CHAPMAN BOYS TOURNEY: Brew Tech earns comeback win over Montgomery Academy
Montgomery Academy’s Jay Jay Jackson guards Brew Tech’s Kam Honer in the Rams’ win on Tuesday. (Ryan Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Montgomery Academy used a balanced attack to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Eagles couldn’t hold off Kam Honer and the Brew Tech Rams, who used a Honer 3-pointer to grab control late for a 58-56 victory in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip-Off Classic on Tuesday in the Montgomery Academy gym.
“We knew coming into it he was a good shooter,” Montgomery Academy coach Jeremy Arant said. “We were able to hold him in check early, then he made some (shots) in the second half. We’ve got to continue to work to get better defensively. We’re going to be in these kinds of games that are almost like a fight and we have to prove our toughness a little bit.”
The Rams fought back from double-digit deficits in both halves to reach the championship game of the tournament, where they’ll face Pike Road on Wednesday at 3 p.m. But while the Rams had a plan to get the ball to Honer in the fourth quarter, the Eagles didn’t have a hot hand to lean on down the stretch.
“We played really good in spurts,” Arant said. “We built a 10-point lead a couple of times. Then, for whatever reason, we couldn’t sustain it.”
One reason for the struggles is the team has yet to hold a formal practice in the wake of last Friday’s football playoff loss. While players that do not participate in football have practiced, there have been no specific offensive or defensive schemes practiced.
“Offensively, we’re a little bit behind where we want to be,” Arant admitted. “We don’t really have anything in offensively. We’re just kind of spacing the floor, attacking gaps, drive and kick. We don’t have any real halfcourt sets in. You can tell that, at times for sure.”
Tuesday’s game was the first action this season for forward Jarrett Friendly, who was held out of Monday’s game as a precaution in the transition from football to basketball. Friendly played approximately 25 minutes and finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals but six of those points came on a pair of 3-pointers as the 6-foot-6 forward rarely mixed it up in the paint.
“He’s got free rein to kind of do whatever he wants on offense,” Arant said. “He didn’t do a whole lot around the basket for us. Some of that is we don’t have anything in to throw him the ball in there. It’s just him feeling it out.”
Mason Ellis, who had a career-high 35 points on Monday against Marbury, led Montgomery Academy with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals but only had one field goal after the first quarter and could never get untracked against the Rams.
Will Renfroe added nine points and eight rebounds while Caleb Myles chipped in eight points and grabbed five rebounds. JayJay Jackson also added eight points, while Robert McGaughey scored six points and grabbed six rebounds.
The team’s leading returning scorer, Brayden Gordon, continues to sit out as he transitions from football to basketball and did not play on Tuesday.
Dwellyn Jackson led Brew Tech with 19 points, while Honer scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Montgomery Academy (1-1) will play Lee-Scott Academy in the consolation game on Wednesday at noon.
COACH LARRY CHAPMAN FOUNDATION TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
at Montgomery Academy
BOYS
Monday’s results
Game 1 -- Lee-Scott Academy 58, Handley 56
Game 2 -- Brewbaker Tech 48, Prattville Christian 44
Game 3 -- Pike Road 61, St. James 39
Game 4 -- Montgomery Academy 60, Marbury 34
Tuesday’s results
Game 5 -- Brewbaker Tech 58, Montgomery Academy 56
Game 6 -- Marbury 57, Prattville Christian 39
Game 7 -- Pike Road 57, Lee-Scott Academy 54
Game 8 -- Handley 63, St. James 42
Wednesday’s schedule
Game 9 -- 7th place, St. James vs. Prattville Christian -- 10:30 a.m.
Game 10 -- 5th place, Handley vs. Marbury -- 10:30 a.m.
Game 11 -- Consolation, Lee-Scott Academy vs. Montgomery Academy -- noon
Game 12 -- Championship Game, Pike Road vs. Brew Tech -- 3 p.m.