Alabama Christian enjoyed a fun night at the gym with two convincing victories over LAMP. On the boys side, the last four games against LAMP have been close with the average difference being less than four points per game. However, Tuesday night, ACA’s 63-32 win over the Golden Tigers was the largest margin of victory (31 points) in the 54-game history of the series. Similarly, the Lady Eagles ran roughshod over LAMP, 48-10, with their largest margin of victory since 2009. The ten points given up by the Eagles tied for the eighth fewest in a game in school history.
The boys game could not have started any better for the home team as Mac Moorer was fouled just three seconds into the action and sank two free throws to start the festivities. Things continued to go the way of ACA (4-3) as five different players hit threes in the first period as the team connected on six of its first eight attempts from long distance. The defense was spectacular as well and LAMP had no answer for the energy and intensity brought by Alabama Christian. LAMP shot 1 for 12 in the quarter and committed four turnovers as ACA raced to a 26-3 lead after one. The lead would never be under twenty for the rest of the night. Jayden Jones opened the second with a steal and a bucket to further dampen the spirits of the opponent. Sam Davidson closed the quarter with the team’s eighth three of the half for a 41-14 lead. Christian Snipes (11) and Jones (8) led the scoring in the half while Darius Gardner shut down the LAMP big man with stellar defensive play.
The third quarter was evenly played as LAMP actually outscored the Eagles by two points. ACA slowed the pace in the second half and emptied the bench with the big lead. With about four minutes left in the game, ACA hit the magic thirty point lead and the clock ran continuously from that point on. The defense picked back up in the fourth as the Tigers only scored five points in the 63-32 final.
Christian Snipes led the team in scoring off the bench with 13 points. Jayden Jones had 11 points with five rebounds while Connor Mark also had 11 points with four boards. Tyree Saadiq’s seven assists led the team as did Darius Gardner’s four blocks.
Defense was the name of the game for the Lady Eagles as well. ACA (3-3) suffocated LAMP in the first period as the Tigers scored just two points and had 14 turnovers. Jaide Newkirk got off to a quick start with half of the team’s points in the quarter as ACA led 12-2 after one. The lead stayed around ten points in the second quarter until the Eagles scored the last seven points of the half with a little less than two minutes left to take a 25-8 lead into the locker room. Newkirk, Izzy Warrick, and Katelyn Sutton each scored in the seven point run.
LAMP did not make a single field goal in the second half as the ACA defense continued to frustrate them even in the half court. Late in the third quarter as Jaide Newkirk came out to get some rest, Coach Cantrell specifically had Annabelle Pugh guard the LAMP post player which is a testament to her toughness and grit on the floor.. One of the shortest players on the court gave the bigger, taller player fits. With a 42-10 lead after three quarters, the fourth flew by. Only six points were scored in the quarter, all by ACA.
Izzy Warrick tied the school record with nine steals in the game and was the team’s leading scorer with 20 points to go along with three assists. Jaide Newkirk recorded another double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds with four steals and three blocks. Annabelle Pugh had six rebounds and five steals on the night.
ACA travels to Tallassee on Friday for its next contest.