PREP HOOPS: PCA topples St. James; Pike Road girls rip Lanier; Edgewood boys top Lakeside

Hannah Jones grabs rebound over Ava Card in PCA’s win over St. James on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

When is your best inside shooter also your best outside shooter?

With Prattville Christian Academy’s offensive attack stymied by St. James, PCA senior forward Hannah Jones turned into a deadly outside threat, nailing four 3-pointers to help the Panthers win their eighth consecutive game with a 88-88 win over the Trojans on Tuesday in the St. James gym.

“Hannah’s just a really good basketball player,” PCA coach Jason Roberson said. “So what you want to do, depending on how the defense is playing you, we want a really good basketball player to take some shots, whether it’s inside around the rim or if they’re going to give her an open 3, she’s a good-enough player where she’ll will the ball in. She knows what it takes to win.

Jones did more damage from the perimeter than any other Panther, but was able to focus on defending the paint a little more in the fourth quarter as Avery Rogers, Kayden Carr and Ally Blankinchip all launched 3-pointers to help the Panthers grab the lead.

“I knew Hannah could shoot from the outside, I just didn’t expect her to hit four 3s,” St. James coach Katie Barton said. “They hit nine 3s in the second half. We’re undersized compared to them. I was really proud of what we did, overall, defensively, but when a momentum shift happens, I think we’re still learning how to counter that -- how to keep scoring, stick to the plan, do what we do.”

For three quarters, the Trojans were up to the task. The jumped out to a 7-0 lead, weathered a PCA rally that trimmed the deficit to a point, then went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 20-11. When Kayden Carr sank a pair of free throws to cut the Trojan lead to seven points, Ava Card took a pass and drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer to put St. James up 23-13.

The Trojans continued to build on the lead, using seven points from Card in the second quarter to take command of the game before a late PCA rally cut into the St. James lead, 36-24, at the half.

“I think a little of it was (lack of) intensity or (lack of) focus,” Roberson said. “We just had a game last night so we didn’t have a practice day for St. James and it takes a while to get used to that 1-3-1 (defensive alignment), especially with Ava up top. It took us a lot longer than I wanted it to take us, but once we got used to it we were able to get some decent looks and backside rebounds.”

The Panthers continued to chip away and trailed by only nine points entering the fourth quarter, but there was no hint at what was to come. Two minutes into the quarter, Avery Rogers hit a 3-pointer, CoCo Thomas hit a layup following a turnover, Ally Blankinchip hit a 3-pointer from the corner and, following another Trojan turnover, nailed another shot from the same spot to give PCA its first lead at 52-49 with 3:46 left 

Carr followed with a 3-pointer of her own a minute later and the Trojans never recovered.  

“Avery and Kayden have been great players for us,” Roberson said. “I told them the shots are going to be there, you just have to be willing to take them and take them with confidence. They started making a few shots and I can’t be more proud of my guard, Ally Blankinchip. She can shoot, but she’s been struggling in games. She finally said I’m going to believe I’m going to make a few and she hit some huge shots for us. She was really the spark for us down the stretch.

“I just told them they have the heart of a champion. I would say 95 percent or more teams, there’s no way they come back and win that game, no matter how good a team they are.”

Jones finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six steals, followed by Carr with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Thomas with 10 points and nine rebounds, Blankinchip with nine points, Rogers with five points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Jenna McClendon with four rebounds.

PCA (8-1) returns home to host Brew Tech on Friday.

Card led St. James (5-3) with 17 points, followed by KK Hall with 12 and Natalie Barton with 10.

“I thought we battled them rebound for rebound,” Katie Barton said. “We kind of went on a drought and didn’t find our scorers. I felt pretty good about the first three quarters of play. I felt like we won those and lost the fourth. I just have to continue to grow as a coach and help my team grow to where we can play a solid four quarters.”

GIRLS

Pike Road 45, Sidney Lanier 15

PIKE ROAD -- Jazz Johnson returned to the lineup after missing the past five games with a sprained ankle, scoring 17 points to lead the Patriots to a 30-point win over the Poets on Tuesday night.

KJ Fencher added 13 points for Pike Road (4-4), which travels to St. James on Friday and Greenville on Saturday.

Lakeside School 56, Macon East Academy 25

EUFAULA -- The Lady Chiefs stormed out to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 31-point win over Macon East Academy on Tuesday night in the Lakeside gym.

Chloe Helms led Lakeside with 14 points. Eliza Eriksen had nine points, Sophie Seaborn had seven points and Addy Helms had six points.

Prattville Christian 69, Montgomery Academy 15

PRATTVILLE -- Hannah Jones scored 19 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had six steals to lead the Panthers to an easy 69-15 win over Montgomery Academy on Monday in the PCA gym.

CoCo Thomas added 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals, Avery Rogers had 14 points and four assists, Kayden Carr and Jenna McClendon each scored six points. LB NeSmith scored five points and Ally Blankinchip had three points to help PCA win its seventh consecutive game.

PCA (7-1) will travel to St. James on Tuesday night, while Montgomery Academy (0-4) will play host to Marbury on Tuesday night.

Trinity 52, Brew Tech 25

Emma Kate Smith had 15 points, six rebounds and five steals as the Wildcats remained unbeaten with a 52-25 win over the Rams at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Monday.

Maddie Smith added 13 points, seven steals and five rebounds, Mya Moskowitz had 10 points and four rebounds and Francie Morris scored 10 points for Trinity (8-0), which travels to Beauregard on Thursday.

Edgewood Academy 51, Lakeside School 44

ELMORE -- Lindsey Brown and Jaylyn Strength combined for 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats rallied from a four-point deficit to defeat the Chiefs 51-44 in the Edgewood gym on Monday.

Brown finished with 14 points and Strength added 13, including seven in the final period, as the two teams were tied 20-20 at the half before Lakeside surged ahead to a 36-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Madison Martin added 10 points for Edgewood (5-0), which travels to Lowndes on Tuesday.

Chloe Helms led Lakeside with 14 points.

 BOYS

Edgewood Academy 57, Lakeside School 27

ELMORE -- The Wildcats roared out to a 21-2 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 30-point win over the Chiefs on Monday night in the Edgewood gym.

Prescott Bonner hit three 3-pointers in the third period to extend the lead to 53-21 and finished with a game-high 14 points. Austin Champion and Thomas Justiss each added 10 points as 13 different Wildcats scored.

Montgomery Academy 58, Prattville Christian 54 (OT)

PRATTVILLE -- Brewer Welch, Cole Caddell and DJ Vinson each had 3-pointers in overtime as Montgomery Academy defeated Prattville Christian 58-54 in overtime on Tuesday night in the PCA gym.

The Panthers got a 3-pointer from Cade Segars with five seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 48-48 and force overtime after Montgomery Academy missed a shot at the buzzer.

Vinson led the Eagles with a double double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Welch chipped in 13 points and four assists. JaShawn Cooper added nine points and nine rebounds, while Caddell scored all eight of his points in the second half and overtime.

Skyler Stovall and Seth Edwards each chipped in six points while Edwards added seven rebounds. MA (3-1) played Marbury on Tuesday.

Segars led the Panthers with 15 points, followed by Brady Roberson with 14 points and six rebounds and PJ Evans with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Conner Williams added five points and 13 rebounds, Collier Connell had five points and Carson Roberson had three points and four rebounds.

PCA (3-4) will play host to Brew Tech on Friday.

LAMP 63, Westminster Christian 39

Ezekial Griffin scored 18 points to lead the Golden Tigers to their first win of the season in a 63-39 rout of Westminster-Oak Mountain in the LAMP gym on Tuesday night.

Senior Jezreel Fishoe added 14 points for LAMP (1-3), which travels to Reeltown on Thursday before returning home to celebrate homecoming against Beulah on Friday.

Montgomery Academy 60, Marbury 50

Montgomery Academy used a strong performance in the second quarter to grab the lead, then held off the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter to grab a 60-50 win at Joe Mooty Court on Tuesday night.

Marbury jumped out to a quick lead over the Eagles, connecting on four 3-pointers for 20 first-quarter points before Montgomery Academy responded with a 20-9 run in the second quarter to take a 39-35 halftime lead. The Eagles were able to maintain the four-point lead through the third quarter, then outscored the Bulldogs 11-7 in the final eight minutes to seal the win.

DJ Vinson had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Eagles, followed by Skyler Stovall with 14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists. Cole Caddell added 13 points, including 10 in the second half, and three steals. Brewer Welch scored eight points and had five assists, Seth Edwards had six points and six rebounds and JaShawn Cooper had four points and seven rebounds.

MA (4-1) remains home to play Chilton County on Thursday before traveling to Marbury on Monday.