CHAPMAN BOYS FINAL: JAG holds off Montgomery Academy for tourney title

JAG guard Ladarius Givan shoots over MA ‘s Seth Edwards during the Larry Chapman championship at Joe Mooty Court on Wednesday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

If JAG and Montgomery Academy were looking for an early-season test, both found it in the championship game of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament at Montgomery Academy’s Joe Mooty Court on Wednesday afternoon.

After giving up 30 points in the first quarter, it was clear that the 3A Eagles were outmatched by the 7A Jaguars, but the Eagles staged a remarkable rally and eventually took a brief lead before falling late 70-65.

Both teams entered the game unbeaten and wanting to use Wednesday’s game as a gauge, but the Eales weren’t prepared for the opening moments of the game as an up-tempo JAG team got a pair of 3-pointers from 6-foot-9 sophomore Ladarius Givan and raced to the basket for short jumpers and layups for a 30-17 lead.

“I was most proud of the way our guys competed,” Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant said. “(JAG) came out pretty hot. They scored 30 points in the first quarter. We held our own offensively, but we were struggling on defense early in the game. We made a switch from our matchup zone and just played them man-to-man. I challenged some of our guys. Seth Edwards, for us, guarded one of the best players in the city (Givan) for three quarters and only gave up six or eight points. And he also played well offensively for us.”

The Jaguars, who had torched the MA defense for 12 field goals in the first eight minutes, managed only three in the second quarter as the Eagles used a pair of 3-pointers from Brewer Welch and another from Edwards to trail by only five points at halftime.

Montgomery Academy continued the push with a strong third-quarter performance from Skyler Stovall, taking a brief 50-49 lead on three Edwards’ free throws with 48 seconds left. But the Jaguars scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and were able to maintain that margin for the rest of the game. 

JAG improved to 8-0 with the win. 

“I just wanted to see where our basketball team was,” J.A.G. coach Charvez Davis said. “Over the past two weeks, we’ve been playing a lot, so they really haven’t had an off day. We’ve been battle tested, but I just wanted to see how the guys would respond to this tournament.

“I wanted to see us fight and see how we would respond when adversity hits. In a tournament, as a coach, you don’t want to have close games like this, but you want to see what your team is made of and I think we responded to that very well.”

Tournament most valuable player Ethan Friendly led the Jaguars with 24 points, followed by Zaequan Summerlin with 13 and Givan and Jenarrow Williams with 10 points each.

Stovall led all scorers with 27 points, including 21 in the second half despite the Jaguars’ defensive attempts to contain him. He had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals as well. Welch ran into foul trouble late in the third quarter that limited his second-half performance to five points and one 3-pointer, but he finished with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“Brewer picked up his third foul, playing really good defense, and it was just a call that went against us,” Arant said. “We put Camp (Fiore) in there and he played really well for us. He was physical and rebounded the ball for us and played his role.”

Seth Edwards added 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while DJ Vinson was held to six points but had 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.  

Montgomery Academy (4-1) will return to action Monday night in the IBALL with TDB Showcase game vs. Indian Springs.

Pike Road 54, Brewbaker Tech 50

Pike Road stormed out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, then had to hold off Brew Tech in the final seconds to secure a 54-50 win over the Rams for third place in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament at Montgomery Academy on Wednesday.

The Patriots took a 20-4 lead into the second quarter, then weathered a Brew Tech rally that cut the deficit to 27-19 at the half. By the end of the third quarter, it was just four points (40-36), but the Patriots continued to play just well enough to stay ahead of the Rams.

Jaden Davis led the Patriots with 14 points, followed by Malik Humphrey with nine and Byron Caffey and Dallas Henderson with eight points each.

Lanett 61, Prattville Christian 55

Cade Segars scored 23 points but the PCA Panthers couldn’t overtake Lanett in the game for fifth place in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament at Montgomery Academy on Wednesday. Brady Roberson added 16 points and seven rebounds for Prattville Christian, followed by Collier Connell with nine points. PJ Evans had 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Lathan Rybarczyk scored four points and Justin Chapman grabbed six rebounds. 

PCA (2-3) returns home to play host to Montgomery Academy on Tuesday.

COACH LARRY CHAPMAN FOUNDATION TIP OFF TOURNAMENT

at Montgomery Academy 

BOYS

Monday’s results

JAG 62, Alabama Christian 33

Brew Tech 77, Notasulga 31

Pike Road 57, Prattville Christian 41

Montgomery Academy 74, Lanett 46

Tuesday’s results

Montgomery Academy 64, Brew Tech 53

Lanett 50, Notasulga 36

JAG 52, Pike Road 39

Prattville Christian 00, Alabama Christian 00

Wednesday’s results

Seventh place, Alabama Christian 60, Notasulga 39

Fifth place, Lanett 61, Prattville Christian 55

Third place, Pike Road 54, Brew Tech 50

Championship, JAG 70, Montgomery Academy 65 

All tournament: Cade Segars, Prattville Christian; Nakia Bynum, Lanett; Jaden Davis, Pike Road; Kevin Honer, Brewbaker Tech; Brewer Welch, Montgomery Academy; DJ Vinson, Montgomery Academy; Skyler Stovall, Montgomery Academy; Darrell Stewart, JAG; Ladarius Givan, JAG. MVP -- Ethan Friendly, JAG

Coach Larry Chapman Character Award: Mac Moorer, Alabama Christian. 

JUNIOR VARSITY

Monday’s results

JAG 40, Pike Road 32 

Montgomery Academy 67, Brew Tech 46

Tuesday’s results

Consolation, Pike Road 45, Brew Tech 44

Championship, Montgomery Academy 50, JAG 42

All tournament: Dwellyn Jackson, Brew Tech; Kaleb Wilson, Pike Road; Jamon Adair, JAG; Will Renfroe, Montgomery Academy. MVP -- Braden Gordon, Montgomery Academy.