EA boys, girls earn berths to Elite 8 Tournament

Escambia Academy’s boys and girls basketball teams will be vying for the AISA Class 3A title this week at the 2016 Elite 8 State Tournament in Montgomery.

The tournament is single elimination and is going to be held at the Montgomery Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

EA’s girls play Tuscaloosa Academy at noon tomorrow in the state quarterfinals. EA’s boys play Bessemer Academy at 1:30 p.m.

With their ticket already punched going into the Class 3A, Region 2 tournament last week in Greenville, the boys wound up finishing as the runner up. The Cougars fell 53-47 to Hooper Academy in the regional championship on Saturday night.

The girls put together a solid effort in defeating Morgan Academy to gain their berth, and fell in the regional title game to Fort Dale, 42-36.

This will be the boys’ second straight state tournament appearance. The last time the girls made an appearance at state was in 2014.

A full recap of the regional tournament is below by game.

Hooper Academy boys 53, Escambia Academy boys 47

The Cougars trailed 48-28 with more than 6 minutes to go, and narrowed the gap to three points in the fourth period.

The comeback began when Louie Turner was fouled on a potential three-point play.

Bradley Geck later got a rebound and putback to make it 49-34, and Turner got his old-fashioned three-point play with more than 4 minutes to go.

After getting another stop on defense, Tyler Sells converted a layup to cut it to 10 at 49-39, and Trae Lee found Gary Campbell under the rim for an easy shot.

Turner got a steal at halfcourt and made a layup to put the game at 49-43. Lee drained a 3-pointer for a 49-46 game.

Hooper Academy’s Ty Bolton then made the back-end of a pair, and Geck added a free throw, but the Cougars trailed 51-47.

Bolton drained a pair of free throws to ice the game for good with 7.4 seconds left.

“I was proud of the way we battled back,” EA coach Hugh Fountain said. “The thing is when you look back at the film; at the end, we had every opportunity to win the ball game. Free throws were the difference. We hit them in the first half.

“We ended up having to foul them, which opened up the gap,” he said.

Sells led EA with 13 points; Turner had nine; and Lee and Blake Allen had six points each.

Sells and Lee made the all-tournament team.

Fort Dale Academy girls 42, Escambia Academy girls 36

Alia Snow and Mikayla Spruill showed their stuff in the first period en route to a 9-5 lead, but the Lady Eagles slowed the game down a bit, forcing fouls.

Bailey Lancaster drained a 3-pointer early in the second to give EA a 16-12 lead. Cassidy Murphy added a turnaround jumper for a 18-14 lead.

However, Spruill drained a 3-pointer for a 22-20 advantage.

Gaston added a 3-pointer of her own as the Lady Eagles led 23-22.

EA led 24-23 at halftime.

Snow led EA with 15 points; Spruill had 12 points; and Lancaster had six points.

Gaston led FDA with 16 points.

Langford, Spruill, Castleberry and Gaston (MVP) were named to the all-tournament team.

Escambia Academy boys 71, Autauga Academy boys 61

Lee led EA with 18 points; Geck had 17 points; Sells scored 14 points; and Turner and Fred Flavors had seven points each.

The Cougars utilized their fast-paced offense and stuffed AA on defense en route to the regional championship.

Escambia Academy girls 40, Pike Liberal Arts girls 38

Trailing 33-25 in the fourth period, EA’s girls went on a 12-0 run to take a lead they’d never give up in a close game against the Lady Patriots of Pike Lib.

“We played very tough,” Lady Cougars coach Cale Thompson said. “Our team worked really hard. In the fourth (period), our team had such confidence and intensity late.

“I’m so proud of our team,” he said.

Spruill led EA with 17 points; Snow chipped in seven; and Murphy and Lancaster had six points each.

Escambia Academy girls 52, Morgan Academy girls 47

Snow led EA with 22 points; Spruill added 10; Murphy scored six; and Lancaster chipped in five.