WEEKEND PREPS: Catholic sweeps Autaugaville; MA holds off Trinity
Catholic’s LJ Green dribbles to an opening against the Autaugaville defense. The Knights won, 71-62. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Catholic climbed out to an early lead over Autaugaville in the Catholic gym on Friday, but as long as the Eagles had Jaden Nixon, they were a threat to sweep the season series.
Catholic owned a 17-10 lead in the first quarter before the Eagles scored the next seven points to tie the game and a pair of LJ Green free throws sent the Knights into the locker room leading by six at the half. When Nixon hit a 3-pointer a minute into the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to four, Jayden Phifer countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to propel Catholic to a 71-62 win on Friday night.
“He saved the day,” Catholic coach Mike Curry said. “They were making their little run to get back in the game and he stretched it out for us. He shot the ball well.”
Catholic (7-4) won for the sixth time in the last seven games, avenging a 48-45 setback to the Eagles on Dec. 6 in Autaugaville.
“When we played them the first time, there wasn’t a lot of team chemistry,” said Catholic senior Josh Palmer, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of steals in Friday’s win. “As the year went on, our team chemistry has picked up. Now we’re sharing the ball and there’s no selfish basketball.”
Before the game, Catholic senior LJ Green was presented with a game ball for topping the 1,000-point mark in his career against Alabama Christian Academy on Dec. 12. Friday’s game with Autaugaville was the Knights’ first home game since Green’s achievement.
“LJ has run the show for the last four years,” Curry said. “When he’s locked in and he’s committed and has both feet in the circle, he’s as good as any point guard in the state of Alabama.”
Green had 16 points, 10 assists and three steals, while Phifer had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Brennan Burns added 10 points.
The Catholic performance offset another standout night for Nixon as the Autaugaville senior had 14 points in the first quarter, 12 in the fourth and finished with 34 points.
“I still felt like we were in control of the game,” Curry said. “If it would have gotten to a one or two-point game, I probably would’ve went to a box and one or whatever (specialized defense). He’s a good player, he’s going to score his points. We probably would have made some adjustments if it got a little tighter.”
Nashaun Palmer added 15 points, all in the second half.
Catholic travels to Tuskegee on Tuesday to play Booker T. Washington in the 4A Area 4 opener.
Catholic girls enjoy easy win
Catholic scored the first 26 points of the game to cruise to an easy 67-14 win over Autaugaville on Friday in the Catholic gym.
After the game, Catholic senior Allyse Rudolph was presented with a game ball after reaching the 1,000-point plateau in the Knights’ game with Montgomery Academy in the Jack Schweers Capital City Classic on Dec. 20.
Friday’s game was the first game at home for the Knights since Rudolph’s achievement.
Rudolph scored 10 points in Friday’s game, all in the first quarter. She has started for the Knights since transferring from Marbury two years ago.
“She’s been a great addition to our team,” Catholic coach Jill Clark said. “She gave us a lot of offensive power. She a good shooter from the outside, plays good defense and is tough. She just gave us a great all-around player.”
Autaugaville’s Zocarrie Phillips banked in a 3-pointer off the glass with 24 seconds remaining in the first quarter to put the Eagles on the scoreboard after Catholic had jumped out to a 26-0 lead. Taliyah Howard had a pair of baskets for the Eagles in the second quarter and finished with a team-high six points as the Knights took a 44-7 lead into the locker room at the half.
Hannah Smith, who had 13 points in the first quarter, added seven in a brief appearance in the third quarter to finish with a game-high 20. Heaven Bailey added 13 points for the Knights.
Catholic (14-6) travels to Tuskegee on Tuesday to play Booker T. Washington in the 4A Area 4 opener for both teams.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Montgomery Academy 72, Trinity 63
Skyler Stovall had 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead the Eagles to a 72-63 win over the Wildcats in the 3A Area 6 opener for both teams at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Friday.
Montgomery Academy got 19 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead at the half. MA was able to extend the lead to as much as 16 in the second half before holding off a big rally from Trinity in the fourth quarter. Brewer Welch connected on a crucial 3-pointer with a minute left to extend the MA lead to three possessions.
Cole Caddell followed Stovall in scoring with 17 points and four rebounds, followed by Seth Edwards with nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. DJ Vinson added eight points, all in the second half, and grabbed 14 rebounds. Welch finished with six points and seven assists while JaShawn Cooper had five points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Montgomery Academy (8-7 overall and 1-0 in 3A Area 6 play), will return to action on Tuesday at Chilton County before resuming area play on Friday at St. James.
Trinity (12-5 and 0-1) will play host to Handley on Tuesday before resuming area play on Friday at home against Alabama Christian.
LAMP 60, BTW Magnet 51
Ezekial Griffin scored 13 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the Golden Tigers to a 60-51 win over BTW Magnet in the LAMP gym on Friday night.
Jezreel Fishoe led LAMP with 16 points, followed by Ethan Russell with 10.
The Golden Tigers (6-11) travel to Union Springs to play Bullock County in an area game on Tuesday.
Pike Road 56, St. James 47
PIKE ROAD -- Jayden Cooper scored 18 points and Jordan Holmes added 16 as the Patriots defeated St. James 56-47 in the Pike Road gym on Friday night.
KJ Jackson led St. James with 15 points, followed by Ethan Beard with 13 and Clint Houser with 12.
St. James (5-5) travels to Alabama Christian for its 3A Area 6 opener on Tuesday, while Pike Road plays Park Crossing in a 6A Area 4 matchup next Friday.
Pike Liberal Arts 44, Alabama Christian 38
TROY -- Levi Deboer scored 19 points and Will Rice added eight as the Patriots defeated Alabama Christian 44-38 in the Pike Liberal Arts gym on Friday night.
Mac Moorer led the Eagles with seven points, followed by Jayden Jones and Devin Moseley with six points each.
The Eagles (5-10) travel to Prattville Christian on Monday before returning home to play St. James in the 3A Area 6 opener on Tuesday.
Pelham 56, Prattville Christian 54
PRATTVILLE -- Conner Williams led the Panthers with 19 points and five rebounds as PCA dropped a close decision to 6A Pelham on Thursday night in the PCA gym.
Carson Roberson added 14 points and four assists for the Panthers, followed by PJ Evans with 14 rebounds and 10 assists and Cade Segars with 11 points. Cooper Osborne added five points and five rebounds, Collier Connell scored five points and Brady Roberson grabbed five rebounds.
PCA (8-10) will play host to BTW Magnet on Saturday at 1:45 in its 4A Area 5 opener.
Macon East Academy 64, Ezekial Academy 21
CECIL -- Jacob Wilson had 14 points and four steals to help the Knights cruise to an easy win over Ezekial in the Macon East gym on Saturday.
Brandon Wilkins added 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Keagan Roney finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Deonte Powell added nine points, nine rebounds and three steals as the Knights improved to 3-0 in their current six-game home stand.
Macon East (13-3) faces Springwood School on Tuesday and Valiant Cross on Thursday in a pair of region contests next week.
Prattville Christian 62, BTW Magnet 37
PRATTVILLE -- Conner Williams scored 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds to help the Panthers win their 4A Area 5 opener with an easy victory over BTW Magnet on Saturday in the PCA gym.
PJ Evans added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, followed by Carson Roberson with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists and Cade Segars with 11 points and four steals. Brady Roberson had four points, five rebounds and four assists.
PCA (9-10) remains home to play host to Alabama Christian Academy on Monday at 4:30 p.m., before resuming area play with road games at Dallas County on Friday and BTW Magnet on Jan. 17.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
St. James 47, Pike Road 36
PIKE ROAD -- Ava Card scored 18 points to lead the Trojans to a 47-36 win over the 6A Patriots in the Pike Road gym on Friday night.
Natalie Barton added 11 points, followed by KK Hall with nine and KK Corley with five.
St. James (14-5) will play at Alabama Christian on Tuesday in the 3A Area 5 opener for both teams.
LAMP 58, BTW Magnet 35
Ariana Cannida led all scorers with 24 points, connecting on all five 3-point attempts and hitting 7 of 8 free throws to lead the Golden Tigers to a 23-point win over BTW Magnet in the LAMP gym on Friday night.
Serenity Griffin added 18 points, 18 rebounds, 10 steals and four assists for LAMP. A’kirra McElveen had 10 points to lead BTW.
LAMP (10-8) begins area play Tuesday on the road at Bullock County.
Alabama Christian 59, Pike Liberal Arts 13
TROY -- Katelyn Sutton led a balanced attack with 14 points as the Eagles cruised to a 59-13 win over the Patriots in the Pike Liberal Arts gym on Friday night.
Jaide Newkirk and Rachel Rine added 13 points each as the Eagles jumped out to a 22-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 40-5 lead at the half. Campbell Hammett also had nine points in the win, while Izzy Warrick had eight.
ACA (6-7) travels to Prattville Christian on Monday before returning home to play St. James in its 3A Area 6 opener on Tuesday.
Prattville Christian 57, Pelham 27
PRATTVILLE -- Hannah Jones led the Lady Panthers with 25 points and eight rebounds in a 30-point win over 6A Pelham on Thursday in the PCA gym.
Avery Rogers added 12 points and four rebounds for PCA, followed by CoCo Thomas with 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Kayden Carr added seven points, five assists and four rebounds and Ally Blankinchip added three points.
PCA (17-2) will play host to BTW Magnet on Saturday at 12:30 in its 4A Area 5 opener.
Lakeside School 49, Evangel Christian 19
The Chiefs jumped out to a 30-13 lead over the Lions and held on for the 30-point win in the Evangel Christian gym on Thursday night.
Chloe Helms had 12 points to lead Lakeside. Sophie Seaborn and Eliza Eriksen both added 10 points and Addy Helms had seven points.
Prattville Christian 91, BTW Magnet 16
PRATTVILLE -- Hannah Jones led five players in double figures with 27 points and nine rebounds as the Panthers coasted past BTW Magnet in the 4A Area 5 opener for both teams on Saturday in the PCA gym.
Kayden Carr added 22 points, six assists and four rebounds with the help of six 3-pointers and Avery Rogers set a school record with 14 assists while contributing 13 points and five steals.
CoCo Thomas had 15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals while reserve forward Jenna McClendon had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals. Ally Blankinchip added four points and five assists.
PCA (18-2) will continue area play with road games at Dallas County on Friday and BTW Magnet the following Tuesday.
WRESTLING
PCA wrestlers place fourth in Julian McPhillips Invitational
The PCA wrestling team recorded another first on Saturday with a team finish in the annual Julian McPhillips Invitational at St. James, placing fourth.
Brody Pugh became the second-ever McPhillips Invitational champion for PCA, while Brysen Pugh finished third and Matthew Post, Jace Copeland and David Tubbs-Hill all finished fourth in their respective weight divisions.
PCA returns to action with a home tri-match on Tuesday against American Christian and Montevallo. Wrestling will start at 6 p.m