PREP UPDATE: Trinity, MA advance to Area Tourney final; Catholic, Pike Road girls reach area final
TrinIty’s John Morris shoots over ACA’s Darrius Gardner in the Class 3A, Area 6 tourney on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
Two weeks ago, Trinity’s defense allowed a season-high 77 points in a blowout loss to Alabama Christian Academy.
On Monday, when the two rivals met again in the 3A Area 6 Tournament at Montgomery Academy, Trinity’s defense answered the challenge.
“As you go through the regular season, you’re trying to give your team the best chance to win, but you’re also learning your team and what they can and can’t do against certain opponents,” Trinity coach Matt Arrighi said. “There were things we learned about playing them last time on offense and defense. I thought our guys did an unbelievable job of executing the game plan tonight.”
The Wildcats never allowed ACA’s shooters to get in a rhythm, holding the Eagles in check on the way to a 57-41 victory that sent Trinity into the area tournament finals against Montgomery Academy.
Trinity (16-8) will face Montgomery Academy on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with both teams advancing to sub-regional play on Saturday. Alabama Christian ends its remarkable turnaround season at 18-8.
“I’m not a guy into moral victories,” ACA first-year coach Jake Mitchell said. “But what they’ve done this year can’t be understated. They’ve changed the way people look at ACA basketball.”
They certainly earned Trinity’s respect. With its playoff fate on the line, the Wildcats changed their defensive strategy to keep ACA from repeating its Jan. 23 performance.
“You can’t let their 3-point shooters beat you,” Arrighi said. “No. 2 (Tyree Saadiq) is a great player but we’re going to take him shooting over people instead of letting 3-point shooters get shots.”
“They didn’t sell out on their press as much as they have throughout the season, which honestly created some offense for us last time,” Mitchell observed. “We handled the initial pressure well and then it’s just a matter of making the right decisions and knocking down shots. Tonight, they did not send that second defender; they had another bigger, more athletic player guarding our point guard, which wore him down so he wasn’t as effective.”
Another obvious factor was the return of Trinity forward John Morris, who was sidelined last week with an injured right foot but was dominant in his first game back.
“John had a great game,” Arrighi said. “One of the biggest things about the game is we dominated the glass and we got so many second chances. I’m so proud of our guys for that because we haven’t done that all year.”
Morris finished with a double double, shaking off a slow start with 24 points. He made 1 of 4 field goals in the first quarter, then hit 8 of his final 12 shots, including 1 for 3 on 3-pointers.
“A couple times, he just went and got it and bullied us out of the way,” Mitchell said. “We did not do a good enough job. That’s been the story with MA -- they’re long and athletic and they physically impose their will. And that was the story tonight with John. John did a great job imposing his will, not only on the offensive end but rebounding as well.”
Cayson Keller added 11 points for Trinity.
Saadiq led ACA with 17 points, followed by Darrius Gardner with 13.
St. James guard Clint Houser, dribbles past Brewer Welch of Montgomery Academy in the semifinals of the Class 3A, Area 6 tourney on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
Montgomery Academy 69, St. James 40
It had been two weeks since St. James picked up its only win of the season with a victory over Montgomery Academy, but the stinging upset was still fresh in the minds of both teams’ players.
So it came as no surprise when the Trojans forged ahead 21-19 on a Tabor Offord 3-pointer with a little less than four minutes remaining in the first half or when the Trojans were still within four, 28-24, at the half.
“We challenged our guys at halftime,” Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant said. “We felt like, in the first half, there were a handful of possessions that we just fell asleep on or relaxed on that gave them an opportunity to capitalize on. We challenged DJ (Vinson) at halftime and he responded with great energy in the third quarter. He dominated the glass and had some big baskets.
“Then, obviously, Brewer (Welch) was huge in the third. I don’t know how many 3’s he made -- everybody sees that, but he was also still distributing the ball to other people and defending really well to go along with those 3’s.”
The Eagles emerged from the locker room with a 29-6 explosion in the third quarter, keyed by five 3-pointers from Welch, as Montgomery Academy advanced to the championship game of the 3A Area 6 Tournament with a 69-40 win over the Trojans at Joe Mooty Court on Monday.
Montgomery Academy (22-7) will face Trinity, a 57-41 winner over Alabama Christian, in the area tournament finals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. St. James ends the season at 1-14.
Welch had a 3-pointer in the first quarter, two more in the second and five in the third, finishing with 26 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals to take care of the Trojans.
Skyler Stovall added 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, going over the 1,000-point total in his career with his only second-half basket in the third quarter.
Seth Edwards had seven points along with nine rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot, while Vinson had seven points -- all in the second half -- along with 11 rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots. Jarrett Friendly had five points, nine rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.
Offord had nine of his team-high 13 points in the second quarter and Chase Perry had eight of his 13 points in the first half to keep the Trojans close before Montgomery Academy’s third-quarter explosion.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Catholic 60, Bullock County 32
Hannah Smith had 26 points, going 8 for 8 at the free-throw line, along with 15 rebounds and three assists to lead the Knights to an easy win over Bullock County in the 4A Area 4 tournament at PICE Arena on Monday night.
Catholic (13-12) will play Booker T. Washington, a 50-19 winner over LAMP, in the area tournament finals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both Catholic and B.T. Washington will advance to play in the sub-regional round on Friday night.
Catholic led 29-6 after the first quarter and 38-18 at the half, then outscored Bullock Couty 18-2 in the third quarter.
Heaven Bailey added 13 points, three rebounds, six steals and three assists for Catholic, followed by Kierstyn Green with nine points, five rebounds and two steals.
Zy Rogers led Bullock County with 14 points.
Pike Road 57, Russell County 19
PIKE ROAD -- Jazz Johnson had 11 points and nine rebounds to lead Pike Road to an easy win over Russell County in the opening round of the 6A Area 4 tournament in the Pike Road gym on Monday night.
The Patriots (23-5) will now travel to Park Crossing to face the Thunderbirds in the area tournament championship game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both teams will advance to the subregional round on Friday.
KJ Fencher, Audrey Blaine and Tomeria Blythe all chipped in with nine points each for the Patriots.
Before the game, Blaine, a transfer playing in her first season with Pike Road, was honored for scoring her 1,000th career point at St. James last week.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Prattville Christian 73, Dallas County 28
CAMDEN -- Cade Segars led the Panthers with 32 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 72-28 win over Dallas County in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 Tournament at Wilcox Central on Monday.
Prattville Christian (16-14) will face Wilcox Central, an 85-23 winner over BTW Magnet, in the area tournament championship game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both PCA and Wilcox Central will advance to subregional play on Saturday.
Collier Connell added 14 points and five rebounds for the Panthers, followed by Brady Roberson with 10 points, PJ Evans with nine points, six rebounds and five assists, Justin Chapman with four points and 10 rebounds and Ryan Kiefer with four points.
Evans’ five assists gave him 172 for the year, a new PCA single-season record. Evans set the record last year with 168. The junior also is the career assists leader for the PCA boys with 405 career assists.
Girls Tennis
Trinity girls place fourth in Trojan Tennis Classic
MUSCLE SHOALS -- The Trinity girls’ tennis team participated along with the Trinity boys in the Muscle Shoals High School’s 2024 Trojan Tennis Classic on Friday and Saturday, finishing fourth.
Nora Grayson was the tournament champion at No. 5 singles with wins over players representing Florence, Muscle Shoals, Homewood and Decatur.
Sally Warren was the tournament runner-up at No. 3 singles with wins over Homewood and Decatur before losing to Madison Academy in the championship match.
At No. 1 singles, Aniston Skipworth beat Austin before falling to Madison Academy in the semifinals. At No. 2 singles, Kingsley Johns beat Brooks before falling to Muscle Shoals in the semifinals. At No. 4 singles, Henlee Gunter beat James Clemens before falling to Homewood in the semifinals. At No. 6 singles, Emma McDaniel beat Madison Academy and Florence before falling to Homewood in the semifinals.
St. Paul’s Episcopal 5, Montgomery Academy 4
MOBILE -- Montgomery Academy dropped its first match of the season on Saturday, losing four of the six singles matches to St. Paul’s at the Country Club of Mobile.
At No. 1 singles, Gabby Barrera defeated Pearce Graf 6-2, 6-2, and at No. 5 singles, Mary Surhea White defeated Annie Boteler 6-0, 6-2.
The Eagles also picked up a pair of points in doubles competition. At No. 1 doubles, Barrera and Mae Mae Voltz defeated Graf and Grace Swain 6-1, 6-1. At No. 3 doubles, Marianna Lassner and Alyssa Kaplan beat Boteler and Amelia Rivers 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.
Montgomery Academy 5, UMS-Wright 4
MOBILE -- Montgomery Academy won its 2024 season opener on Friday, splitting the singles competition while winning two of the three doubles matches against UMS-Wright at the Mobile Tennis Center.
At No. 1 singles, Gabby Barrera defeated Sarah Ladd 6-1, 6-4, while at No. 2 singles Mae Mae Voltz defeated Carol Murray 6-1, 7-5. Barrera and Voltz teamed up to win No. 1 doubles, beating Ladd and Murray 10-2.
The Eagles also picked up a singles win at No. 3 as Lola Campbell defeated Kate Huddle 6-2, 6-1. In doubles, Campbell teamed up with Mary Surhea White to defeat Huddle and Rhea Mostellar 10-3.
BOYS TENNIS
Trinity 7, Robertsdale 0
Trinity swept the singles and doubles competition on Monday, winning all five singles matches and both doubles matches against Robertsdale.
In singles, Samuel Treadwell defeated Eli Lynn at No. 1; James Treadwell defeated Austin Lynn at No. 2; Trevor Wilson beat Anthony Gonzalez at No. 3; Grant Speagle beat Luke Janey at No. 4; and Charlie Franklin defeated Christian Zepeda at No. 5.
In doubles, the Treadwell brothers defeated Eli Lynn and Janey at No. 1 and Wilson and Speagle beat Austin Lynn and Zepeda at No. 2.
Trinity boys place second in Trojan Tennis Classic
MUSCLE SHOALS -- The Trinity boys’ and girls’ tennis teams participated in the Muscle Shoals High School’s 2024 Trojan Tennis Classic on Friday and Saturday, with the boys finishing second and the girls finishing fourth.
James Treadwell was the tournament champion at No. 2 singles, defeating competition from James Clemens, Florence and Muscle Shoals.
James and Samuel Treadwell were tournament champions at No. 1 doubles with wins over teams from Brooks, Florence and Homewood.
Samuel Treadwell was runner-up at No. 1 singles, beating players from Austin and Muscle Shoals before losing to Florence in the finals.
Charles Franklin and Sawyer Speagle were runner-up at No. 3 doubles beating Brooks and James Clemens before losing to Florence in the finals.
At No. 3 singles, Trevor Wilson had wins over Decatur and Brooks before falling to Muscle Shoals in the semifinals. At No. 5 singles, Charles Franklin beat Madison Academy before falling to Florence in the quarterfinals.