AISA CLASS A SEMIS: Banks outlasts Lowndes Academy to advance to title game
Lowndes Academy’s Clayton Hussey drives through three Banks Academy defenders in the Class A boys semifinals at the Multiplex on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The frenetic pace was starting to take a toll on Lowndes Academy. And there was still another quarter to play.
The Rebels fell behind briefly in the early moments of the fourth quarter before surging back into the lead, but an exhausted Lowndes team couldn’t respond late as Banks Academy scored seven of the game’s final eight points in the last 1:47 to defeat the Rebels 55-52 in the AISA Class A semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
The Jets (14-6), now in their fourth year as an AISA program, will advance to their first finals against Escambia on Friday at 11 a.m. Lowndes ends the season at 15-5.
“The program has been building up every year where we’ve been getting better and better,” Banks Academy coach Cameron Davenport said. “The (four) seniors have been with me for three years so they know what I expect, they know what I don’t expect. It’s about building a culture around here that we think is a winning culture.”
The most exciting game in the AISA semifinals was an exciting back-and-fourth battle that saw Lowndes extend its lead to 30-21 at the half before the Jets’ aptly-named pace started to wear on the Rebels.
“We were tired,” Lowndes Academy coach Barry Mohun said. “I think we played seven players, but that’s just part of it. I’ve got to give them credit. They did a good job doing what they had to do to be successful, but I’m real proud of our guys. I thought they left it out there.”
No one contributed more on either side than Lowndes senior Clayton Hussey, who was battling an illness and still recovering from a recent injury to his right ankle, but managed 23 points, eight rebounds, five steals, three assists and three blocked shots despite constant waves of Banks Academy players aimed at stopping him.
“He’s a dog,” Davenport said. “He plays hard. Everything goes through him. We were trying to double him and he was still getting to the basket. He’s a good player.”
Whether he knew it at the time or not, Davenport correctly handled the situation by gradually wearing down the Rebels before assigning junior Isaac Smith to guard Hussey in the second half, taking advantage of a worn-out Hussey in the final minutes of the fourth quarter by holding him to just one field goal in the final period.
“I didn’t want to get (Smith) in foul trouble, so I didn’t put him on him earlier,” Davenport said. “But I knew he could compete with him. He can compete with anybody in this league. Later on, I just put him on him to see what he could do.”
The Jets also got a huge boost from point guard Jaylin Johnson, playing in his first game back from a knee injury and contributing six points, all in the second half.
Smith banked in a 3-pointer with 1:47 left to tie the game, then gave the Jets the lead with a steal and basket seconds later. He finished with 17 points, followed by Tavarus Robinson with 12 points, Brodrick Lane with nine and Jekari Harris with nine.
Zack Azar followed Hussey in scoring with nine points and 11 rebounds. Watters Box had nine points, two rebounds and two steals, Andrew Myers had seven points and five rebounds and Pierson Hill had four points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
“It was a big challenge,” Mohun said. “They really focused on Clayton a lot. We had to have some other people step up, both ball handling and scoring wise, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that but we still left too much out there with (missed) free throws and layups that ended up hurting us at the end.”
Mohun saved his highest praise for Hussey, who somehow managed to stay on the court despite tweaking his ankle in the third quarter and drawing so much attention from the Jets.
“He’s been a little under the weather, but he’s a big-time competitor and he wasn’t going to let that keep him out of the game,” Mohun said. “I’m just really, really proud of him because he’s started to lay the foundation, all the years he’s been at Lowndes, in basketball and hopefully all the younger kids can look up to him and see what he’s done and maybe be an inspiration for them because he’s such a competitor and such a good kid, too.”
Escambia Academy 43, Trinity Christian 18
Escambia Academy held Trinity Christian to seven points in the first half on the way to a 42-18 win over the Eagles in the AISA Class A semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Escambia Academy (18-2) will play Banks Academy for the Class A state championship on Friday at 11 a.m.
The Cougars used a 12-point second quarter to pull away for a 15-5 halftime lead. Quinton Odom led Escambia with 23 points, followed by Ronta Watson with eight.
Nate Riddle led Trinity Christian with 11 points in the Eagles’ first-ever appearance in the AISA state tournament.