PREP HOOPS: Loachapoka gets past Notasulga

CAMP HILL — Faced with an unexpected tie heading into the fourth quarter Friday, Loachapoka pulled an ace from under its sleeve.

Indians forward Quindravious Richardson scored 5 points on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter, as he served as the go-to man on Loachapoka’s inbounds play known simply as “Ace.” The mini spurt kick-started a 7-0 Loachapoka run and served as more than enough cushion en route to the Indians’ 51-42 victory over Notasulga in the first round of the Class 1A-Area 7 tournament.

In the second half of the doubleheader, Edward Bell raced out to an early lead and coasted to a 76-59 victory over Verbena, setting up its fourth chance out of four to beat the reigning 1A state champions.

“We were doing fine on defense,” Loachapoka coach Terry Murph said. “But if we do that again (on offense), we’ve got some problems.”

Murph thought he had a problem when he watched Richardson make his first move on “Ace.” The Blue Devils had run a zone defense for most of Friday’s game, but switched to man on Loachapoka’s inbounds play, which likely served as the source of Richardson’s confusion.

“He didn’t run it right,” Murph said. “But it was so open and it stayed open.”

The second of Richardson’s two layups put him on the foul line, as he fought through a hard hit to set up a 3-point play. Richardson’s swished free throw put the Indians up 5 and they never let the Blue Devils within a single possession the rest of the way.

Richardson scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. No other Loachapoka player scored more than 6.

“He’s got to play better. He’s our top option,” Murph said. “He needs to put a full game together and he definitely didn’t do it tonight.”

Notasulga was led by Nick Nettles, whose 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter capped a 7-0 Blue Devils run and set up the 32-32 tie heading into the fourth. Nettles finished with 19 points, but fouled out with 3:16 to play.

Edward Bell had much less resistance in its opening-round win, as it used a 14-0 first-quarter run to separate itself from the Red Devils by double digits the rest of the game.

The Bears didn’t need much from top scorer Damien Carr, who spent the majority of Friday’s game setting up his teammates or jump-starting fast breaks.

Carr still had 12 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter and an emphatic one-handed slam during the Bears’ 14-0 run.

“Damien is our top gun and he played unselfish,” Edward Bell coach Mitch Joiner said. “He only shot five or six times. He knows that’s not our normal game, but we had to work it down low.”

Armis Holloway was the biggest beneficiary. He had little trouble establishing position down in the paint on his way to a team-high 17 points.

“He’s just the man,” Joiner said. “He’s good with his right or left hand and it’s hard to stop.”

Edward Bell beat Loachapoka in all three of the teams’ previous matchups this season, including a 21-point victory Jan. 22, but Joiner said he doesn’t expect it to be just as easy in Monday’s tournament final.

“(Murph) will have something up his sleeve,” Joiner said. “He’s a championship coach and he’s got years of experience over me.”

agribble@oanow.com | 737-2561