THURSDAY PREPS: Chambers wins Class AAA title; Trinity girls top St. James in hoops

Chambers Academy celebrates Class AAA title after the win over Bessemer Academy on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)

COMBINED REPORTS

Class AAA Championship: Chambers wins second straight title

Bessemer Academy didn’t have senior quarterback Jacob Rowell when they faced Chambers Academy in the regular season.

They did have him in the rematch on Thursday and it didn’t make much difference.

Rowell completed 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns, but his success on offense didn’t slow the Chambers Academy offense on the way to a 45-12 victory in the AISA Class AAA state championship game at Cramton Bowl on Thursday night.

For Chambers (12-1), it was the Rebels’ eighth trip to the finals in 10 years. After finishing runner-up those first three years, they have now won four championships in seven years, including back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.

“I thought it was a great performance by our team tonight,” Chambers coach Jason Allen said. “Our team has gotten better and better all year long and tonight was the culmination of a lot of hard work. I thought we played really well tonight and just showed we were a dominant program.

“We set a goal at the beginning of the year that we wanted to be the first team in school history to be back-to-back state champs and these guys set out to do that and accomplished their goal.”

Chambers averaged 10 yards per play in the first half before pulling away in the third quarter. Rowell’s 28-yard pass to Tyseon Smith tied the game at 6-6, but Chambers answered quickly with a six-play scoring drive, then scored again late in the second quarter to take control of the game with a 22-6 lead.

Bessemer (6-6) lost a September meeting 38-6 when Rowell was injured, part of a 1-4 start by the Rebels, who rebounded with a late-season win, a forfeit win and playoff wins over Morgan and Fort Dale to complete a remarkable turnaround and reach the finals.

“This team just stayed together, kept fighting, kept believing in each other,” Bessemer Academy coach Dal Davis said. “It’s just such a special team to be a part of. To see them overcome the adversity, there are some things in their lives that they don’t realize is just going to make them better men for it, down the road.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Trinity 57, St. James 36

Trinity raced out to a 22-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating the previously unbeaten Trojans 57-36 at Captain Jack Court on Thursday.

Francie Morris led the wildcats with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, followed by Maddie Smith with 12 points, seven steals, five assists and four rebounds. Ellie Causey scored 11 points and Mya Moskowitz scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds. Lilly Smith led the team with nine rebounds.

Alabama Christian 56, Loachapoka 30

Katelyn Sutton had 19 points, six steals and five assists to help the Eagles knock off previously unbeaten Loachapoka 56-30 in the ACA gym on Thursday night.

ACA (1-1) jumped out to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter and used another big run (16-4) at the start of the third quarter to dispose of the Indians (2-1).

Jaide Newkirk added 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the Eagles bounce back from a season opening loss to Catholic.

Providence Christian 38, Montgomery Academy 34

DOTHAN -- Montgomery Academy dropped a hard-fought contest on the road in the Providence Christian gym in the first game under new coach Wright Ward.

Sophomore Kaci Armistead led all scorers with 15 points, along with six steals and five rebounds, Eighth grader Garland Thomas added 11 points of her own in her first varsity action.

Montgomery Academy (0-1) will be back in action on Monday in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip-Off Classic at Montgomery Academy against Lee-Scott Academy (2-2).

BOYS BASKETBALL

Trinity 61, St. James 25

Cooper Bernier scored all nine of his points in the first half and Wilson Cherry scored all 12 of his in the second half as Trinity used a balanced attack to cruise to a 61-25 win over the Trojans at Captain Jack Court on Thursday night.

John Morris led the Wildcats with 18 points. Kamari Hutson added nine.

Bernier’s start, along with Morris, put the Trojans in a 17-7 hole at the end of the first quarter and 34-10 at the half.

Donald Evans led St. James (2-1) with 15 points, followed by Chase Perry with six.

Alabama Christian 60, Loachpoka 55 (OT)

Christian Snipes hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and the Eagles went on an 8-3 run to help Trace Hill to his first victory as ACA’s basketball coach on Thursday in the ACA gym.

Loachapoka (1-1) took a 17-12 lead in the first quarter and 27-22 at the half before the Eagles started chipping away in the second half.

Jayden Jones led the Eagles (1-0) with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, followed by Connor Mark with 12 points, five rebounds and four steals. Sam Davidson added nine points and three rebounds and Snipes had nine points and five rebounds.

Montgomery Academy 74, Providence Christian 47

DOTHAN -- Montgomery Academy used a big first half, scoring 25 points in the first quarter and 22 in the second quarter for a 47-27 halftime lead in the 2024-25 season opener for the Eagles.

MA had 10 players score in the game with three of those in double digits.

Cade Segars led Montgomery Academy with 14 points, going 4 of 7 from the 3-point line, Segars also added four rebounds and two steals. Skyler Stovall scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, had seven steals and five assists while Brewer Welch added 12 points on 4 of 6 from the 3-point line along with four steals and three assists.

DJ Vinson added eight points, eight rebounds and two steals while Braden Gordon chipped in seven points, grabbed six rebounds, had three steals and three assists. Will Renfroe also had five points, four rebounds and two steals. Mason Ellis had five points and five assists.

Montgomery Academy (1-0) returns to action at Indian Springs on Friday.