TUESDAY HOOPS: Catholic continues turnaround with win over MA: PCA girls hold off Trinity
TJ Dudley wrestles through the defense of Jamal Cooper in Catholic’s win over Montgomery Academy on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
There was a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Area 6 matchup between Montgomery Academy and Catholic when Catholic coach Mike Curry pulled all of his starters off the floor
Curry had watched the Eagles rally with three consecutive baskets to take a four-point lead with 3:33 remaining. He responded by benching all of his starters.
“They weren’t playing with the right type of energy and effort,” Curry said. “They were just kind of going through the motions. They’d make two or three plays, then just relax. It was like we were at the playground and that ain’t going to work. We’ve got to defend for the total amount of time. I just had to rattle their cage a little.”
It took a few minutes, but the plan worked. Catholic rallied from an eight-point deficit by holding Montgomery Academy to just one field goal over the final three minutes of the game to grab a 55-50 win at Joe Mooty Court and remain unbeaten in area play.
“They’ve got pride,” Curry said. “You rattle their cage a little bit and they’ll respond. We’re still growing, we’re just 13 games in. I’ve got to be a little more patient with them. But I’ve got to give credit to MA because they came out and played a heck of a game.
Catholic (6-7) entered area play having lost six of its previous seven games, but defeated Prattville Christian on Friday and Montgomery Academy on Tuesday to take the lead in the Area 6 race at 2-0.
“Regardless of how sloppy the win was, the key word is ‘win’ and I’m never going to knock a win,” Curry said. “We’ve got to get better.”
Montgomery Academy (5-7) and Trinity, which defeated Prattville Christian on Tuesday, are in second place at 1-1 in the area, followed by PCA (0-2).
“This one loss doesn’t end what we’re trying to do,” Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant said. “We could easily, when we play (at Catholic) in a week, be on the other end of it.”
The Knights followed the same script they used in Friday’s game as LJ Green scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 4:27 left to tie the game at 43-43 (capping an 8-0 run), a pair of free throws to extend a three-point lead to five points with 23 seconds left and a steal and assist on the game’s final basket.
“Other people had opportunities and didn’t (step up),” Curry said. “If we’re going to be in those positions where it’s a one- or two-possession ballgame, there’s going to be some times where somebody else is going to have to step up and make a play. Just about all of them had an opportunity. I still think it all starts with LJ as far as his floor leadership and decision making.”
After Green’s 3-pointer tied the game, it was still tied three minutes later when Brennan Binns hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Knights the lead for good.
After Binns’ shot with 64 seconds remaining, the Eagles had a turnover, a missed 3-point attempt and a pair of missed free throws before Jonathon Rhoden hit a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to put the Knights in control.
“That’s something we talked about during the timeout, how the toughest team was going to win the game,” Arant said. “We had some costly turnovers down the stretch in the fourth quarter and had some breakdowns defensively that left some guys open. That hurt us, too. We were just not locked in the way we needed to be and got out of where we should be defensively, trying to make a play somewhere else. We just weren’t tough enough with the ball down the stretch to close the game out.”
Another factor that hurt the Eagles down the stretch was the loss of DJ Vinson, who was a valuable contributor on both ends of the floor before he was tripped and hit the floor, opening a gash on his chin that ended his night.
“That was a big deal,” Arant said. “He was playing one of his better games of the season. He had eight points and about eight rebounds in the middle of the third quarter. Losing him tonight was a big deal.”
Jamal Cooper led Montgomery Academy with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, followed by Nigel Walker with nine points and 11 rebounds. Jashawn Cooper had eight rebounds along with six points.
TJ Dudley led Catholic with 16 points, followed by Green with 11 and Rhoden with eight.
Montgomery Academy travels to Prattville Christian on Friday, while Catholic travels to Trinity on Friday. The girls’ game between Catholic and Montgomery Academy was rescheduled for Jan. 27 because of COVID issues with the Knights that could affect their game on Friday at Trinity as well.
BOYS
St. James 48, Bullock County 43
The Trojans played their first game in three weeks on Tuesday and used a strong fourth-quarter performance to win their 4A Area 5 opener against the Hornets.
St. James (7-2) has been idle since losing in the finals of the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament on Dec. 21, postponing a Jan. 3 game with Trinity because of illness and canceling Saturday’s game with Brew Tech.
The first half was an extremely defensive game with the Hornets holding a slim 18-17 lead. In fact, the Trojans only scored three baskets in the first half, all two pointers, but made 11 out of 14 first-half free throw attempts while Bullock County only attempted two in the first half.
The score was tied at 29 at the end of the third quarter and then Saint James' aggressive play got them to the foul line early and often as Hornet starters began fouling out. Bradley Thomas led the way with 17 points, but the free-throw differential decided the game as St. James was 18 of 25 from the line while Bullock County was only 6 of 11.
K.J. Graves led the Hornets with 14 points, including four 3 pointers, followed by Dakari Anthony with 13.
The Trojans travel to Tuskegee for an area game at Booker T. Washington on Thursday before returning home on Friday to play ACA.
Trinity 71, Prattville Christian 66
PRATTVILLE -- Conner Williams led the Panthers with 22 points and 11 rebounds but the Wildcats pulled out the 3A Area 6 victory in the final minute to win in the PCA gym on Tuesday night.
Carson Roberson added 17 points and seven rebounds for PCA (7-14), which dropped to 0-2 in area play heading into Friday’s area matchup with Montgomery Academy at home.
Cade Segars scored 14 points, followed by Camron Coleman with six points and six rebounds, Coleman Hunter with five points and Brady Hughes with five assists and four rebounds. Brady Roberson grabbed four rebounds and took two charges.
In the junior varsity game, Collier Connell led the Panthers with 15 points and eight rebounds in a 64-31 loss to Trinity. Cooper Osborne added eight points and four steals. Anderson Burkhart and Brodie Whirley each scored three points for PCA (2-8).
Autauga Academy 79, Hooper Academy 55
HOPE HULL -- Rob Rose scored 22 points to lead unbeaten Autauga Academy to a 79-55 win over the Colts in a Class AA Region 1 Area 2 game in Darrell Self Memorial Gym on Tuesday night.
AJ Perry added 16 points for the Generals (10-0), followed by Josh Palmer with 11, Pharrell Banks with eight, Ashton Cannon with seven and Deuhn Carroll and Dezmen Dickerson with six points each.
Highland Home 69, Alabama Christian Academy 36
J.J. Faulk had 23 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals to lead the Squadron to an easy win over the Eagles in the ACA gym on Tuesday night.
LeTreagan Cooper added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Keldric Faulk had five points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win.
Deandre Sneed led the Eagles with 10 points.
Highland Home (16-2) travels to county rival Luverne on Friday night.
GIRLS
Prattville Christian 51, Trinity 48
PRATTVILLE -- The Panthers had their biggest scare of the season on Tuesday as Trinity battled to the wire before falling to PCA 51-48 in a 3A Area 6 battle in the PCA gym.
CoCo Thomas led the Panthers with 13 points and 22 rebounds, followed by Ella Jane Connell with 11 points and four rebounds and Avery Rogers and Kayden Carr with 10 points each.
Hannah Jones added eight points and 15 rebounds.
For the Wildcats, Maddie Smith had 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, followed by Emma Kate Smith with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Mya Moskowitz with 10 points, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. Kaylee Peevy added eight points.
PCA (23-0) improved to 2-0 in 3A Area 6 play and will remain home to play Montgomery Academy in an area game on Friday. Trinity (17-3) dropped to 1-1 in area play and is scheduled to play a home game with Catholic on Friday. The Knights postponed their area game on Tuesday because of COVID issues.
St. James 62, Bullock County 12
For the first four minutes, the 4A Area 5 matchup between St. James and Bullock County was close. The Lady Hornets actually led 2-0 and scored a basket with three minutes left in the opening quarter to cut the Lady Trojan lead to 9-7.
Bullock County would not score again until under four minutes remaining in the third quarter, while Saint James racked up an amazing 42 consecutive points to build a 51-7 lead. Zykethia Rodgers hit a 3 pointer for the first points in almost 15 minutes of game time, and Jakaria Davis made a lay-in at the third quarter buzzer.
St. James would hold Bullock County scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Ava Card led the Trojans with 25 points and K.K. Hall added 18. The girls are now 11 - 5.
St. James (11-5, 1-0 in area play) travels to Tuskegee on Thursday to play an area game at Booker T. Washington.
Highland Home 46, Alabama Christian Academy 41
Ayden Reece had 18 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Squadron to a 46-41 win over Alabama Christian Academy in the ACA gym on Tuesday night.
Makira Toles had 11 rebounds, along with five points, while Emma Foster had 12 rebounds, along with four points.
Rachel Rine led Alabama Christian with 22 points.
Highland Home (10-9) plays at Luverne on Friday night.
Edgewood Academy 40, Lowndes Academy 29
ELMORE -- Lindsey Brown scored 10 of her 22 points in the second quarter as the Wildcats rallied from a nine-point deficit to defeat the Rebels 40-29 in the Edgewood gym on Tuesday night.
Edgewood trailed 9-0 at the end of the first quarter before scoring 21 points in the second quarter to take a 21-16 lead into the locker room.
Haley Briggs led Lowndes Academy with 18 points.
Edgewood will play host to Hooper in a Class AA Region 1 Area 2 game on Thursday.
Hooper Academy 66, Autauga Academy 26
HOPE HULL -- Kaylee Midkiff scored 22 points to lead the Colts to a 40-point win over the Generals in the AA Region 1 Area 2 opener for Hooper on Tuesday night.
Grace Seale had 11 points and Victoria Hagemann added 10 for the Colts, while senior Sydney Dicks and freshman point guard Ashbee Norman both had good floor games for the Colts.
“I was pleased with the way we came out and started the game,” said Hooper coach Buzz Phillips. “We have struggled lately in this area.”
The Colts (9-7, 1-0 in area play) travel to Elmore to play Edgewood in an area game on Thursday.
“Edgewood has a great team with several outstanding players,” Phillips said. “We will have to come out and play four quarters of basketball.”
The two teams have already met once, with Edgewood winning in the Pepsi Classic championship game at Macon East on Dec. 11.
Pike Road 64, BTW Magnet 16
PIKE ROAD -- Jazz Johnson led a balanced attack with 16 points as the Patriots won their fourth consecutive game with a rout of BTW Magnet in the Pike Road gym on Tuesday.
Kelsey Williams added 11 points, followed by K.J. Fencher and Erica Burton with 10 points each and Gracie Branham with eight points to go with 14 rebounds.
Pike Road (13-6) returns to 5A Area 5 play with a pair of crucial home games against Brew Tech on Thursday and Tallassee on Friday.
Edgewood Academy 59, Cornerstone Christian 25
COLUMBIANA -- Jaylyn Strength scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats to a 59-25 rout of Cornerstone Christian in an area game on Monday night.
Madison Martin added 13 points, followed by Lexie Smith with 10 to lead Edgewood to a 2-0 record in AA Region 1 Area 2 play.