Alabama high school basketball scores: AISA boys and girls championship game results
The Alabama Independent School Association played its boys and girls basketball state championship games Friday at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery.
Here is a roundup of each game.
PAIR OF CHAMPIONSHIPS:How Darryl Free led Edgewood Academy boys and girls basketball to state titles in same season
AREA STANDOUTS:Top performers in Montgomery-area high school sports for the second week of February
Class AAA boys: Glenwood 41, Macon-East 39
Brandon McCraine hit just two shots Friday night. One of them was the biggest shot of his life.
McCraine, an Auburn baseball commit, scored on a layup from the right block as time expired to give Glenwood its fifth-ever state championship and first since 2017.
The Gators (25-9) trailed 33-27 after the third quarter but pulled ahead before Brandon Wilkins tied the game with a minute remaining. Wilkins missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, leading to Glenwood's final possession.
Jacob Wilson scored 15 points and Wilkins had 12 for Macon-East. The Knights (25-7) were hunting for their fourth title in the last seven seasons.
Brandon's brother Mason, also an Auburn baseball commit, scored a game-high 17 points.
Class AAA girls: Clarke Prep 59, Glenwood 49
Clarke Prep spoiled Glenwood's bid for a third straight state championship by outscoring Glenwood 33-19 after halftime.
The Gators (25-3), who were eliminated in the semifinals last season, trailed 30-26 at halftime before pulling away in the third and fourth quarters.
Grace Davis scored 26 points for Clarke Prep, while Molli Blaylock scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half. The Gators had previously never won a state championship in girls or boys basketball.
Glenwood (25-7) got 17 points from Anna Grace Griggs and 14 from Takayla Davis. The Gators came in seeking their 10th state title of all time and eighth since 2007.
Class AA boys: Edgewood Academy 43, Autauga Academy 40
With leading scorer Austin Champion limited due to a left heel injury, Edgewood needed others to step up Friday.
Cooper Hall scored 14 points and Thomas Justiss added 12 to lead the Wildcats (23-4) to their fourth-ever state title and third in the last eight years.
The game was neck-and-neck throughout, the margin never stretching beyond two possessions in either direction. JB Collier sank two free throws to put the Wildcats up three with six seconds left, but Evan Peak's last-second 3-pointer bounced off the rim.
"We were setting up for a game like tonight," Edgewood coach Darryl Free said. "With Austin being injured, we knew we were going to have some adversity, but we made a run in the third quarter and we were able to hold off in the end."
Champion scored just five points, but played the entire game.
"Without Austin Champion on the floor, we don't win the ball game," Free said. "Grittiest performance I've seen from a high school kid."
Autauga (12-10) was seeking to win its fifth state title and defend last season's state championship. Damien Dickerson scored 13 for the Generals and Cameron Wright added 11.
Class AA girls: Edgewood Academy 59, Lakeside 36
One year after winning its first-ever state championship, Edgewood came back even better.
The Wildcats (27-0) completed an unbeaten season, cruising past Lakeside behind 24 points from Lindsey Brown and 16 from Jaylyn Strength.
"We came in today just like we would any other day," Strength said. "We came to take care of business. Just because we're 27-0 doesn't mean that we were thinking we were the crap. We pushed ourselves like we knew we could."
Edgewood scored the game's first 12 points and led 27-9 at halftime. The Chiefs rallied to get within eight points late in the third quarter, but the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run to wrest control for good.
"We got better throughout the year," said Edgewood coach Darryl Free, "and I think we peaked at the right time."
Sophia Seaborn scored 13 points for Lakeside (13-10), which was looking to win its 11th championship of all time and first since 2013.
Class A boys: Heritage Christian 68, Lowndes Academy 36
Heritage Christian scored the first 16 points of the game and didn't look back en route to its third straight Class A state championship.
The Eagles finished off a 27-1 season in which they went unbeaten against teams from Alabama and outscored their opponents by an average of nearly 35 points. All of their wins this season came by double digits.
Jaylen Carrington led Heritage with 26 points, 18 of them coming in the first half as the Eagles took a 44-20 lead. Greyson Sanford added 19 points.
Clayton Hussey scored 25 points for Lowndes (18-4), which was seeking its first-ever state title in boys basketball.
Class A girls: Lowndes Academy 39, Crenshaw Christian 21
After his team took a 20-6 lead at halftime, Lowndes coach Matt Marshall thought his team started playing tentatively, as if they were simply trying not to lose. That cost the Rebels in the third quarter, as Crenshaw Christian pulled to within six points before Lowndes made what Marshall called a "mental adjustment."
"We changed our attitude," Marshall said.
Senior guard Molly Powell scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as Lowndes (16-6) pulled away from the Cougars to claim its sixth state championship and first since 2015.
"Molly’s always been the glue keeping the whole thing going," Marshall said. "I told her, you either play like a runner-up or you play like a champion. I knew she’d play like a champion."
Cameryn Hess added 11 points for Lowndes Academy. Tanna Singleton scored 13 points to lead Crenshaw (6-14), which was seeking its third state title and first since 2012.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: AISA boys and girls basketball championship game results
