PREP ROUNDUP: Pike Road wins own tourney; Catholic, MA boys win

Trey Wallace with a slam dunk in Pike Road’s win over Wetumpka on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

PIKE ROAD -- Pike Road’s game in the finals of the Patriot Invitational looked too easy.

The Patriots were toying with Wetumpka, cruising to a 19-point lead and having a little too much fun at the Indians’ expense on Tuesday night.

Then, just like that, the lead evaporated and the Patriots found themselves clinging to a three-point lead in the final minute.

“I just think that we got lazy and started taking it for granted, thinking that we already had the win,” said Trey Wallace, who sank all four of his free-throw attempts in the final two minutes to help the Patriots hold on. “We started making silly fouls that weren’t necessary.

“It just shows we can’t take any team lightly. When we have our foot on their throat, we might as well keep it down so we can keep the lead and secure the game.”

The Patriots held on for a 64-58 win, but didn’t earn any style points after falling into the trap of playing Wetumpka’s up-tempo style that led to more turnovers than points in the final quarter after taking a 47-30 lead into the final period.

“Just a complete lack of mental focus,” Pike Road coach Robb McGaughey said. “Do the little things right and not worry about all the outside distractions. One little thing you do wrong and we start snowballing. We’ll do one wrong, then we’ll do three others right behind it.

“You’d think (that wouldn’t happen) with so many seniors and so many years of experience, but they’ve got to figure it out. If they don’t, it’s going to keep being the same product. When we’re locked in and focused, we’re a really good basketball team; when we get a little rattled sometimes, we lose that focus.”

Locked in might have been an adequate description of a Pike Road squad that relied on transition and perimeter shooting to jump out to an early lead with 17 points in the first quarter and 16 more in the second to grab a 33-21 halftime lead. The Patriots played up-tempo with Wetumpka at times and traded baskets, but were at their best when they focused on the game plan and pulled away from the Indians after numerous turnovers. 

Then, late in the third quarter, Pike Road reverted to trading baskets with the Indians and found themselves committing more turnovers than their opponent. At the end, however, a refocused squad fought off the challenge in the final 49 seconds and extended their lead to improve to 9-7. 

“That’s what I told them, you did finish it,” McGaughey said. “It was ugly, but they did what they needed to do to finish the game.”

The tournament was supposed to feature four teams, but Notasulga dropped out after COVID-19 issues, forcing Pike Road to scrap the tournament format for the boys’ teams. However, both Pike Road and Wetumpka were undefeated heading into Tuesday’s meeting, creating a championship-type matchup.

Wallace had 22 points on Monday after missing three games while participating in the North-South All-Star football game and followed that up with a 31-point performance on Tuesday. 

“I’m happy he’s back with us,” McGaughey said. 

Jaylen Washington added 13 for Pike Road, which travels to Catholic on Saturday.

Nathan Rogers led Wetumpka with 17 points, followed by Robert Rose with 12, Michael Bass with 11 and Steven Robinson with 10. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Catholic 56, Sparkman 55

HUNTSVILLE -- T.J. Dudley keyed a third-quarter rally with 15 points and 10 rebounds as 3A Catholic edged 7A Sparkman 56-55 in the BeElite Hoops Holiday Tournament on Tuesday.

LJ Green led the Knights with 16 points, three assists and two steals, while DJ Jamerson had 10 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of assists. 

The Knights trailed 30-18 at the half but rallied with a 21-5 run in the third quarter. Trevon Ragland led Sparkman with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but his just 5 of 19 shots from the field. Calen Lightford added 13 points for Sparkman. 

Catholic (4-4) continues play in the tournament on Wednesday against Columbia.

Montgomery Academy 52, Georgiana 51 (OT)

ELBA -- Montgomery Academy’s Britton Kohn made a 10-foot jumper with 20 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 43-43 and force overtime, hit a 3 pointer to tie the game again early in overtime, then hit the game-winning 3 pointer with 20 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a one-point win over Georgiana in the Elba Holiday Classic on Tuesday. 

Kohn scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half and overtime, including the 3 pointer with 20 seconds remaining and the Eagles trailing by two. Nigel Walker grabbed a Georgiana miss with 0.6 seconds left to secure the victory. 

Kohn also had five assists. James Snead added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Judson Lindsey chipped in nine points, six rebounds and six assists. Montgomery Academy (3-3) returns to action on Monday at Notasulga.

Park Crossing 52, Trinity 50

The Wildcats got off to a strong start on Tuesday, but cooled off in the second quarter, then lost on a last-second basket to the Thunderbirds in the Trinity gym on Tuesday.

Parker Hughes scored 16 points for the Wildcats, followed by Jon Cole Portis with eight.

Pike Road 78, Chilton County 54

PIKE ROAD -- Trey Wallace led three players in double figures with 22 points as the Patriots won their opening round game in the Patriot Invitational on Monday night.

Wallace had 14 of his points in a 26-point second quarter that helped Pike Road open up a 44-20 halftime lead over the 6A Tigers. Blake Durham and Jaylen Jarrett each added 11 for the Patriots, followed by Jaylen Washington with nine and Brandon Glasco and K.J. Westry with eight points each.

Jakevion Bolding led Chilton County with 18 points, followed by Jamon Dejarnett with 10 and Keighton Coppedge and Latavion Floyd with eight points each.  

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Montgomery Academy 57, Elba 33

ELBA -- Gabby Ramirez had 15 points to lead the Eagles to an easy win over Elba in the Elba Holiday Classic on Tuesday.

Chloe Johnson added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Montgomery Academy (10-2), which returns to action on Monday at Notasulga.

Pike Road 58, Notasulga 34

PIKE ROAD -- Jada Roberts scored 24 points and Jazz Johnson added 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Patriots defeated the Blue Devils in the consolation game of the Patriot Invitational on Tuesday in the Pike Road gym.

Pike Road (6-9) travels to Montgomery to play Catholic on Saturday. 

Chilton County 66, Wetumpka 62

PIKE ROAD -- The Tigers exploded for 31 points in the final quarter, nearly doubling their output from the first three quarters, to rally past Wetumpka in the championship game of the Patriot Invitational in the Pike Road gym on Tuesday night.

Iasia Anderson and Tyeshia Williams combined for 17 points in the final quarter and Kelsey Cleckler hit a pair of huge 3 pointers to help the Tigers to the victory.

Marlie Gibbs led Chilton County (9-4) with 19 points, followed by Anderson and Williams with 15 points each. Cleckler added nine.

Janae McCall led Wetumpka with 20 points, followed by Zariah Fannin with 17 and Cederia Dennis with 10.