WEEKEND PREPS: McPhillips wrestling tourney set; ACA boys, girls sweep Thorsby
COMBINED REPORTS
The 23rd annual Julian McPhillips Invitational tournament will feature 18 wrestling programs from across the state competing for a tournament championship at St. James on Saturday.
In addition to the host Trojans, other area teams participating include G.W. Carver, Elmore County, Holtville, Catholic, Park Crossing, Percy Julian, Prattville Christian Academy, Reeltown and Tallassee.
The tournament provides a great opportunity for the local teams to compete together during the regular season while honoring the man who provided the financial backing for most of the wrestling programs in the area.
“He’s given a lot to these underprivileged schools and allowed them to start these programs for schools, especially public schools who haven’t been able to have the funds to get a program going,” observed St. James wrestling coach Jeff Corley. “He’s also helped all of the private schools in the area as well. He is the backbone of Montgomery wrestling.”
Other teams competing in the tournament include American Christian Academy, Auburn, Childersburg, Dothan, Homewood, Houston Academy, Jasper and Northside Methodist. Each has an interesting story behind their decision to compete in the Julian McPhillips Invitational, but the best might belong to Jasper head coach Tripp Otis, a relative of McPhillips who will bring his team to the tournament for the first time.
The 2023 Class 5A state champion is one of the favorites, along with Homewood and Tallassee. St. James, which finished as the 1A-4A runner-up in the 2024 state duals tournament, doesn’t have the depth in every weight division to be considered a favorite, but the Trojans always perform well in the McPhillips Invitational, finishing third last year.
It’s one of the few regular-season opportunities for the area wrestling programs to perform locally.
“They’re coming from all over this year,” Corley said. “There’s not a lot ot local tournaments here, so it means a lot. In the tri-county area, we look forward to this tournament. It allows us to not have to travel a lot and to be able to see each other. It’s a time for all of us in the area to be able to see each other because a lot of us are in different classifications and we don’t get to see each other as often as we should.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Alabama Christian 57, Thorsby 42
Christian Snipes scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half as the Eagles jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 57-42 area win over Thorsby in the ACA gym on Friday night.
Mac Moorer led all scorers with 18 points.
Aiden Seeley led Thorsby with 13 points.
Alabama Christian (9-6) evened its 3A Area 5 record at 1-1 and will play its next area game on Tuesday at Montgomery Academy,
Beauregard 46, LAMP 42
Beauregard erased a three-point halftime deficit with 10 points from Kameron James and the Hornets went on to hold off the Golden Tigers down the stretch in Friday’s game in the LAMP gym.
James finished with 19 points, including 17 in the first half, followed by Aundray Vann with 17 points.
Ezekial Griffin helped the Golden Tigers cut into an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter by scoring 11 of his game-high 21 points. TJ English added 10 points for LAMP, followed by Benedict Akwuba with seven.
LAMP remains home with a Saturday game against Ellwood Christian at 3:30 p.m., then hits the road for a 4A Area 5 matchup with Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee on Tuesday.
Valient Cross 71, Evangel Christian 59
Tylon Shine scored 17 points for Evangel Christian in the Lions’ area loss to Valiant Cross on Thursday night.
Shine had two assists, five rebounds and two steals along with his 17 points. Jordan Duncan added 13 points, one assist and one steal while Mekhi Williams chipped in nine points, five rebounds, five rebounds, two steals and one block.
The Lions (12-2 overall, 0-1 in area play) will host Fort Dale on Tuesday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Catholic 51, Booker T. Washington 25
TUSKEGEE -- Catholic jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, then extended it with a hot-shooting second quarter that helped the Knights to a 35-6 halftime lead on the way to a 26-point win in the 4A Area 5 opener on Friday.
Hannah Smith had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to lead Catholic, while Heaven Bailey had a triple double with 12 points, 11 steals and 10 rebounds. Ajah Tuggle added eight points for the Knights.
Catholic (9-5, 1-0 in area play) will travel to Trinity on Tuesday for another area game.
Alabama Christian 58, Thorsby 23
Alabama Christian held Thorsby to one field goal in the first half on the way to a 35-point area win in the ACA gym on Friday night.
The Eagles led 20-3 at the end of the first quarter and 31-7 at the half.
Jaide Newkirk led a balanced attack with 14 points and seven rebounds, followed by Evelyn Tankersley with 12 points and four rebounds, Izzy Warrick with 11 points and three steals and Katelyn Sutton with 10 points and nine assists.
ACA (14-2) improved to 2-0 in 3A Area 5 play and will play its next area game on Tuesday at Montgomery Academy.
Montgomery Academy 30, Huntsville 29
HUNTSVILLE -- EG Hines hit a contested layup with 16 seconds remaining off a pass from Olivia Smith on her baseline drive to give the Eagles a 30-29 victory over Class 7A Huntsville in the Huntsville High gym on Friday night.
It was Montgomery Academy’s third consecutive victory and fourth in the last five games.
Hines accounted for eight points on the night to lead the Eagles in scoring and also had six rebounds, a steal, an assist and a blocked shot. Caroline Waller, Sophia Cho and Bailey Davis all had five points each. Waller added four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots, while Cho had five rebounds and two steals. Smith also had four points and seven rebounds on the night for the Eagles. Kaci Armistead added three points and two rebounds.
Montgomery Academy (6-10) returns home for a pair of 3A Area 5 games this week, playing host to Alabama Christian on Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by St. James on Friday.