Alabama Christian enjoyed a trip up I-65 to Billingsley as both varsity teams defeated the Bears on Thursday night. The Lady Eagles (11-11) opened the night with a 65-53 win as they seemed to be playing the home team and the officials. ACA had 26 fouls called on them while the home team was called for just 12 fouls.
Katelyn Sutton came out on fire as she scored ten of the team’s fifteen first quarter points. The contest was knotted at fifteen apiece after a quarter. Billingsley scored the first four points of the second, but Sutton countered with two 3-pointers to give ACA a 21-19 lead that they would not lose for the rest of the night. Addison Smith hit another long distance shot to stretch the lead to 24-19. Sutton’s free throws with 1:13 left in the half were the last points of the quarter as the junior guard scored 21 of the team’s 33 first half points.
In the second half, the home team did everything they could to keep Katelyn Sutton from scoring which opened up opportunities for Jaide Newkirk. Like Sutton in the first half, Newkirk carried the offensive load in the second half. After Billingsley scored the first four points of the third, Newkirk scored with an and one chance to extend the lead to 36-31. Late in the period, the Eagles used a 7-0 run to double the lead to fourteen points, 50-36. A Marcy Gregory three late in the quarter gave ACA a 53-39 lead heading to the fourth. Although ACA never pulled away in the final period, the lead stayed in double digits to hold the Bears off, 65-53.
Katelyn Sutton finished with a career high 26 points and added six steals, five assists, and three rebounds. Jaide Newkirk added 24 points, 20 in the second half, with 13 rebounds.
As you can imagine with the disparity of fouls called in the girls game, the fans had primed the refs for the boys match up. Luckily, Alabama Christian (17-6) was just a better team and the officiating did not play into the outcome in the 59-36 victory. ACA scored the first nine points of the game, seven by Mac Moorer, to start hot. By the time Billingsley called a timeout with 2:03 left in the quarter, the Eagles had connected on seven of eleven shots from the field and led 17-5. Tyree Saadiq scored at the buzzer to end the first with a 19-5 cushion. The offense stalled a bit in the second, but since the Bears could not score either, the visitors increased their lead. Sam Davidson’s three at the end of the half gave ACA a 26-9 halftime lead.
Tyree Saadiq controlled the game in the third quarter. The point guard harassed the Bears on defense and created points on offense for his team. In the third alone, Saadiq had 13 points with five steals, three rebounds, and two assists. At the end of the third, Jackson Burton stole the ball and headed to the basket like a freight train to beat the buzzer and give ACA a 47-25 advantage. Alabama Christian maintained a twenty point margin for the bulk of the fourth period and left town with a twenty-three point win.
Mac Moorer finished with a game high 21 points and Tyree Saadiq followed with 15 points, seven rebounds, six steals, and four assists. Broderick Williams and Jackson Burton had productive games off the bench as they combined for eight points and ten rebounds.
Alabama Christian will wrap up the Area schedule on Friday night as they visit MA.