga Academy 61, Pike Liberal Arts 58
PRATTVILLE -- The Generals faced their toughest test of the season in turning back the Class AAA defending state champs with a 61-58 win over the Patriots in the Autauga gym on Monday night.
Robert Rose had 24 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals for Autauga (15-0), followed by Pharrell Banks with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, Josh Palmer with nine points and five rebounds, AJ Perry with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists and Dezmen Dickerson with six points.
The Generals face the Lowndes-South Choctaw winner in the quarterfinals of the AA state playoffs on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
Wetumpka 74, Prattville Christian 45
PRATTVILLE -- Carson Roberson led the Panthers with 20 points and four rebounds, tying Adam Roberson for the single-season school record for most 3 pointers with 114 in a 74-45 loss to the Class 6A Indians on Monday night in the PCA gym.
Coleman Hunter added 13 points and five rebounds, followed by Cade Segars with nine points and Cam Coleman with three points and four rebounds. PJ Evans had four rebounds and five assists and Brady Roberson dished out four assists.
PCA (9-18) will host Montevallo Tuesday night for Senior Night before traveling to St. James on Friday and Catholic on Feb. 9 for the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament.
In the junior varsity game, Collier Connell led the Panthers with 14 points and four rebounds in a 40-34 loss to the Indians. Collin Ross added seven points and nine rebounds. Ryan Kiefer had four points and nine rebounds. Cooper Osborne added four points and five rebounds. PCA ends the season at 2-13.
Highland Home 61, Montgomery Academy 44
HIGHLAND HOME -- Cole Caddell led Montgomery Academy with 10 points and six rebounds as the Eagles fell to the Flying Squadron on Monday night.
Jamal Cooper added eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals while DJ Vinson had five points and eight rebounds.
Montgomery Academy (7-10) will host Chilton County on Tuesday and Wetumpka on Thursday.
BOYS TENNIS
Montgomery Academy 9, Pike Road 0
The Eagles opened defense of their 6A state championship with a 9-0 win over Pike Road in the 2022 season opener on Monday.
Singles winners for Montgomery Academy were Whit Davis, Guy Hughes, John Alford, Charlie Hill, Jackson Brown and Gaines Freeman.
Doubles winners for the Eagles were the teams of Davis-Hill, Hughes-Freeman and Alford-Brown.
Montgomery Academy (1-0) travels to Tuscaloosa to face Hillcrest on Thursday.
WRESTLING
Prattville Christian places ninth in Piedmont Dogfight
PIEDMONT -- The Panthers traveled to take part in the Piedmont Dogfight Invitational on Saturday, finishing ninth out of 16 teams while bringing home two individual medals.
Brysen Pugh finished third in the 106-pound division and Andrew Allen finished second at 170 pounds.
The Panthers finish up the regular season traveling to Stanhope Elmore on Tuesday and hosting a quad meet on Thursday at home.