PREP HOOPS: Hooper rolls past Chambers; STJ girls win fifth straight
Chambers Academy’s Grey Hayley is pressured by Hooper's Slade Russell (3) and Owen Stockinger in the Colts’ win Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
HOPE HULL -- New Hooper Academy coach Darryl Free said he saw it in his players’ eyes after an early-season loss.
For the players, their first indication that things were different came back in the summer during play dates with other teams.
“He came in during the summer and we knew he was a good coach when he was at Edgewood because they were beating us by 30 or 40 points,” senior forward Lucas Spellman said. “During the summer, we were beating kids pretty good. Then we played Lee-Scott and got beat by 20, then played Glenwood and got beat by six. He had a talk with us and we all bought in, saying we can compete. Then we played Lowndes and beat them by 30. That’s when we knew that was it.”
It was during the game at Glenwood, a 44-38 loss to the Gators on Dec. 1, that Free saw the competitive spirit and determination that he was looking for.
“The first step is to show you can compete with anybody in this league,” Free said. “We were at Glenwood, down 29-6 at halftime, and cut it to three in the fourth quarter. That was a turning point, to show that we can compete with anybody.”
“Practices are a lot better, a lot more intense, mainly defense and rebounding he likes to focus on,” Spellman noted. “Our defense and our rebounding was awful last year. Last year, everybody knew that if you got Hooper down by at least 10, we’d quit. He’s made it where if we get down by 10, that just means we’ll fight harder and bring ourselves back into the game.”
Hooper won’t play its Class AA Region 1 Area 2 rivals until mid-January, so Free’s early schedule included four consecutive AAA teams that led to three losses, including the one at Glenwood.
“I asked them as soon as that game was over, ‘Do you believe that you can compete with everybody now?’ and they said, ‘Yes, sir,’” Free said. “Losing’s never fun but you try to take something from it every time. We took lessons from that and we applied them since then and been on a heck of a run.”
Hooper hasn’t lost since, rolling over Chambers 54-26 on Thursday for its seventh consecutive victory. The win over the Rebels was indicative of the Colts’ first season under Free. The leading scorer, junior guard Nathan Cole, had just seven points. It was Slade Russell’s night from the perimeter as the junior guard had 21 points, followed by Spellman with nine.
There are no big-play performers, just a group of interchangeable hard chargers who pressure opponents and hit the glass hard. The Colts struggled early offensively, but rebounding and defense helped them to a 24-11 halftime lead before they started clicking in the third quarter and extended the lead to 45-20.
“I think our press was the big thing that helped us (turn it around),” junior forward Luke Mosley said. “It messes people up real bad. Our two that come in for defense, Brice (Bates) and Kadyn (Lumley), it’s just like another fire. When our guys get tired and they come in, our defense gets at it and does good.”
Included in that seven-game winning streak is a pair of victories against the Colts’ arch rival Lowndes. There’s still a return trip to Lowndesboro in three weeks, but the 56-26 win over the Rebels on Dec. 5 got the Colts off and running and they haven’t stopped since.
“Lowndes has been ultra-successful in Class A in boy’s sports and they’ve kind of owned the rivalry a little bit lately in most sports,” Free said. “For them to come in here and we showed not only can we beat them, but we can really establish our dominance in basketball, for our psyche, that goes a long way.”
Cole is the Colts’ top scoring threat, but speaks more about Hooper’s defense as he talks about the team’s resurgence.
“The past couple of years, everybody thought it was OK to lose,” Cole said. “We’ve got a little spark going on. We get to play more aggressive. We didn’t press last year, the last couple of years. The defense we run, it’s always more aggressive.”
Hooper (8-3) returns to action next Tuesday at home against Crenshaw Christian. After three games next week, the Colts will open area play with hopes of advancing to the state tournament in February.
“I think if we try our hardest and do our best, we can beat anybody and win the championship,” Moseley said. “And that’s been so long. The last one was 2001. I think this team’s going to be the one to win it.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
St. James 75, Susan Moore 52
HUNTSVILLE -- Ava Card scored 25 points, pulled down five rebounds and handed out two assists to lead the Trojans to a 75-52 win over Susan Moore in the second round of the Falcon Christmas Classic at St. John Paul II on Thursday.
Morgan Lilly added 18 points, along with three rebounds and two assists, and Natalie Barton recorded a double double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in a battle of top 10 Class 3A powers. Susan Moore has reached the state tournament in each of the last three years.
St. James (15-3) won its fifth consecutive game and will face Decatur Heritage in the final game of the tournament on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
St. James 70, Madison Academy 38
HUNTSVILLE -- Ava Card and Natalie Barton both scored 20 points to lead the Trojans to a convincing win over Madison Academy in the opening round of the Falcon Christmas Classic at St. John Paul II on Wednesday.
Card had four blocked shots on the defensive end of the floor, while Barton contributed nine rebounds and six assists in the win. Kaitlin Mitchell added 10 points, followed by Morgan Lilly with seven and Molli Pickett with six.
Prattville Christian 61, Mortimer Jordan 48
GUNTERSVILLE -- Freshman point guard Kayden Carr continued her torrid pace in the Supreme Courts Christmas Tournament on Thursday, scoring 29 points, pulling down nine rebounds and handing out four assists in a 61-48 win over Mortimer Jordan.
A day earlier, Carr had 26 points, five assists and four rebounds in a win over Arab in the opening round.
Jenna McClendon added 14 points and six rebounds in the win over Mortimer Jordan, followed by Avery Rogers with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, Ally Blankinchip with three points, five assists and four rebounds and Laura Beth NeSmith with three points. Leah Cate Wilson grabbed five rebounds.
PCA (13-3) will face Sparkman on Friday in the tournament at Hazel Green.
Prattville Christian 55, Arab 42
CARTERSVILLE -- Kayden Carr hit eight 3-pointers to lead the PCA girls to an impressive 55-42 win over Arab in the opening round of the Supreme Courts Christmas Tournament on Wednesday.
Carr finished with 26 points, five assists and four rebounds, followed by Avery Rogers with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals and Jenna McClendon with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Ally Blankinchip dished out five assists.
Pike Road 61, Cairo (Ga.) 16
MOULTRIE, Ga. -- Audry Blaine led a balanced attack with 14 points as the Patriots defeated Cairo in the opening round of the Vereen Sports Medicine Tournament at Colquitt High School.
Everyone scored for the Patriots, led by Blaine. Erica Burton added 10 points, followed by Jazz Johnson with nine points and six rebounds and Madison Triche with eight points.
The Patriots will take on Bainbridge (Ga.) High on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Lowndes Academy 54, Monroe Academy 32
GROVE HILL -- Lowndes Academy used a 20-7 run in the third quarter to pull away from Monroe Academy and defeat the Volunteers 54-32 in the opening round of the Clarke Prep Christmas Tournament on Thursday.
The Rebels led just 21-15 at the half before using the third-quarter run to pull away. The starters rested most of the fourth quarter in preparation for Friday’s game with Patrician Academy in the second round of the tournament.
Clayton Hussey had 23 points, 14 rebounds, seven steals, three assists and three blocked shots to lead the Rebels, scoring 21 of his points in the first three quarters. Zach Azar added eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, followed by Andrew Myers and Reid Owen with six points each, Will Brassell with five points, Pierson Hill with four points and Ben Azar with two points.
Decatur 53, Prattville Christian 51
GUNTERSVILLE -- Brady Roberson and Cade Segars combined for 41 points, but the Panthers dropped a 53-51 heartbreaker to Class 6A Decatur 53-51 in the second round of the Supreme Courts Christmas Tournament on Thursday.
Roberson had 21 points and six rebounds, while Segars had 20 points and six steals. Justin Chapman had six points and five rebounds, followed by PJ Evans with four points, eight assists and four rebounds. Wade Mora grabbed five rebounds.
PCA (8-9) returns to action on Friday in the tournament against Jacksonville at Guntersville High School.
Prattville Christian 48, Southside-Gadsden 38
GUNTERSVILLE -- Cade Segars had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Panthers to an opening round win in the Supreme Courts Christmas Tournament on Wednesday.
Justin Chapman added eight points, while Brady Roberson scored six points and took two charges and PJ Evans had four points, six rebounds and five assists.