PREP HOOPS: St. James, ACA close out regular season with wins
STAFF REPORT
BOYS
St. James 62, Providence Christian 31
St. James celebrated Senior Night with a 62-31 victory over Providence Christian in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Friday night.
The game was a last-minute addition to both schedules after the Trojans replaced an unexpected cancellation.
The Trojans led 12-4 after the first quarter on the strength of a half-court shot at the buzzer by Evan Richardson. They increased the lead to 11 at halftime and 20 at the end of the third quarter before pulling away. Ethan Beard led the Trojans with 20 points, while senior Matt Middleton added 15.
Charles Leger led the Eagles with 9 points.
St. James (14-5) extended its winning streak to nine games headed into the 3A Area 6 Tournament which they will host Tuesday and Friday. Saint James will face off against Alabama Christian at 6 p.m. in an opening round game on Tuesday, with Montgomery Academy and Trinity following.
Alabama Christian 55, Pike Liberal Arts 27
Mac Moorer scored 20 points to help the Eagles extend their longest winning streak of the season to three games, demolishing the Patriots 55-27 in the ACA gym on Friday night.
Alabama Christian (8-19) travels to St. James to play the Trojans in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Jayden Jones added 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots for ACA, followed by Tyree Saadiq with eight points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals. Darius Gardner had nine rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots.
Levi DeBoer led Pike Liberal Arts with nine points, followed by Slade Renfroe with eight.
Autauga Academy 60, Lakeside School 33
PRATTVILLE -- Bryant Dupree had 12 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists to lead Autauga past Lakeside in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA state basketball tournament in the Autauga gym on Friday afternoon.
Cameron Wright added nine points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, while Damien Dickerson had nine points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists. Evan Peak had eight points, six steals, five rebounds and three assists.
Autauga Academy (10-9) travels to Fairfield for the AISA quarterfinals, facing Restoration Academy on Tuesday. The winner will advance to the AA semifinals on Thursday in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
Prattville 78, Stanhope Elmore 61
PRATTVILLE -- Kam Shanks scored 21 points and Kamran DeRamus recorded his first double double of the season as the Lions roared past the Mustangs in their final regular season game at Powell Gym on Friday night.
DeRamus had 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Ryan Booth and Cameron Richardson both contributed eight points each as the Lions had 27 first-quarter points to jump out to a huge lead.
Dillon Barnes led Stanhope Elmore with 22 points, followed by Sam Kochi with 14, Tyrone Williams with 13 and Corian Gilder with eight.
Prattville returns to action in the opening round of the 7A Area 3 tournament with a game at Robert E. Lee on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The winner will advance to the second round against top seed Dothan on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Dothan.
Alabama Christian 50, Notasulga 49 (OT)
NOTASULGA -- Conner Mark scored a basket in overtime and Darius Gardner sank a pair of free throws to help Alabama Christian edge the Blue Devils in overtime in the Notasulga gym on Thursday night.
Mac Moorer had 22 points, including six 3-pointers, and six rebounds to help the Eagles take a 10-point lead at the half and carry a two-point lead into the fourth quarter before Notasulga rallied to tie the game at 46-46 to force overtime.
The Blue Devils hit just 1 of 7 free-throw attempts in the overtime period. Frankquon Bridges, who had seven points, scored all three of his team’s points in overtime.
Christian Snipes added 12 points and two rebounds for the Eagles, followed by Gardner with eight points and 14 rebounds.
Khalil Johnson led Notasulga with 18 points.
Wetumpka 74, Montgomery Academy 67
WETUMPKA -- Skyler Stovall had 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals to lead Montgomery Academy in a hard-fought loss to the 6A Indians on Thursday in the Wetumpka gym.
DJ Vinson added 19 points, 17 rebounds and two steals for Montgomery Academty, while Cole Caddell chipped in 15 points and four rebounds. Brewer Welch added six points and six assists.
Montgomery Academy (13-11) returns to action on Tuesday in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament at St. James. The Eagles will play Trinity at 7:30 p.m.
Brewbaker Tech 60, Prattville Christian 50
Carson Roberson scored 16 points to lead the Panthers in a loss to Brew Tech in the Rams’ gym on Thursday night.
Conner Williams added 12 points and seven rebounds for PCA, followed by Cade Segars with 10 points and five assists, PJ Evans with six points and four rebounds and Brady Roberson with four points. Cooper Osborne grabbed six rebounds.
PCA (14-16) will travel to Camden for the first round of the 4A Area 5 tournament, playing BTW Magnet on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Wilcox Central gym.
Autauga Academy 60, Lakeside School 33
PRATTVILLE -- Bryant Dupree had 12 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists to lead Autauga past Lakeside in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA state basketball tournament in the Autauga gym on Friday afternoon.
Cameron Wright added nine points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, while Damien Dickerson had nine points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists. Evan Peak had eight points, six steals, five rebounds and three assists.
Autauga Academy (10-9) travels to Fairfield for the AISA quarterfinals, facing Restoration Academy on Tuesday. The winner will advance to the AA semifinals on Thursday in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
GIRLS
Prattville Christian 50, St. James 33
Just three nights after the Lady Trojans traveled to Prattville and defeated the Lady Panthers on their Senior Night, Prattville Christian returned the favor.
The Lady Panthers led by only one point at halftime, 22-21, but a staunch defense held the Trojans to 12 points in the second half. Hannah Jones led all scorers with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Avery Rogers, who made the Trojan gymnasium a second home in her career, added 15 points on five 3-pointers. CoCo Thomas scored seven points and Jenna McClendon scored four points. Kayden Carr added three points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Ava Card led the Trojans, scoring 16 of the team’s 33 points.
The game was a last-minute addition to both schedules after the Trojans replaced an unexpected cancellation.
The Lady Trojans finish with another 20-win regular season (20-8) and will head to Trinity on Monday night to face Alabama Christian in the first round of the 3A Area 6 Tournament.
PCA (27-3) will host BTW Magnet in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 tournament on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Alabama Christian 60, Pike Liberal Arts 22
Rachel Rine had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists as the Eagles matched their longest winning streak of the season by winning their third game with a 60-22 rout of the Patriots in the ACA gym on Friday night.
ACA (12-13) will face St. James in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Monday at 6:30 p.m. on Trinity’s Captain Jack Court.
Izzy Warrick added 11 points and three steals for ACA, followed by Jaide Newkirk with nine points, eight rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots and Campbell Hammett with eight points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals.
Indi Carter led Pike Liberal with 10 points.
Alabama Christian 69, Notasulga 15
NOTASULGA -- Katelyn Sutton led the Eagles with 24 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds in a 69-15 rout of the Blue Devils in the Notasulga gym on Thursday night.
Jaide Newkirk added 19 points and 15 rebounds and Izzy Warrick had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Prattville Christian 47, Brew Tech 35
Hannah Jones led a balanced attack with 14 points as Prattville Christian defeated the Rams 47-35 in the Brew Tech gym on Thursday night.
Avery Rogers added 12 points and four assists, followed by Kayden Carr with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. CoCo Thomas added eight points, 13 rebounds and six steals. Ally Blankinchip grabbed four rebounds.