PREP HOOPS: Trinity, BTW-Tuskegee split area games; Valiant Cross ends Hooper win streak
Trinity’s Emory Causey dribbles past BTW ‘sKeAundra Tatum in Tuesday’s matchup at Captain Jack Court. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After giving up 21 points to Booker T. Washington’s Marquez Daniel, Trinity coach Matt Arrighi knew the Wildcats would have to play tougher defense on the junior forward in Tuesday’s 4A Area 5 rematch.
The Wildcats played better defense, but Daniel found his points on offensive putbacks, torching the Wildcats for 21 points again in a 48-38 win at Captain Jack Court.
Booker T. Washington (20-3) improved to 5-0 in area play, taking command of the area race and all but assuring the Golden Eagles of homecourt advantage in the upcoming area tournament in three weeks.
“I think my team’s playing pretty well right now,” BTW coach Steve Rogers said. “We’re still learning some things and still trying to iron out some kinks, but overall I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job.”
The Golden Eagles still have a pair of area games against Tallassee remaining, along with Saturday’s game at Catholic, but own a 2.5-game lead over second-place Trinity (2-2) and LAMP (2-2), which play each other on Thursday.
Booker T. Washington’s only losses are to a pair of Georgia teams and to Class 7A Carver in the first week of the season.
“Marquez Daniel and Ray Minor are our leaders,” Rogers said. “Those two guys make us go and the sky is the limit for those guys. I’m excited about their future here.”
Arrighi said he felt like his team played better in the rematch between the two area rivals, but found itself in an early hole -- Daniel scored 12 points in the first quarter -- and the Wildcats never recovered, trimming the deficit to five points on two occasions in the fourth quarter but Trinity could never sustain enough offense against the Golden Eagles.
John Morris led the Wildcats with 15 points, followed by Brady Bennett with eight.
Trinity (12-6) will travel to LAMP on Thursday and Tallassee on Friday for a pair of area games before returning home next Tuesday for a rematch with LAMP.
Trinity girls top BTW
Trinity coach Blake Smith had plenty of praise for the “gritty, scrappy” performance from Booker T. Washington in Tuesday’s 4A Area 5 matchup at Captain Jack Court, but he saved plenty of praise for his own team as well.
The Wildcats overcame a horrendous shooting night with a strong rebounding effort and Smith said he saw plenty of positives from his players despite their lack of shooting touch against the Golden Eagles.
Trinity would eventually overwhelm BTW 53-39 but there were some anxious moments in the second and third periods as the Wildcats struggled to put away their pesky area rivals.
Trinity took a 19-10 lead in the first quarter with the help of 10 points from Mya Moskowitz and six more from Lilly Smith, but the Wildcats would play the next five-plus minutes with only a pair of free throws on the offensive end.
A pair of Maddie Smith 3-pointers in the third quarter opened up a lead and the Wildcats cruised to victory over the final 12 minutes.
Moskowitz had 17 points to lead all scorers, but the Wildcats got 10 points, eight assists, seven steals and five rebounds from Maddie Smith, 10 points and eight rebounds from Lilly Smith and 10 points and 14 rebounds from Ellie Causey.
Trinity (19-4) improved to 3-1 in area play, while Booker T. Washington fell to 2-3 with a pair of area games against Tallassee and one against Catholic remaining.
The Wildcats will travel to LAMP on Thursday to play a game postponed from last Friday’s inclement weather, then will travel to Tallassee on Friday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Valiant Cross Academy 52, Hooper Academy 50
Valiant Cross put up a shot just ahead of the buzzer for the game winner as the Warriors handed the Colts their first loss in the Loveless Community Center gym on Tuesday night.
Valiant Cross (20-1) won its fifth consecutive game and improved to 3-0 in AISA Class AA Region 1 Area 2, while Hooper (17-1) dropped to 2-1 in area play.
Deshawn Hall led the Warriors with 23 points, followed by Jersey Farbes with nine. Valiant Cross will play host to Fort Dale in an area game on Friday.
Luke Moseley led Hooper with 13 points, followed by Nolan Cole with 12, Dallas Henderson with 11 and Kaleb Jackson with eight. The Colts return home to play area rival Evangel Christian on Thursday and Bessemer Academy on Friday.
LAMP 64, Tallassee 58
Ezekial Griffin was honored before the opening tip, then turned in an inspiring first-quarter effort, scoring 12 of his game-high 30 points in the first eight minutes to help the Golden Tigers to a 4A Area 5 win over Tallassee in the LAMP gym on Tuesday night.
Griffin was honored in pre-game ceremonies for scoring his 1,000th point on Saturday against BTW Magnet, becoming just the third player in program history to reach that milestone. On Tuesday, he hit 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line, along with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and three steals.
Benedict Akwuba picked up where Griffin left off, scoring 11 of his 22 points in the second quarter to help the Golden Tigers wipe out a 21-14 deficit and grab a 32-31 halftime lead. Akwuba also had 11 rebounds and a pair of steals.
TJ English added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Rowen Thornton led Tallassee with 22 points. Roderick Green added 11 points, all in the first quarter.
LAMP evened its 4A Area 5 record at 2-2, tied with Trinity and ahead of Catholic (0-2) and Tallassee (0-3). Booker T. Washington leads the area with a 5-0 record.
Tallassee will play host to Catholic on Wednesday in a game postponed from last Friday.
LAMP (10-10) will play host to Trinity on Thursday in a game postponed from Friday, then will travel to Catholic on Friday for its third area game of the week.
Evangel Christian Academy 59, Lowndes Academy 35
Mekhi Williams, in his first varsity start, recorded a triple-double, scoring a season-high 16 points, 10 assists and 11 steals, along with six rebounds, to lead Evangel Christian to a Class AA Region 1 Area 2 win over the Rebels in the Evangel gym on Tuesday.
Jordan Duncan added 11 points, three assists and two steals while Tylon Shine had nine points and two steals and D'John Wright chipped in nine points.
Evangel (13-3) is tied with Hooper for second place in the area at 2-1. The two teams meet on Thursday in Hope Hull.
Montgomery Academy 91, Thorsby 37
THORSBY -- Montgomery Academy got off to a fast start, outscoring Thorsby 25-11 in the first quarter and 29-10 in the second quarter to score a convincing 3A Area 5 victory in the Thorsby gym.
Jarrett Friendly led a balanced attack with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, followed by Braden Gordon with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals and Skyler Stovall with 13 points, five rebounds, six steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
DJ Vinson added 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, Cade Segars had nine points, three rebounds and two steals and Mason Ellis had eight points, four assists and two steals. Brewer Welch added three points, five rebounds, five steals and 11 assists.
Montgomery Academy (20-2) improved to 4-0 in Area 5 play, followed by Alabama Christian (3-2), Dallas County (2-2), Thorsby (1-3) and St. James (0-3). The Eagles travel to Alabama Christian on Friday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Evangel Christian Academy 55, Lowndes Academy 34
Symone McNeil scored 13 points to help the Lions to a 55-34 win over the Rebels in a Class AA Region 1 Area 2 win in the Evangel gym on Tuesday night.
Evangel evened its area record at 1-1, in second place behind Fort Dale (3-0) but ahead of Lowndes (1-2) and Hooper (0-2).
Loreal Lewis added 12 points for the Lions, followed by A.K. Davis with 10, Erica Burton with eight and Mariah Curry and Anyah Ray with six points each.
Evangel Christian (11-5) returns to action on Thursday at Hooper Academy for another area matchup.
Montgomery Academy 69, Thorsby 19
THORSBY -- Kaci Armistead scored 20 points to lead the Eagles to a 3A Area 5 win over the Rebels in the Thorsby gym on Tuesday night.
Armistead connected on 7 of 11 shots from the field and added five steals, three assists, three rebounds and four deflections.
The Montgomery Academy defense helped the Eagles grab a 34-11 lead in the first half, holding Thorsby to just two field goals in the first half and just nine points (4 of 17) from the field in the game, with the remainder coming from the free-throw line.
Caroline Waller added 19 points, three assists, two rebounds and seven deflections for the Eagles, followed by Sophia Cho with eight points, five steals, three assists, five rebounds and two deflections. Bennett Britt and Garland Thomas added six points and five points, respectively, while Thomas also added two steals, an assist and four deflections. Talley Hamilton and Lucy Nelson each had four points, with Hamilton adding a steal, an assist, a rebound and a deflection. Olivia Smith had two points, three steals, three assists, two rebounds, a blocked shot and a pair of deflections.
Montgomery Academy (8-12) took over second place in the area behind St. James (3-0) and ahead of Alabama Christian (3-2), Thorsby (1-3) and Dallas County (0-4). The Eagles travel to Alabama Christian on Friday night.