AISA BOYS QUARTERS: Evangel Christian falls short; Chambers, Springwood advance
Evangel Christian’s D'John Wright fires off a jump shot in the AISA Class AA quarterfinals on Tuesday at Garrett Coliseum. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The longer the game went, the harder it became for Evangel Christian to keep pace with Restoration Academy.
The Lions had the upper hand early, but as the game progressed, the Bulldogs controlled the boards and Evangel Christian struggled to maintain the pace, eventually falling 51-35 in the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA quarterfinals at Garrett Coliseum on Tuesday.
Restoration will play Chambers on Thursday in the AA semifinals at 1:30 p.m., while Evangel Christian ends the season at 10-14.
“We’re a really young bunch,” Evangel Christian coach Kerwin Washington said. “People don’t understand, not having senior leadership. My guys are young, they got confused. That’s a tough motion offense that they had and we just couldn’t fight through a lot of it.
“They’re a good, strong team, but my guys will fight and come back for next year.”
The Lions trailed 15-13 at the end of the first quarter but a five-point swing in the final seconds of the first half set the tone for the second half. Ian Fuller broke a 20-20 tie with a 3-pointer on one end of the court, then was fouled on Evangel’s final shot with 0.3 seconds, sending Fuller to the line for a pair of free throws that made it 25-20.
The lead extended to double digits midway through the third quarter and Evangel found itself with one shot on the offensive end and defending multiple attempts on the defensive end as the Bulldogs came up with all the rebounds.
“They don’t stop moving,” Washington said. “They’re an aggressive team, a lot more aggressive than film showed. The film does not show what we just saw on the floor. Not having numbers definitely hurt us. We didn’t have the depth to stay with them. Our point guard fouled out early in the fourth quarter and that was tough.
“But we’re not going to make excuses. My job is to try to get my guys to the Final Four every year, that’s how we measure ourselves. And we just came up a little short this year.”
The Lions have reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament in each of the last 10 years and reached the Final Four eight times, falling short in 2024 and this year. Still, with no returning starters from last year’s Final Four team, just making the state tournament was an achievement.
“I knew coming into this thing it was going to be a teaching year because we were so young,” Washington said. “We had no returning starters. The guys that turned into starters were sitting on the bench last year and didn’t get a whole lot of playing time so they had to learn as they played. And each game we got better. This group is going to be pretty nice next year.”
Jaiden Moffitt and Fuller led the Bulldogs with 11 points each. D’John Wright led Evangel with 15 points, followed by Donnell Harris with seven.
BOYS QUARTERFINALS
Chambers Academy 62, Jackson Academy 28
Jake Reames scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack as the Rebels coasted past Jackson 62-28 in the AISA Class AA quarterfinals at Garrett Coliseum on Tuesday.
Chambers will face Restoration in the AA semifinals on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Bryce Modling added 11 points, followed by Christian Terry and Bentley Terry with 10 points each.
K.D. Moore had nine points and Trae Banks had eight to lead Jackson.
Springwood School 50, Snook Christian 31
Kori Key scored 17 points to help Springwood to a 50-31 win over Snook Christian in the Class AA quarterfinals at Garrett Coliseum on Tuesday.
Springwood will play defending state champion Valiant Cross on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Clarence Moore added 13 points for Springwood, followed by Tristan Hill with 10.
Colton Givens had 13 points and Josh Gabel added 10 to lead Snook Christian.