Alabama Christian (5-4) hosted an old foe Tuesday night as Elmore County came to town for some hoops action. The series between the schools began in 1964 when Elmore County was known as Eclectic High School. The fiftieth meeting between the two schools was a thriller won by the Eagles, 48-46.
ACA came out hot and it looked as if they would blow the Panthers out in the first period. Mac Moorer scored the team's first six points from behind the arc while Connor Mark and Sam Davidson joined in to build a 12-1 lead late in the quarter. Elmore County was an abysmal 1 for 9 from the field and committed four turnovers as they trailed 14-3 after one. As well as the Eagles shot in the first, they turned cold in the second as they failed to score in the first four minutes of the period. Despite the offensive drought, ACA still led 14-11 as they went to the foul line with 3:55 in the half and scored their first point of the quarter. Neither team did much offensively the rest of the half as Alabama Christian led 19-15 at the half.
Mac Moorer connected on a three early in the third to give ACA a 24-18 lead and the team’s traded baskets afterwards as the home team led 27-22 with 1:55 left in the quarter. The Panthers made a run at the end of the third and tied it up with a score at the buzzer. After three quarters the game was all even, 32-32. Just twelve seconds into the final period, Elmore County took its first lead of the game making two free throws. The lead changed hands six times in the fourth and kept the crowd on an emotional roller coaster. The Panthers biggest lead of the night came after a made three with five minutes left for a 41-37 advantage. Moorer and Connor Mark hit big time threes over the next two minutes to give ACA a 43-41 lead. With 1:44 left, the Eagle faithful thought Tyree Saadiq had drawn a charge, but the official did not see it that way. The shot was good and a block was called against ACA. After the free throw, Elmore County led 44-43. On the next possession, Moorer connected for the sixth time from deep to vault Alabama Christian back in the lead, 46-44. Mark’s blocked shot and rebound gave the ball back to the Eagles, but a turnover led to an Elmore County score to tie it up. Saadiq missed the next ACA shot, but never gave up on the play and stole the ball at mid-court and found a streaking Jayden Jones for a layup with 4.7 seconds left. The Panthers tried to throw the ball the length of the floor on the inbound pass, but hit the rafters to turn the ball over. However, ACA could not inbound the ball and was called for a five second violation. Saadiq stole the next inbound try and dribbled the game out for a thrilling victory.
Mac Moorer led all scorers with 18 points on a 6 for 11 night from deep. Connor Mark had 13 points and five rebounds while Tyree Saadiq had six points with a team best eight assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
The Lady Eagles (5-3) have historically had success against Elmore County with a 24-10 series lead coming into action on Tuesday night. However, the Panthers had won the last three and ACA looked to stop that streak. The final score does not give a true indication of how close the game was in the first half as ACA pulled away in a 53-38 victory.
Jaide Newkirk opened the scoring as she rebounded her own miss for a 2-0 lead. An Izzy Warrick three gave ACA a 9-5 lead midway through the period. The Lady Panthers answered and led 11-10 after one quarter. In the second, the Eagle defense fouled excessively and put Elmore County in the bonus with 5:26 left in the half. To their credit, ACA only fouled once more in the quarter and kept the visitors off the free throw line. Midway through the second Marcy Gregory rebounded an Eagle miss and found Katelyn Sutton for a three pointer which gave ACA a lead they would not give up the rest of the night. The Lady Eagles scored six points in the final thirty-five seconds to take a 29-22 lead and the game’s momentum into the half.
Two scores by Jaide Newkirk to open the second half increased the lead to 33-22 two minutes in. The Panthers would not go away as they cut the lead to five on two occasions and trailed by six, 40-34 after three periods. In the fourth quarter, the Alabama Christian defense locked down Elmore County and held the Panthers to four points on 1 for 15 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, the team with not a lot of depth outran their opponent down the floor over and over again in the fourth. Newkirk scored eight of the team’s thirteen points as her teammates found her repeatedly. The determined Eagles eventually won by fifteen points, 53-38.
Jaide Newkirk led the offense with 18 points and added 11 rebounds and two blocks. Izzy Warrick had 13 points with three rebounds while Campbell Hammett finished with 12 points and three steals. Katelyn Sutton did it all with eight points, five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Marcy Gregory also contributed three rebounds and three assists.
ACA hosts Thorsby Thursday night, December 14th, as they continue a busy week.