After an eighteen point loss to ACA (14-6) ten days ago, the St James head coach knew he had to change tactics to have any chance on Friday night. On defense, the Trojans abandoned their man to man for a packed in zone. On offense, Coach Card channeled his inner Norman Dale and slowed the pace of the game drastically. Glaciers were making jokes about how slow the pace was. The changes almost worked, but Tyree Saadiq’s game winner at the buzzer in overtime ruined the plans of the visitors. The good guys prevailed 38-36.
ACA jumped out to an early 8-0 lead with 4:37 left in the first period. The Trojans had only attempted one shot three and a half minutes into the game. Despite the bad start, St James stuck to the plan and did not try to play fast. A technical call on the Trojan coach seemed to light a spark under his team as the Trojans cut the lead to 11-7 at the end of one. Connor Mark hit his second three of the half to start the second period and give ACA a 14-7 lead. However, the pace of play affected the rhythm of the offense as the team only took seven shots over the last six minutes of the half. Midway through the second, Darius Gardner scored to give the Eagles a 16-12 lead. It would be the last two possession lead for either team the rest of the night. As a preview of things to come, Tyree Saadiq hit a shot at the halftime buzzer to give Alabama Christian a 20-19 lead at the break.
If the fans thought the pace was slow in the first half, they hadn’t seen anything yet as the third period unfolded. The teams combined for a paltry eight points in the quarter as the ACA student section grew restless and let St James know what they thought about it. At one point, the visitors went three minutes between shots. One offensive possession for ACA stood out as the team corralled four consecutive offensive rebounds before Darius Gardner hit a layup to give the Eagles a 22-21 lead. The quarter ended with the home team ahead 24-23. The Trojans scored the first three points of the fourth for a 26-24 lead, but Tyree Saadiq tied it with a steal and a score. After a Trojan three, Saadiq was at it again with another steal and scored three the hard way with an and one opportunity to tie the game back up. For the third time in the period Saadiq answered a Trojan score with one of his own to tie the game with ninety seconds remaining. The ball was in Saadiq’s hand at the end of regulation, but a no-call in the lane forced overtime. The official raised his hand to make the call, but never blew the whistle after the shot.
In the overtime period, Alabama Christian hit a free throw and after regaining possession decided it was their turn to put the brakes on the pace of the game. Unfortunately, an Eagle turnover turned into a St James score for a 33-32 Trojan lead. Darius Gardner scored with just over a minute to play to give the lead back to ACA. After a defensive stop, the Eagles were able to run the clock down to 16.7 seconds before Mac Moorer hit two free throws to give the home team a 36-33 lead. The Trojans hit a deep three to tie the score with just 7.7 seconds left which was more than enough time for Tyree Saadiq. The senior went the length of the floor and scored as the horn sounded for a 38-36 overtime thriller over St James. The team and the student section mobbed Saadiq in celebration.
Tyree Saadiq scored 16 points to lead the team as he scored 12 of the team’s 18 points after the half. The point guard added six steals, five assists, and four rebounds. Darius Gardner finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Mac Moorer had eight with four rebounds. Connor Mark rounded out the scoring with six points.
Although the girls lost to St James in the first game of the night, the team played with determination and effort not seen in the past few games. It was good to see the team that the faithful are used to watching go out there and give it everything they had.
ACA (9-10) scored off the opening tip as the Lady Trojan jumper tipped the ball right to Izzy Warrick who raced to the basket for a layup. The Eagles built a 7-2 lead early as Jaide Newkirk scored on consecutive possessions. ACA did a much better job of handling the St James press and 1-3-1 half court defense. The Eagles trailed 10-15 after a quarter. Alabama Christian kept the deficit in single digits for about half the second period, but St James started to pull away towards halftime. The Trojans led 35-18 at the break.
In the second half, ACA continued to fight, led offensively by the three-headed monster of Izzy Warrick, Katelyn Sutton, and Jaide Newkirk. The trio combine to score all but one of the Eagles’ points. Everyone who got on the floor gave it their all despite the score and battled until the end. St James would end up winning 71-47.
Jaide Newkirk led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Katelyn Sutton had 16 points with five rebounds and four assists while Izzy Warrick finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Campbell Hammett also recorded seven rebounds to tie for team high.
Alabama Christian gets right back at it on Saturday afternoon as they host Thomasville.