PREP HOOPS: PCA rains 3s in romp of LAMP; Lady Panthers open with easy win
PCA’s Brady Hughes goes up for a shot against LAMP’s Chance Cook in high school basketball action Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
PRATTVILLE -- Basketball is easy when you’re making shots.
Those words from Prattville Christian Academy coach Jason Roberson summed up his team’s season opener as the Panthers unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers and buried LAMP 85-33 in the PCA gym on Tuesday night.
The Panthers cruised out to a 22-3 lead over the Golden Tigers as five different players hit 3-pointers in the first quarter. Granted, PCA might not be as effective in another team’s gym or against a physical opponent, but the Panthers served early notice that they can contend in their area with a trio of accurate freshmen that combined for 46 points on Tuesday.
“I’m not crazy, I don’t think we’ll make shots at that rate every single night but when it is going in, it kind of gets contagious,” Roberson said. “More than just the shots we made, I thought our effort and intensity on defense and being where we were supposed to be was excellent for Game One. I’m just super proud.”
Freshman Cade Segars led the Panthers with 20 points, followed by freshman PJ Evans with 17 points and five rebounds. Another freshman, forward Conner Williams, had nine points and five rebounds.
“They were on fire,” LAMP coach Robb McGaughey said. “I don’t know what the final stats were, but I know they scored 30 points on 3-pointers in the first half. A lot of that is to their credit. Coach Roberson works on it and they’ve worked on it for years. I’ve seen these kids play fifth grade, sixth grade in Hoops League and they’ve just grown into it.
“When you’ve got freshmen shooting the lights out like these kids did, it’s tough.”
Camron Coleman had 14 points and four steals for PCA (1-0), followed by Carson Roberson with 10 points and four assists, Brady Hughes with 10 assists, six points and five steals, Coleman Hunter with six points and eight rebounds, Brady Roberson with three points and Collin Ross with three rebounds.
PCA led 33-10 at the end of the first quarter, 54-13 at the half and 77-20 at the end of the third quarter, triggering a running clock. Riley Parker had 10 points, seven in the second half, and Smith Carter added nine as the Golden Tigers (0-2) never found any rhythm against an aggressive PCA defense.
“We got bullied, we got outphysicaled and we got outhustled,” McGaughey said. “A lot of that comes from my guys thinking so much about everything so their feet are a little slower. They don’t have a feel for knowing where to go and what to do.
“I have eight or nine players, out of my 13, that this is their first year on the varsity and about four or five of those are in their first year of playing organized basketball. But we didn’t pout, everybody worked hard. We just have to keep working and get better. It just takes time.”
In the junior varsity game, Collier Connell hit six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points in a 39-30 victory by the Panthers in their season opener. Brodie Whirley added 11 points, seven steals and four assists, while Ryan Kiefer had three points and six rebounds and Anderson Burkhart had three points and four rebounds. Jack Diefenderfer grabbed seven rebounds and Eric Sumrall grabbed four.
LAMP returns to action on Thursday at home against Catholic, while PCA remains home to play Elmore County next Tuesday.
Coco Thomas eyes a shot over Ainsley Klein in PCA’s season-opening win over LAMP. (Tim Gayle)
PCA girls win easily over LAMP
It wasn’t perfect, but it’s hard not to expect perfection from an experienced group of returning starters whose last basketball game captured a state championship.
Defending 3A state champion Prattville Christian Academy returned to the floor for the first time since beating Sylvania in Birmingham last March and didn’t fire on all cylinders but didn’t need to in disposing of LAMP 56-22 on Tuesday night in the PCA gym.
“I’ve got to be a little more patient,” PCA coach Jason Roberson said. “I can’t expect them to play at the level we were playing at the end of last season. I kind of expected us to play a little better tonight but it was our first game for this season. Even with an experienced team that has some really good players, we’ve only had two and a half, three weeks of practice, so hopefully we’ll continue to work hard and get better.”
PCA scored the first nine points in the game, but most of its offense came from mistakes from LAMP, something Golden Tiger coach Michael Thornton wasn’t expecting from his veteran team.
“Obviously, they’re a terrific program, “Thornton said. “They’ve had a ton of success and they’re always hard to compete against so I have all the respect for them. But for us, we’ve got an experienced group coming back but we played like an inexperienced team tonight. We knew what we were going to face and we still let it bother us and we made a lot of mistakes.
“They’re good, no doubt about it, but we made a lot of mistakes to beat ourselves. If we cut those out, it’s a much different game. They’re going to be great. They work really hard, they don’t just rely on their talent. They outhustled us in moments and that’s a testament to their coaching staff and the kind of program they have. But regardless of the opponent, you can’t turn the ball over more than 20 times in the first half. I think we had more turnovers than shots.”
PCA struggled offensively as Coco Thomas had six of her seven first-half points in the first quarter and Hannah Jones had all seven of her first-half points in the second quarter. Ella Jane Connell didn’t take a shot in the first six minutes, but scored nine in the second quarter as the Panthers eased out to a 41-11 halftime lead.
“I think our goal was to win every possession,” Connell said. “We felt good about winning the game, but it comes down to the little things like winning every possession. It was a little rough -- it was our first game -- and we were all trying to get back in the groove of things. We did some good things tonight, but we also saw that we have plenty to work on.
“If we reach our potential, we could be better. But at this point, we have a lot to do. It’s a new season. Hopefully, we’ll get there.”
Connell led the Panthers with 16 points, six steals, four rebounds and four assists, followed by Jones with 11 points, four rebounds and four steals, Avery Rogers with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals and Thomas with nine points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
Serenity Griffin and Mackenzie Lewis each had five points to lead LAMP, followed by Evelyn Tankersley and Arianna Cannida with four points each. The Golden Tigers’ leading scorer a year ago, Caitlin Russell, failed to score.
PCA returns four starters from a year ago, but Roberson made an interesting choice for his fifth starter, inserting seventh grader Kayden Carr in the starting rotation.
“We have some great players with experience,” Roberson noted, “but she’s earned that in practice. She’s earned that spot. And she is going to be great before it’s all said and done.”
Carr finished with three points and four rebounds.
“I think she did great,” Connell said. “She’s a real good player. Last year, she played on our Hoops League team so this is actually her first time playing on our floor. She’s going to be a really good addition.”
LAMP (0-1) returns home to host a tournament on Thursday, playing Booker T. Washington (Tuskegee) at 9 .a.m., then facing either Wetumpka or Catholic later in the afternoon. PCA will also be in Montgomery on Thursday, playing in the Lady Trojan Tipoff Tournament at St. James.