Both the girls and boys teams enjoyed a successful Thanksgiving week and two weeks into the season each squad has a 3-1 record. After three games last week, the Lady Eagles played one game this week on Monday against New Blockton. The boys, on the other hand, played one game last week and participated in the Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Classic at MA where they won two of three and finished third in the tournament. The boys two wins were nail biters as this team has developed a flare for the dramatic in the early part of the season.
Girls
Monday v. New Blockton
ACA used a suffocating defense that forced 27 turnovers as they doubled up New Blockton, 64-32. Katelyn Sutton’s eight first quarter points sparked the team to an 18-11 lead after one. Neither team could capture the momentum to start the second period and with 3:00 left in the half the Eagle lead was still seven points, 23-16. However, Alabama Christian closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run, spurred on by Evelyn Tankersley’s six points, to take a 33-18 lead into halftime.
Riding the momentum from the end of the half, ACA crushed any hope the Gamecocks had for a comeback as the defense held the visitors to one made basket on just ten attempts in the third. The Lady Eagles outscored its opponent 18-4 in the quarter to open a 50-22 lead after three. ACA finally hit the 30-point margin with just under five minutes to go in the game which triggered a running clock the rest of the way. The home team outscored New Brockton 14-10 in the period for the 64-32 final margin.
Katelyn Sutton led all scorers with 21 points with five steals and five assists. Evelyn Tankersley turned in an all-around good game with 12 points, six rebounds, four blocks, and three steals. A’Kirra McElveen led the team with eight rebounds.
Boys
Monday v. Pike Road
A first round draw against 6A Pike Road might have concerned some teams, but ACA stood toe to toe with the bigger team and fought their way to a 71-70 triumph. The Eagles utilized their long game as the team shot 53.6% from deep as they connected on 15 treys against the Patriots, second most in program history. The game was close throughout as Alabama Christian trailed by four and five points, respectively, at the end of the first two quarters. Mac Moorer led the team at the break with nine points.
ACA made their move in the third as they held Pike Road to 13 points to take a 52-49 lead after three periods. The Eagles spread the ball around as five different players scored in the quarter. Down the stretch, the Eagles did just enough to hold off the Patriots in the one-point victory.
Mac Moorer led the team with 21 points, on seven made threes. Jayden Jones had 14 points and five assists while Christian Snipes had 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Connor Mark finished with 12 points, six steals, and three rebounds.
Tuesday v. Lee-Scott
The second round brought a first time match up with AHSAA newcomer, Lee-Scott Academy. The Warriors hammered PCA in the first round and came out ready to play against ACA as they took advantage of the numerous foul calls for them. By the end of the game, ACA had 23 fouls called on them compared to only 11 for the Warriors. Lee-Scott was hot in the first period and built a 26-14 lead after one. The Eagles staged a comeback in the second largely on the team’s effectiveness at the free throw line. ACA connected on nine of ten in the quarter and 13 of 14 in the game. The team percentage of 92.9% was the best ever for an ACA team with 10 or more free throws taken in a game. The lead was cut to three, 35-38, at the half. Connor Mark’s 16 points led the team at the break.
In the second half, Lee-Scott methodically pulled away as they showed great ball movement and continued to ride the talents of #2. The talented guard finished with 35 points and everything the Warriors did ran through him. ACA cut the lead to single digits once in the fourth, but could get no closer than nine points in the 57-72 defeat.
Connor Mark led the squad with 19 points with three rebounds. Jayden Jones had 13 points with three rebounds, and three assists while Christian Snipes had 11 points and six rebounds.
Wednesday v. Brew Tech
The third place game pitted two teams who lost on Tuesday and wanted to finish the tournament with a win. Although the teams had not met since 2016, Brew Tech held a 22-game winning streak over ACA, the longest active losing streak for the Eagles. After watching the first half, a betting man would have been sure the streak would be 23 soon.
The game started in odd fashion as Levi Summers, who jumped center for the opening tip, grabbed the ball after it was touched by Brew Tech and went straight to the hole for a lay up and a 2-0 lead. After a Ram basket, Mac Moorer hit a three and asked the official to check the ball. It was discovered a girls ball had been used for the first three possessions of the game. ACA might have hoped the smaller ball stayed in play as they went on to miss nine of their next ten shots. Brew Tech adjusted easily as they hit 7 of 12 first period shots and led 15-13 after one. The second quarter was all Brew Tech. The Rams outscored ACA 17-2 over the first four minutes of the period to open a 32-14 lead. In the stretch, Brew Tech nailed six threes while the Eagles did not score from the floor. ACA’s only made field goal in the quarter was a 3-pointer by Mac Moorer in the final minute of the half. The Eagles walked to the locker room trailing 21-43 as Brew Tech hit 60.7% of their shots in the half.
While Coach Hill went and coached his team during the break, the Brew Tech team never left the floor and horsed around as they thought the game was in hand. In fact, the Rams didn’t even put the starting five back out there for the start of the second half. Conventional thinking was, if ACA wanted a chance to win, to try and cut the lead in half by the fourth quarter. The Eagles had other ideas in mind. The team came out on fire and played with an intensity that was non-existent in the first half. The defense applied a full court press that forced turnovers on six of Brew Tech’s first seven possessions. The combination of Connor Mark, Jayden Jones, and Mac Moorer dealt the Rams fits as they tried to get the ball across midcourt. It didn’t take a quarter to cut the lead in half, it took two minutes. At the 5:53 mark of the third and the score cut to 34-45, Brew Tech called time and put some of the starters back in.
If you thought the first half of the twenty-two point halftime deficit disappeared quickly, the second half evaporated even faster. Starters in or not, momentum was squarely on the Eagles side. After the Brew Tech timeout, ACA went on a 12-0 lead over the next two-plus minutes to incredibly take a 46-45 lead with 3:20 left in the quarter. Connor Mark scored the first seven points of the run followed by a Jayden Jones basket and a three-point play, the old fashioned way, by AC Walters. ACA did not let up after taking the lead and outscored the Rams 16-8 over the final three minutes for a 62-53 lead after three. ACA outscored Brew Tech 41-10 in the quarter.
To Brew Tech’s credit, they did respond in the fourth and cut the lead to two points, 62-60, with five minutes remaining. However, consecutive scores by Sam Davidson and Jaydon McElrath pushed the score back to 67-60 for some breathing room. Alabama Christian kept the Rams at an arm's length distance the rest of the way for the third place finish with the 76-65 win.
Connor Mark’s 25 points led the team with seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Jayden Jones and Mac Moorer each scored 16 points while Jones had six rebounds and Moorer had four rebounds and four steals. Sam Davidson finished with 10 points and three steals.