PREP HOOPS: Hooper boys, girls open home slate with wins; Trinity girls top Brew Tech
Hooper Academy’s Kingston White drives by Lakeside defenders for a shot in the Colts’ win on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
HOPE HULL -- There are a lot of new faces on the Hooper Academy basketball team.
The Colts reached the semifinals of the Alabama Independent School Association state tournament before losing to Edgewood in 2024 and repeated the performance in 2025, losing to Valiant Cross in the semifinals.
But only one of the 2025-26 Colts, junior Jeremy Griggs, had any playing time on those two teams. So when this year’s Hooper team opened the season on Monday at home against Lakeside School, head coach Darryl Free was as anxious as anyone to see the squad in action.
“A lot of unknowns coming into the game tonight with a lot of new faces kind of playing a lot of new roles,” Free said. “We did hop out to a quick start, played defense really well at the beginning, kind of set the tone for the first half. We did get a little tired and fouled too much in the first half, but I think that was a fatigue thing. But we also found out we’ve got some kids ready to play off the bench.
“They’re going to have the opportunity to step in. We’re a young basketball team so whoever’s ready can go in there. As long as they can play defense, they can play.”
There was exciting offense -- and plenty of aggressive defense -- early as the Colts built a 24-point halftime lead before overwhelming the Chiefs 71-39 in the 2025-26 home opener.
Griggs managed just four points, a basket in first quarter, another in the second, but his floor leadership was evident when he was on the floor. One of the newcomers, freshman Ayden Newman, didn’t play but the rest of the new faces provided the offense to keep the fans entertained and the defense to keep Free happy.
“The plan is to have a defensive identity and when somebody gets tired, rotate somebody in and keep that intensity up the whole game,” Free said.
The most comfortable on the court was senior Jacoby Rabb, a senior who transferred from Pike Road who had 14 points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 22.
“Jacoby has done everything we’ve asked him to do, to learn the system and be a leader,” Free said. “He’s really dynamic on the offensive side of the floor. He can score really well. We’re working on his passing game and once his passing game matches his scoring ability, he’s going to be a dangerous player.”
Another was Kingston White, a junior forward who transferred from Wetumpka High and finished with 16 points. Still another was freshman Jaylen Lamons, a product of Brewbaker Middle School, who had just three points after his playing time was cut to a handful of minutes because of foul trouble.
“That’s just a nitnh grader coming up to varsity from middle school and learning what he can and can’t do,” Free said. “We have a lot of confidence in Jaylen and that’s why he was able to start as a ninth grader. And he’s only going to grow and he’s going to be a heck of a basketball player.”
The Colts also got nine points each from Tramen Davenport and Bradee Colvett.
Hooper (1-0) will play host to Valiant Cross on Friday at 6 p.m.
Hooper girls 42, Lakeside 38
Lakeside’s Lindsey Beavers and Hooper’s Jenna Conway battle for a loose ball during the Colts’ win on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
Jase Munroe’s first experience as a varsity coach and his coaching debut on Monday night included a challenging game against Lakeside School in which the Colts led for most of the game, but needed some last-second free throws to pull out a 42-38 win over the Chiefs.
“Any time you get a win, it’s big, especially your first home opener,” Munroe said. “We had a good crowd so we appreciated that. The JV played well (beating Lakeside 57-10) to get the gym excited for the next one.”
And for the better part of 31 minutes, the Colts made timely shots and kept Addysen Eriksen from heating up in the paint. But a five-point lead vanished in a matter of seconds late in the game. Marilyn Fleming’s putback for her second basket of the night put Hooper up 38-35, but the Chiefs tied the game on Kaylee Clements’ 3-pointer with 57 seconds left.
“I’m a numbers guy, I teach math every day,” Munroe said. “No offense to that kid, but if she’s going to beat us, she’s going to beat us. We’re not going to let No. 11 (Eriksen) get it down there and get an ‘and one.’ We’ll let somebody shoot a tough contested 3. That kid made a great shot.”
The Colts worked the ball into the paint where Henlee Garvin was fouled with 21 seconds left. She sank both free throws, then came up with the clutch rebound with three seconds left on the other end of the court to secure the victory.
“She played really well against their ‘big,’” Munr oe said. “Their ‘big’ dominates a lot but we shut her down for the most part. I think we rebounded well against them and that’s been a struggle in two preseason games.
“They also put a box and one on our point guard, Katie Robinson, and she still found ways to get her teammates open. Really, all around with our eight-man rotation, everyone gave us good minutes. We’ve been preaching for the last three days, ‘rebound and don’t turn the ball over.’ Everyone as a whole was good.”
Jenna Conway and Robinson each sank a free throw in the final seconds after Conway was fouled intentionally with 1.8 seconds left and Robinson was fouled on the ensuing possession.
Sophia Seaborn led Lakesside with 12 points, followed by Eriksen with 10.
Jade Taylor led Hooper (1-0) with 11 points, followed by Garvin and Robinson with nine points each. The Colts travel to Abbeville Christian for a Tuesday night game.
Trinity girls 49, Brew Tech 29
Ellie Causey had 21 points, six steals and five rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 49-29 win in the Brew Tech gym on Monday night.
Lilly Smith followed with nine points, seven steals and five rebounds and Lizzie Causey had eight points and five rebounds. Micaiah Shelton had 10 rebounds.
Trinity (1-2) travels to LaFayette on Thursday and Lee-Scott Academy on Friday.