TUESDAY PREPS: LAMP girls earn tough road win at MA; Autuagaville boys top Catholic

LAMP’s Adelai Luckie has the ball stolen by MA’s Caroline Waller in the game Tuesday at Montgomery Academy. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

There was nothing fancy nor revealing about LAMP’s win over Montgomery Academy on Tuesday night.

The Eagles flirted with pulling off their first victory of the season before the Golden Tigers scored eight consecutive points to escape with a 26-16 win.

“I thought getting into our press would have us play with more energy, but it didn’t,” LAMP coach Michael Thornton said. “It just made us more tired. It was just a sloppy game. We had trouble putting the ball in the basket and so did they. At the end of the day, you’re grateful for the win.”

The Golden Tigers jumped out to an 11-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and Grayson Dickert followed with a 3-pointer early in the second period, but then LAMP hit a wall when it came to scoring. Dickert’s 3-pointer and Arin Sturdivant’s basket early in the third were the only points scored by the Tigers for a 15-minute span over three quarters as Montgomery Academy trimmed the deficit to 16-14.

“There have been times this season where we’ve done that, allowed our opponent to dictate how we play,” Thornton said, “and there have been times when we’ve played our game. Obviously, we’d prefer to play the kind of basketball we want to play. But MA has an incredible program and we’re grateful to get out of here with a ‘W.’”

Ariana Cannida drove the lane for a basket, added a free throw and added two more free throws in the early moments of the fourth quarter to put the Golden Tigers back in control as they won their third consecutive game.

Cannida led LAMP with 11 points, while Serenity Griffin had six rebounds and five steals along with three points. The 3-pointer was Dickert’s only point but she also pulled down five rebounds while forward Kaylei Mixon had six points and four rebounds.

LAMP (7-4) will play host to Alabama Christian on Friday before traveling to St. James on Saturday.

Sophia Cho led Montgomery Academy with eight points. Montgomery Academy (0-8) will travel to Catholic on Friday before participating in the Jack Schweers Capital City Classic at Trinity on Dec. 17, opening play against Pike Road.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Catholic 65, Autaugaville 29

AUTAUGAVILLE -- Heaven Bailey scored 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds, dished out five assists and came up with 11 steals on defense to lead the Knights to a 65-29 win over the Eagles in the Autaugaville gym on Tuesday night.

Hannah Smith added 16 points, 12 rebounds and two assists, Andy Aiken had 11 points and two assists and Kathryn Reardon added six points and five rebounds for the Knights, which jumped out to a quick 23-6 lead in the first quarter and led 45-13 at the half.  

Catholic (9-4) returns home to play host to Montgomery Academy on Friday.

Prattville Christian 58, Pelham 53

PELHAM -- Hannah Jones had 15 points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead the Panthers to a hard-fought win over 6A Pelham on Tuesday in the Pelham gym.

CoCo Thomas added 14 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and five steals in the win for PCA, while Avery Rogers had 14 points and five rebounds and Ally Blankinchip added nine points and three steals. Jenna McClendon added three points and four rebounds, while Kayden Carr had three points and four assists.

PCA (9-1) will play Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the Autauga County Tournament at PCA.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Autaugaville 48, Catholic 45

AUTAUGAVILLE -- Josh Palmer had 11 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots as the Knights lost a hard-fought battle with the Eagles 48-45 in the Autaugaville gym on Tuesday.

Jayden Phifer added nine points, five rebounds and two steals for Catholic (1-3), while Brennan Binns had eight points and LJ Green had eight points and four steals.

Catholic returns home to play Montgomery Academy on Friday.

Pelham 70, Prattville Christian 51

PELHAM -- Brady Roberson scored 16 points and had four rebounds as the Panthers lost to 6A Pelham 70-51 in the Pelham gym on Tuesday night.

Carson Roberson added 16 points for PCA, followed by PJ Evans with eight points and six rebounds and Cade Segars with six points, eight rebounds and four assists. Cooper Osborne grabbed six rebounds and Collier Connell scored three points.

PCA (3-5) will play Friday at 8 p.m. in the semifinals of the Autauga County Tournament at PCA.

WRESTLING

PCA wrestlers defeat Houston Academy, Brew Tech in quad meet

PRATTVILLE -- The Panthers hosted a quad meet on Tuesday night, losing to Shelby County High 42-40 before rebounding with wins over Houston Academy (48-31) and Brew Tech (66-12).  Undefeated wrestlers for the night were Logan Post, Matthew Post, Brody Pugh, David Tubbs-Hill and Eric Sumeral. Several wrestlers picked up big wins for the Panthers with Ryan Lueck, Tristian Daniels coming through in big spots.  

The Panthers travel to St. James on Thursday to compete in a tri-match with St. James and Stanhope Elmore beginning at 5 p.m.