ACA finished Area play on Saturday with a trip to the middle of nowhere to take on Dallas County. As fans turned on a dirt road (County Road 86) as part of their trek to Valley Grande, “Dueling Banjos” could be heard in the distance. The outcome of either game would not change the opponent for next week’s Area tournament, but both teams wanted to finish with a win.
The girls game was supposed to be relatively easy, but the Lady Hornets showed life a couple of times in the game. ACA scored the first six points of the game and seemed to relax a bit, but Dallas County woke them up quickly with scores on three straight possessions to cut the lead to one point, 8-7. With 5:12 left in the first quarter, Coach Cantrell called a timeout in frustration to help focus her troops. The timeout was successful as the home team did not score again until there was 3:07 left in the first half. The Eagles finished the quarter with an 11-0 run to lead 19-7 after one. The second period was more of the same as Alabama Christian stretched its lead to 44-13 at the half.
With a huge lead it is sometimes easy for a team to lose its intensity and when the Hornet point guard weaved through the whole defense for a layup 30 seconds into the third, Coach Cantrell got the attention of her team. With only four players on the bench, the coach asked the official if she could play with just four players. When he said yes the starters were all pulled and the four subs were sent in. The four players played the next 3:50 of the period and were only outscored by three points during the stretch. With a new determination ACA finished the quarter with a 61-29 cushion. The clock ran in the fourth and the Eagles cruised to the 67-33 victory.
Jaide Newkirk led the offense with 14 points and four rebounds while Campbell Hammett finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Katelyn Sutton had nine points, seven assists, and four steals while Adalyn Newkirk finished with eight points, three rebounds, three steals, and three assists.
In the boys game, Dallas County had one player, one offensive play, and one group of officials who made sure the star player was handled with care. The Hornet player shot 21 free throws, on his way to 51 points, on the night as all of the other players in the game shot 23 free throws combined. Three of the four players who spent time guarding the player fouled out for ACA.
Despite the way the game was called, Alabama Christian hung close as neither team led by more than five points until the final minute of the third. ACA trailed by two (16-18) at the end of the first and led by two (34-32) at halftime. ACA trailed by just two points with 1:28 left in the game, but did not score again and sent the Hornets (more accurately #3) to the foul line as Dallas County pulled away in the final minute for the 81-66 win. The Eagles coaching staff has a week to figure out a way to slow down the Dallas County standout as the two teams will meet in next week’s Area tournament.
Connor Mark led the offense with 26 points along with six rebounds and three assists. Jayden Jones had 14 points while Christian Snipes finished with 10 points.
Alabama Christian will have Senior Night on Tuesday, January 28th to close out the regular season.