SATURDAY PREPS: Tallassee wins Class 1A-4A Duals wrestling state title

COMBINED REPORTS

For the third-straight year, the Tallassee wrestling team reached the finals of the AHSAA State Duals Tournament on Saturday. After runner-up finishes in 2023 and ‘24, the Tigers were able to finish the job this time.

Tallassee defeated St. John Paul II Catholic, 63-16, in the semifinals and followed with a dominating performance over Oak Grove, 69-11, for the AHSAA Class 1A-4A state championship at Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena.

The Tigers improved to 41-0 in duals matches, earning the program’s second state team title and the first since 2014.

The match wins were clinched with pins by Aiden Bridgeman in 134 pounds and Josh Hooks in 177-pounds had in the finals. Bridgeman won by pin in the semifinals and Brooks pinned Oak Grove’s Brody Frederick in 37 seconds to clinch the championship match for Tallassee.

Land Bell completed his season with a perfect 40-0 record after winning his semifinal match in just 32 seconds at 159 pounds. He picked up a forfeit win in the finals.

PCA finishes fifth in Piedmont tourney

Tourney champions Carter Copeland (177 pounds) and Bryson Bowman (215) led to a fifth-place finish for Prattville Christian Academy in the Piedmont Dogfight Invitational on Saturday.

Jens Johnson finished third-place atAM 138 pounds.

The Panthers got fourth-place finishes from Cole Young (165), Logan Wesch (190) and Orion Garrett (285).

PCA will hold Senior Night on Tuesday when it hosts Beulah and Houston Academy. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Montgomery Academy 84, Thorsby 35

Montgomery Academy used a fast start offensively to jump out to a 28-10 first-quarter lead on the way to the Eagles’ eighth consecutive victory on Friday.

Montgomery Academy outscored the Rebels 22-7 in the second quarter as 14 different Eagles scored in the game. Braden Gordon led the Eagles with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals, followed by Skyler Stovall with 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Jarrett Friendly added 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist, while DJ Vinson had seven points, eight rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Mason Ellis chipped in seven points and four assists and Brewer Welch had six points, four steals and five assists.

Montgomery Academy improved to 6-0 in 3A Area 5 play, followed by Dallas County (3-2), Alabama Christian (3-3), Thorsby (2-4) and St. James 0-5).

Montgomery Academy (24-2) will close out area play with a game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at St. James and one at home on Monday against Dallas County.

Catholic 64, LAMP 42

JJ Williams sank five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points and three rebounds to lead the Knights to a 64-42 area victory over the Golden Tigers in the Catholic gym on Friday night.

PJ Evans added 17 points and five rebounds for the Knights, followed by MJ Belser with 13 points, four rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Catholic improved to 3-3 in area play, while LAMP dropped to 2-6.

Catholic (6-7) remains home to close out area play, playing Tallassee on Saturday afternoon and Trinity on Monday night.

LAMP (10-14) dropped four consecutive area games and will close out the regular season on Monday with a game at BTW Magnet.

Hooper Academy 45, Lowndes Academy 35

HOPE HULL -- Tray Davenport hit a pair of 3-pointers to break a 6-6 tie early in the second quarter and propel the Colts to a 45-35 win over the Rebels in a Class AA Region 1 Area 2 game at Darrell Self Gym on Friday night.

Hooper improved to 4-1 in area play, while Lowndes dropped to 0-5.

Davenport’s 3-pointers helped the Colts scored 17 points in the second quarter to grab a 23-12 lead at the half. He finished with 11 points, followed by Slade Russell with nine and Dallas Henderson and Nolan Cole with eight points each.

Jeremy Hardy scored 16 points, including 12 in the second half, to lead the Rebels. Watters Box added seven points, all in the second half.

Hooper (19-2) will play host to Fort Dale Academy on Monday and Valiant Cross on Thursday in a pair of area games next week.

Alabama Christian 59, St. James 39

A.C. Walters scored nine points in the third quarter to help the Eagles pull away from the Trojans in a 3A Area 5 game on Friday night.

Walters finished with 14 points and seven rebounds as ACA led by 11 points at the half, but extended that lead to 46-27 in the third quarter. Christian Snipes added 12 points, followed by Sam Davidson with 10 points and five rebounds and Jayden Jones with nine points and six assists.

Chase Perry led St. James with 17 points, including 11 in the second half. Jordan Williams added nine points and Wilson Aman added six as the Trojans lost their ninth consecutive game.

Alabama Christian is in second place in 3A Area 5 at 4-3, trailing Montgomery Academy (6-0) and ahead of Dallas County (3-2), Thorsby (2-4) and St. James (0-6).

St. James (9-11) will close out area play with home games against Montgomery Academy on Saturday and Thorsby on Monday.

Alabama Christian (13-9) will play a home game against Dallas County on Saturday.

Macon East Academy 61, Southern Prep 34

CAMP HILL -- Micah Andrews led four players in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Knights defeated Southern Prep in an area matchup on Thursday.

Jackson Todd added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Knights, followed by Jacob Johnson with 16 points, four rebounds and seven assists and Jacob Nowden with 12 points.

Macon East (6-14) improved to 3-1 in Class AA Region 1 Area 1 play and will travel to Lanett to play Springwood School for the area title on Monday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Evangel Christian Academy 46, Fort Dale Academy 45

GREENVILLE -- Symone McNeil scored 18 points to lead Evangel to a crucial area win over Fort Dale on Friday night in the Fort Dale gym.

A.K. Davis added 10 points, followed by Erica Burton with eight as the Lions improved to 3-1 and moved into a first-place tie with Fort Dale in the Class AA Region 1 Area 2 standings.

Evangel (14-5) will return to action with a Monday home game against Evangel Christian School.

Catholic 77, LAMP 28

Hannah Smith scored 15 of her 27 points in the first quarter as the Knights jumped out to a 26-0 lead and led 40-7 at the half in a 4A Area 5 matchup with the Golden Tigers in the Catholic gym on Friday night.

Smith also had nine rebounds for the Knights, while Heaven Bailey added 15 points, eight assists and six steals, followed by Grace Levanda with 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Kierstyn Green with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Caroline Russell led LAMP with eight points.

Catholic improved to 6-0 in 4A Area 5 play, followed by Trinity (5-1), Tallassee (3-3), Booker T. Washington (2-5) and LAMP (0-8).

Catholic (14-5) will play host to Tallassee on Saturday afternoon in a game postponed from Tuesday, then close out area play on Monday at home against Trinity.

LAMP (4-16) will close out regular season play on Monday at BTW Magnet.

Montgomery Academy 67, Thorsby 21

Caroline Waller scored 17 points to help the Eagles snap a two-game losing streak and move back into second place in the 3A Area 5 standings with a 67-21 win over the Rebels at Montgomery Academy on Friday night.

Waller added four rebounds, an assist and two steals as the Eagles jumped out to a 23-3 lead in the first quarter and a 35-9 lead at halftime. Kaci Armistead added 15 points for the Eagles, including four 3-pointers, while also collecting five rebounds, an assist and six steals. Sophia Cho added another 13 points, three rebounds, five assists and four steals and Garland Thomas had 12 points, all in the second half, along with four rebounds, an assist and four steals. Olivia Smith had five points for Eagles and also collected five rebounds, had five assists and a pair of steals.

Montgomery Academy improved to 4-2 in 3A Area 5 play, trailing St. James (6-0) and ahead of Alabama Christian (4-3), Thorsby (1-5) and Dallas County (0-5).

Montgomery Academy (9-15) will close out area play with a road game at St. James on Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by a home game with Dallas County on Monday.

St. James 73, Alabama Christian 43

St. James connected on 11 3-pointers, sprinting out to a 47-16 halftime lead in Friday’s area win over Alabama Christian.

Morgan Lilly scored seven points in the first quarter and eight more in the second, finishing with 15 points, two rebounds, two steals and three assists. Natalie Barton added 14 points, four rebounds, three steals and five assists, while Kaitlin Mitchell had 13 points, including nine in the first half, along with two rebounds, two steals and two assists. Jordyn McRae added eight points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists to help the Trojans to their 11th consecutive win.

Katelyn Sutton had nine points and Jaide Newkirk had nine points and six rebounds to lead Alabama Christian. Evelyn Tankersley added eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

St. James remains unbeaten in 3A Area 5 play at 6-0, followed by Montgomery Academy (4-2), Alabama Christian (4-3), Thorsby (1-5) and Dallas County (0-5)

St. James (25-2) closes out area play with home games against Montgomery Academy on Saturday and Thorsby on Monday.

Alabama Christian (19-5) will close out area play with a Saturday game at home against Dallas County.