Girls
In the first meeting, two weeks ago, ACA handled Tallassee easily with only six players. Tuesday night, the Eagles were short just one player and struggled to find an offensive rhythm all night. Senior Rachel Rine’s presence was definitely missed.
Campbell Hammett scored the first points of the night and the two teams traded baskets throughout the opening period. The contest was tied 8-8 as neither team scored over the last two minutes of the quarter. Early in the second the visiting Tigers took their first lead of the game with an offensive rebound and score off a missed free throw. ACA tied the game on two different occasions, but could not regain the lead and trailed 19-20 at the intermission. Izzy Warrick and Jaide Newkirk each scored six points in the half to pace the offense.
The lead changed hands five times in the third period, but a pair of Katelyn Sutton free throws gave the home team the lead for good with 21.3 seconds left in the quarter. Izzy Warrick and Maddie Traywick scored the first two baskets of the final period to give ACA a 36-31 lead. Tallassee responded and tied the game 40-40 with just over a minute left in the game. Jaide Newkirk scored in the paint and Campbell Hammett made a steal and scored to make it 44-40. After Tallassee made one of two free throws, Hammett grabbed an offensive rebound on an Eagle missed freebie and scored to seal the game. The last four possessions of the game ended with both teams making one of two free throws and Alabama Christian hung on for the 48-43 victory.
Jaide Newkirk was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points as she dominated the inside with 18 rebounds and four blocks. Campbell Hammett added 11 points with four rebounds and three steals while Izzy Warrick had 10 points with four rebounds.
Boys
ACA came out on fire in the boy’s game as a bewildered Tallassee coach called his second timeout of the quarter with 3:11 left and his team trailing 13-2. Mac Moorer and Conner Mark combined for three made threes in the first five minutes of the game. The Tigers settled down and cut the lead to 15-8 by the end of the period. The end of the quarter saw the first of seven attempts to stall or hold for a last shot by the Tallassee coach. Although they would eventually win the game, the visitors only scored once when they tried to slow the pace. Tallassee scored the first ten points of the second period to take their first lead of the night, and would never trail again. ACA trailed 18-21 after two quarters.
The offenses for both teams disappeared in the third period as the two teams combined to make just seven shots from the floor as Tallassee outscored ACA 9-6 to extend the lead to six points. ACA continued to struggle as the Tigers pulled away in the fourth. Trailing by just three points, the Eagles gave up eleven straight points to trail 29-43. Both teams added a basket in the final two and a half minutes as Tallassee prevailed, 45-31.
Tyree Saadiq’s ten points led the offense with four rebounds and four assists. Conner Mark had seven points while Mac Moorer finished with six points. Mark, Moorer and Christian Snipes were all held scoreless in the second half. Darius Gardner led the team with five rebounds.