PREP UPDATE: Belser's shot lifts Catholic to win; Trinity girls shock Catholic; Stanhope Elmore wins bowling title
Catholic’s Mylez Gourdine attempts a pass as Trinity’s Tillman Clements provides defense in the game on Friday at Captain Jack Court at Trinity. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
MJ Belser might not have been the first option for a game-winning shot, but it certainly worked out in Catholic’s favor.
The Knights, which had trailed just twice in Friday’s 4A Area 5 game with Trinity, now found themselves on the short end of a 54-52 score after Wilson Cherry buried a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.
The Knights used the ensuing timeout to draw up a play for point guard Matt Gourdine, but it was Belser who found the ball in his hands and the power forward delivered the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left to give the Knights a 55-54 victory at Captain Jack Court.
“Our plan was to give Mathias that last shot,” Belser said. “See if he could drive in. Everyone collapsed on him and it just left me open for the shot.
“When I shot it, it just felt nice.”
Gourdine had scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, so it made sense to put the ball in his hands for the final shot. But when he ran into traffic on the baseline and threw the ball outside to Belser, Catholic coach Mike Curry wasn’t that worried.
“He was wide open,” Curry said. “He’s a decent 3-point shooter. It wasn’t a miracle.”
For Trinity, the Wildcats’ 10th loss in the last 11 games is following a familiar theme. The Wildcats won their first three one-possession games and now have dropped six in a row to fall to 8-15, including last-second losses to the top two teams in Area 5, Booker T. Washington on Tuesday and Catholic on Friday.
“We don’t look at it as moral victories, but we do look at it as to whether or not we’re playing better,” Trinity coach Matt Arrighi said. “We are playing better. We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent offensively, but we’re definitely starting to defend better.
“What I’m trying to get our guys to understand is I’m not focused on what happened on the last play, I’m focused on the little things that happen throughout the game that are under our control that cost us. We feel like we’re playing better but there’s still little details that people don’t notice that we’ve got to get cleaned up.”
The Knights rolled out to a dominating 13-2 lead but it quickly dissipated as the Knights scored just six points in the second quarter, pulling Trinity back into a hotly-contested game for the remainder of the night.
“This is our second time playing them,” Curry said. “They know us. We were trying to go in to (Belser) and they made some adjustments where they’re digging down or doubling down and he’s got to get the ball out of his hands. But we got out to a good start. We had a bad second quarter and from there on, it’s Trinity-Catholic, it’s going to be a war.”
Catholic managed to do just enough to keep the lead until Kamari Hutson scored on a pair of layups, one that gave the Wildcats a 49-48 lead with 2:15 remaining and another with 1:03 left that put Trinity up 51-50. After a pair of Gourdine free throws gave Catholic a one-point lead, Cherry hit the 3-pointer that, for a moment, seemed to swing everything in Trinity’s favor.
“After halftime, they just played more towards me,” Belser said. “At the end, they just slipped. I feel like we should have kept up what we were doing (to build the lead), but it’s just basketball. They’re going to have their runs, we’re going to have our runs. And we just responded.”
Catholic (13-9) won its eighth consecutive game as Belser had 19 points and Mylez Gourdine had 10.
Cherry led Trinity with 24 points and Mackin Roth and Hutson each added nine.
Catholic and Booker T. Washington both finished the Area 5 race with a 7-1 record and the coaches will flip a coin to determine the top seed and host site for the upcoming area tournament. Trinity (2-5) and Tallassee (3-4) will close out the regular season on Monday and a Trinity victory will force another coin flip to determine the third and fourth seeds for the area tournament.
Trinity girls 58, Catholic 53
It was Senior Night, so it was only fitting that an often overlooked senior would lead the Trinity girls, an often overlooked team this season, to their biggest win of the year in a 58-53 win over Catholic at Captain Jack Court on Friday night.
Emory Causey scored 25 points, including 19 in the second half as the Wildcats rallied from an early deficit with strong play on both ends of the court to hand the Knights their first loss in three meetings between the arch rivals.
“It’s obviously the third time we’ve played them, so we know a lot more about them,” Causey said. “I think (assistant coach) Clinton (Adams) and (head) Coach Blake (Smith) are really incredible about strategizing and putting us in the right spots. So we’ve had very different game plans for each game. Ultimately, Coach Blake and Clinton just put us in roles where we were going to succeed.
“The first time we played them, we really didn’t understand who they were and they got the better of us, but now we understand more about who they are and what they’re trying to do and are more prepared for that.”
And perhaps the Wildcats (17-7) were better prepared for the Knights (16-6) in this meeting, but two previous meetings had resulted in losses for a Trinity team that steamrolled through opponents last year with the play of Francie Morris, Mya Moskowitz and Maddie Smith and is in a rebuilding effort this year as it has struggled to find its identity at times.
“Early in the season, we may have lived and died by the 3, but I think we are progressively becoming a team that can score without it,” Causey said. “But obviously when you’re making the 3, it makes it a lot easier. You can spread the ball out more.”
So Causey, along with sisters Lizzie and Ellie, launched 11 3-pointers to help the Wildcats rally from an eight-point deficit at the end of the first quarter and ride Emory Causey’s combination of perimeter shots and lane drives to take an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter.
“Emory has been the epitome of a coach’s dream,” Smith said. “With her sisters getting good minutes, she has not played much for us over the years. She’s never once complained. She comes in and works as hard as anybody else and just keeps pressing along. I can’t tell you how delighted I was to see her performance tonight. She has been a great example of what a follower of Jesus should be and it showed tonight.”
Just as quickly, the double-digit lead was gone. Hannah Smith, who had staked her team to an early lead with 10 first-quarter points, only had four points in the next two quarters before heating up again in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, an assist on another 3-pointer and then another long-range bomb with 1:57 left to tie the game.
“That team was down 10 and that team would have folded in the past,” Smith said. “They came out and upped the intensity. Yeah, we made some dumb passes but that was because we felt the pressure. And Lilly (Smith) and Emory, they need to feel that because it’s always been Maddie or Francie taking that. We’re having to learn how to control the game with that much intensity out there.”
Hannah Smith’s 3-pointer swumg the momentum to Catholic, but not for long. Emory Causey calmly drained her fifth 3-pointer 28 seconds later, then added a pair of free throws with 56.4 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats in control.
“Especially in girls’ basketball, it’s a game of runs,” Causey said. “It’s an emotional game, especially on ‘Senior Night.’ We were up by 11 and then it was tied at one point, but I think we stayed steady and kept our composure.
“I’m just grateful. Most of the time on ‘Senior Night,’ you schedule a relatively easy opponent so you can have success in your last home game, but Coach Blake and Clinton decided to give us a test and I’m grateful for that. It feels a lot different to be 1-2 with them instead of 0-3, so hopefully we can continue that momentum into (our final regular-season game) and the area tournament.”
The loss was the first for the Knights (7-1) in 4A Area 5 play, but Catholic owns the tiebreaker over Trinity (6-1) by virtue of a December win against the Wildcats in the Jack Schweers Capital City Conference Tournament, so even if the Wildcats defeat Tallassee in their final area game they’ll still finish in second place in the area standings.
Tallassee is third at 5-3, followed by Booker T. Washington (2-5) and LAMP (0-8). The Golden Tigers will travel to Tuskegee to play Booker T. Washington in the first round of the area tournament on Thursday for the right to play Catholic in the area semifinals. Tallassee and Trinity will play twice next week, once to close out the regular season and again the following weekend in the area tournament semifinals.
Ellie Causey followed Emory in scoring with 14 points, while Lizzie Causey had 10 and Lilly Smith had seven.
Hannah Smith led Catholic with 22 points, followed by Jordan Robinson and Ajah Tuggle with 10 points each and Kierstyn Green with nine.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Hooper Academy 68, Lowndes Academy 46
HOPE HULL -- Jacoby Rabb hit two of his five 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Colts off and running to a 19-5 advantage in the first quarter on the way to a 22-point win at Darrell Self Gym on Friday night.
Rabb finished with a game-high 17 points. Kingston White and Blu Richardson each added 14 points and Jeremy Griggs had 12 for the Colts.
Jeremy Hardy led the Rebels with 14 points. Ford Walker added 13.
Hooper Academy (17-8) travels to Chambers Academy on Monday.
G.W. Carver 71, Montgomery Academy 61
Montgomery Academy's winning streak ended at 12 games with a home loss to Carver on Friday.
Braden Gordon led MA with 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Jarrett Friendly chipped in 15 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
Caleb Myles added 10 points, while Mason Ellis added eight points.
MA fell to 20-6 overall and will face Pike Road at home on Monday.
Wetumpka 76, Prattville Christian 51
PRATTVILLE -- Carter Fiacco had 21 points and four rebounds to lead PCA in a 76-51 loss to the 6A Indians on Friday night in the PCA gym.
Cody Chapman scored 16 points, followed by CJ Robinson with five points and five rebounds and Ethan Girlie with five points. Justin Chapman grabbed eight rebounds.
PCA (12-15) will play host to Stanhope Elmore on Monday.
Loachapoka 58, Alabama Christian 53
Christian Snipes scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Eagles in a 58-53 loss to Loachapoka in the ACA gym on Friday night.
AJ Shannon added 10 points and three assists, while Levi Summers had 10 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Adolph Dunn led Loachapoka with 25 points, including 10 in the first quarter.
Alabama Christian dropped to 7-17 with the loss.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Lowndes Academy 57, Hooper Academy 45
HOPE HULL -- After a quick start, the Colts cooled off down the stretch, managing just six points in each of the next two quarters in a 57-45 loss to the Rebels on Friday night.
Henlee Garvin led the Colts with 12 points, followed by Katie Robinson with 11 and Jade Taylor with eight.
Hooper (12-10) travels to Chambers Academy on Monday.
Wetumpka 58, Prattville Christian 31
PRATTVILLE -- Baylee Rogers led the Panthers with 14 points and four rebounds as PCA had its winning streak snapped in a 58-31 loss to the 6A Indians in the PCA gym on Friday night.
Leah Cate Wilson added 10 rebounds and five assists, Reagan Houston scored six points and Laney Little had five points and five rebounds. Avery Mann and Kayleigh Arthur each scored three points. PCA (14-12) will play host to Stanhope Elmore on Monday.
Loachapoka 49, Alabama Christian 44
Adalyn Newkirk had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Eagles in a 49-44 loss to Loachapoka in the ACA gym on Friday night.
Addison Smith added nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while Campbell Hammett had seven points and 13 rebounds.
Amanda Harris led Loachapoka with 16 points.
Alabama Christian dropped to 8-14 with the loss.
G.W. Carver 44, Montgomery Academy 38
The Lady Wolverines broke a 38 38 tie with about three minutes remaining in the game and held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way to earn a win at MA on Friday.
Kaci Armistead led MA with 12 points, four rebounds while Garland Thomas and Bailey Davis each added eight points.
EG Hines had six points and nine rebounds.
MA (9-14) and will play Pike Road on Monday, before traveling to 7A Enterprise on Tuesday for the final regular season game of the year.
BOWLING
Stanhope Elmore wins 6A-7A title
MOBILE - The Mustangs fell to Hoover in the opening match of the Class 6A-7A championship round but stormed back to beat the Bucs to earn the school’s first-ever state title in bowling on Friday.
Stanhope Elmore sent Hoover to the consolation bracket Thursday, but the Bucs stormed back to the finals, thanks in big part to nine straight strikes in a row from Troy King, winning 1,490 to 1,422 to force the “if” game in the double-elimination format finals.
Stanhope clawed back from a 50-pin deficit to capture the first AHSAA bowling title winning Game 15 by 37 pins – 1,586 to 1,559.
The strong lineup led by junior Seth Wilson and seniors Drake Abbott, Dequan Brown, Ryan Best, and Alexis Gilbert.