PREP UPDATE: MA girls grab important win; Hooper tops Cornerstone

STAFF REORT

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Montgomery Academy 61, Catholic 45

Chloe Johnson scored 33 points to lead Montgomery Academy to a crucial 61-45 win over Catholic at Joe Mooty Court on Thursday night.

Both Montgomery Academy (10-11) and Catholic (14-8) split the regular season series and finished 1-5 in 3A Area 6 play, forcing a coin flip to determine the third and fourth seeds in the upcoming area tournament at Prattville Christian Academy on Feb. 9.

Virginia Meachum added 14 points for the Eagles, followed by Hayes Jenkins with 10. 

Montgomery Academy will play host to St. James on Friday. 

Trinity 68, Park Crossing 51

Emma Kate Smith had 34 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead the Wildcats to a 17-point win over the Class 6A Thunderbirds at Captain Jack Court on Thursday night.

Mya Moskowitz added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Trinity (21-5), while Kaylee Peevy scored nine points and drew six charges. Maddie Smith scored eight points to go with nine assists and six rebounds.  

Hooper Academy 39, Cornerstone Christian 24

COLUMBIANA -- Kaylee Midkiff scored 23 points to lead the Colts to a win over the Chargers to grab third place in the Class AA Region 1 Area 2 race on Thursday night.

Hooper (14-10) finished as the second seed in the area and will play host to Macon East Academy in the first round of the state tournament on Feb. 1.

“We came out and built an early lead and never relinquished it,” Hooper coach Buzz Phillips said. “We took advantage of some turnovers and turned them into points. I’m very proud of this team.”     

BOYS BASKETBALL

Macon East Academy 73, Lakeside School 44

EUFAULA -- Two days after defeating the Chiefs at home, the Knights went on the road and won by nearly the same margin, beating Lakeside 73-44 to take second place in the Class AA Region 1 race on Thursday night.

Maurice Poole had 16 points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds to make sure the Knights (16-4) finished in second place in the region at 3-1, assuring Macon East of a home game against Hooper Academy in the first round of the state playoffs on Feb. 1. 

Tyler Daniels added 13 points, 18 rebounds, a pair of blocked shots and four assists for Macon, followed by Keagan Roney with 12 points and eight rebounds, Brandon Wilkins with seven points and seven rebounds and Jacob Wilson with six points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds.

Gunner Justice added five points, followed by Gabe Spencer and Will Dekle with four points each, Garrison Miller with three points, Tanner Surles with two points and M.J. Belser with a point.

Lakeside finished as the third seed in the area and will travel to Edgewood for a first-round game on Feb. 1. Darren Madrie led the Chiefs with 10 points, followed by Justice Martin and Rhodes Bennett with nine points each and Thomas Knox with eight points.

Prattville Christian 55, Alabama Christian 43

Cade Segars and Carson Roberson combined for 35 points as the Panthers won for only the second time in the last 10 games, defeating the Eagles 55-43 in the ACA gym on Thursday night.

Segars led the Panthers with 20 points and six rebounds, while Roberson added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Coleman Hunter scored seven points and PJ Evans had six points. Conner Williams added five points and seven rebounds. Brady Roberson scored four points and Camron Coleman grabbed five rebounds. 

PCA (9-17) will host Wetumpka on Monday.

In the junior varsity game, Cooper Osborne had 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Panthers dropped a hard-fought 61-53 decision to the Eagles. Collin Ross added 16 points and 13 rebounds for PCA, while Collier Connell scored 14 points and Ryan Kiefer had eight points and 12 rebounds. 

WRESTLING

Prattville Christian 48, Catholic 36/ St. James 48, Catholic 30

The Prattville Christian Academy wrestling team traveled to Catholic to take on the Knights and on Catholic’s Senior Night, defeating the Knights in the opening match before falling to the Trojans on Thursday night.

In the match against the Knights, Brysen Pugh. Logan Post, Matthew Post, Spencer Perkins, Brody Pugh, Andrew Allen, David Tubbs-Hill and Aidan Cockrell picked up wins for the Panthers.

PCA travels to Piedmont on Saturday to participate in the Piedmont Dogfight Invitational beginning at 9 a.m.