SCHWEERS CCC TOURNEY: St. James girls blast Catholic; STJ boys top Trinity
Trinity’s EK Smith passes underneath to Addison Cherry in Monday’s CCC Tourney action at the Trinity gym. (Ryan Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After Trinity’s pressure defense took Catholic out early of Monday’s semifinal matchup in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament, Catholic coach Jill Clark said her inexperienced lineup could handle the 66-26 loss in one of two ways.
“I think now you look at them and say, ‘OK, that’s what we’re up against,’” Clark said. “Now, you can make up your mind that we’re going to work and get better or we’re going to come out here and get our butt kicked again. I’m hoping we’ll say that we didn’t like it, it wasn’t a lot of fun and we’re going to regroup and come back ready to go.”
Catholic (8-2) hasn’t faced this type of loss this season. The Knights trailed 22-5 by the end of the first quarter and 39-12 at the half.
“First of all, we know this Catholic team is vastly improved,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said. “They have some players on that team. We’re more experienced and that’s probably what separates us, early on, but as you move through the season that gap narrows. Never have I beaten somebody that I thought was a pretty good team that bad and come back and keep beating them that bad. They’re too good. I have too much respect for those girls.”
Trinity’s standout forward, Mya Moskowitz, sat out Monday’s game with an ankle sprain, but senior guard Mary Alice Sasser picked up the scoring slack with a career-high 27 points, along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. She scored nine points in the first quarter to help the Wildcats to the early lead and 11 of the Wildcats’ 13 points in the third quarter.
“Mary Alice Sasser shot the ball really, really well for us tonight,” Smith said. “A lot of times, she winds up with those shots and when she’s hitting them, we’re really, really tough. Addison Cherry stepped into the starting lineup (in place of Moskowitz) and she brings a lot to the table for us. She brings energy and effort and has a good understanding of what’s going on, on the floor.”
Cherry had seven points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Emma Kate Smith added 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals, followed by Kaylee Peevy with 10 points and Maddie Smith with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, leading the Wildcats (13-1) into the much-anticipated finals against unbeaten and defending state champion Prattville Christian on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Clark didn’t appreciate the beating her team took from the Wildcats, but she’s happy to get an advance look at her Area 6 rival before facing them in the first of two area games on Jan. 14.
“I think it’s a good thing to see them when it doesn’t count,” she said. “You get kind of a free look at them before you’re playing an actual area game. The bad thing is, sometimes you play the same team four or five times a year and that’s difficult.”
Hannah Smith led the Knights with six points.
Prattville Christian 60, St. James 34
The Twin Towers dominated yet again as Hannah Jones returned to the lineup after a one-game absence and led unbeaten Prattville Christian to the championship game of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament with 28 points and 23 rebounds.
CoCo Thomas added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers (16-0), which will face once-beaten Trinity in the finals on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Ella Jane Connell added six points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals while Avery Rogers had five points and four assists. Kayden Carr scored four points and Sarah Williams scored three points.
Pike Road 50, Alabama Christian 26
Jazz Johnson scored 23 points and Jada Roberts added 14 as Pike Road pulled away for a 50-26 win over the Eagles in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Monday.
Pike Road (9-4) will play Montgomery Academy in the fifth-place game on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., while Alabama Christian will play G.W. Long for seventh place at 11:30 a.m.
Montgomery Academy 52, G.W. Long 40
Chloe Johnson scored 29 points to lead Montgomery Academy past G.W. Long 52-40 in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Monday.
Virginia Meachum added 10 points for the Eagles, while Pierson Hartley had 10 rebounds. Montgomery Academy (5-4) will play Pike Road in the fifth place game on Tuesday at 2:30, while G.W. Long will play Alabama Christian in the seventh-place game on Tuesday.
BOYS
The Trinity defense did a good job of taking away the post advantage of St. James, but the Wildcat offense couldn’t maintain any consistency in their assault on the Trojan defense.
Trinity’s defensive effort -- and a horrible performance at the free-throw line by St. James -- kept the game close but in the end the transition of converting turnovers into layups proved to be the difference in St. James’ 59-46 win over Trinity in the semifinals of the 27th annual Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament at Trinity on Monday afternoon.
The Trojans (6-1) will face Highland Home, a 52-47 winner over Montgomery Academy, for the tournament championship on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Trinity (8-3) will play Montgomery Academy for third place at 1 p.m.
“We didn’t execute our game plan well at all,” Trinity coach Matt Arrighi said. “We had guys not being disciplined and locked in on what the game plan was. It wasn’t until the third quarter that I thought we stopped being timid. I thought we played very timid in the first half, on the offensive end especially. It was like we were scared to make a mistake.”
The undersized Wildcats did their job in the paint, ganging up on St. James forward K.J. Jackson and holding him to a pair of field goals in a seven-point performance. His backup, Barr Armistead, played a few minutes alongside Jackson and several more minutes as a replacement but failed to score.
“They’re a tough matchup for us,” Arrighi said. “At the end of the day, you have to force other people to beat you besides their two guys (Jackson and guard Bradley Thomas). And we’re doing that 70 percent of the time but to beat a team like that, we can’t do it just 70 percent of the time.”
St. James jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, but it was difficult for the Trojans to pull away offensively with Jackson contained inside and everyone struggling at the free-throw line, where they made just 19 of 37 attempts.
“They flooded the inside with weakside help, making sure there were no easy looks for K.J. inside,” St. James coach Nigel Card said. “You have to be patient in that situation. We didn’t make free throws and missed a few easy layups. We just got through it.”
The Wildcats still trailed by 11 points at the half but suddenly started hitting from the perimeter, cutting the deficit to a point late in the third quarter. Mac Stewart, Norris Pemberton, Wesley Stallings and Max Bendinger all hit 3 pointers for their only points in the game during the third quarter.
“We came out in the third quarter with a little energy,” Arrighi said. “It’s funny how when you bring energy, all of a sudden some shots starting going in. We went on a run, then had two fundamental defensive breakdowns in the halfcourt.”
At the top of the Trojans’ zone defense, Ethan Beard and Thomas repeatedly came up with steals that turned into layups on the other end, allowing the Trojans to establish control in the fourth quarter.
“If you don’t have five guys that are very aware of what they’re doing at the front of their defense, then you’re going to turn it over,” Arrighi said. “When they start extending, if you’re focused, you can make them pay for that.”
Beard finished with 16 points, hitting a crucial 3 pointer in the fourth quarter, but most of his points came on layups following steals.
“Ethan is a big part of what we’re doing,” Card said. “He provides so much energy and anticipation, getting his hands on balls for deflections. They’re really good at the top of that zone. They’re really difficult to deal with. They’re special when it comes to defensive pressure.”
Thomas also had 16 points for the Trojans, followed by Matt Middleton with 12.
Cal Bennett led Trinity with 19 points.
Highland Home 52, Montgomery Academy 47
Jamal Cooper had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in a game that stayed close throughout, but the Eagles could not overcome the height advantage of the Flying Squadron in a semifinal matchup in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Monday.
Highland Home will face St. James on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for the championship, while Montgomery Academy (1-3) will play Trinity for third place.
Cole Caddell added 16 points for the Eagles, followed by Nigel Walker with eight points and eight rebounds. Seth Edwards had three blocked shots, while DJ Vinson had three points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Prattville Christian 48, Alabama Christian 40
Carson Roberson led the Panthers with 26 points as Prattville Christian won for only the second time in the last eight games with a win over the Eagles in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Monday.
Prattville Christian (6-8) will play Pike Road on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. for fifth place, while ACA will play area rival BTW Magnet on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. for seventh place.
PJ Evans added nine points and six rebounds for PCA, followed by Coleman Hunter with seven points and 12 rebounds. Cade Segars scored six points and Brady Hughes grabbed six rebounds.
27th ANNUAL JACK SCHWEERS
CAPITAL CITY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
GIRLS
Friday
Trinity 50, Alabama Christian 21
Saturday
Trinity 2, BTW Magnet 0
Catholic 34, Pike Road 31
Prattville Christian 43, Montgomery Academy 37
St. James 49, G.W. Long 37
Monday
Trinity 66, Catholic 26
Prattville Christian 60, St. James 34
Pike Road 50, Alabama Christian 26
Montgomery Academy 52, G.W. Long 40
Tuesday
7th place -- Alabama Christian vs. G.W. Long, 11:30 a.m.
3rd place -- Catholic vs. St. James, 1 p.m.
5th place -- Pike Road vs. Montgomery Academy, 2:30 p.m.
Championship -- Trinity vs. Prattville Christian, 4 p.m.
BOYS
Saturday
St. James 59, Pike Road 52
Trinity 64, BTW Magnet 54
Montgomery Academy 65, Alabama Christian 44
Highland Home 60, Prattville Christian 44
Monday
St. James 59, Trinity 46
Highland Home 52, Montgomery Academy 47
Pike Road 77, BTW Magnet 32
Prattville Christian 48, Alabama Christian 40
Tuesday
7th place -- BTW Magnet vs. Alabama Christian, 11:30 a.m.
3rd place -- Trinity vs. Montgomery Academy, 1 p.m.
5th place -- Pike Road vs. Prattville Christian, 2:30 p.m.
Championship -- St. James vs. Highland Home, 5:30 p.m.