BY DANIEL SCHMIDT FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN – Following victories over Enterprise and Dothan, the Auburn High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were one step away from reaching the Alabama High School Athletic Association 7A semifinals and a shot at the state championship game.
That trip to Birmingham is now on hold until at least next year after the Lady Tigers fell to the Lady Red Devils 63-53 and the Tigers lost to the Red Devils in a 59-42 game that was neck-and-neck until the final four minutes.
After the losses, the Lady Tigers finish the year with a 26-6 record while the Lady Red Devils press forward after improving to 22-6. The Tigers end their season with a 22-10 record and the Red Devils advance with a 29-4 record.
CHS’ Jabria Lindsey and Jacoby Hill were named as the girls’ and boys’ 7A central region’s most valuable players, respectively.
Early in the first quarter, it appeared AHS was well on its way to a fourth-straight victory over CHS as a smothering defensive effort, Kaleah Toles’ excellent passing and four points apiece from Brooke Hallman and Braylee Winfrey led to an early lead. However, the Lady Tigers eventually had few answers for Lindsey — who scored 12 of the Lady Red Devils’ 14 first quarter points — as a foul-and-turnover-filled first quarter plagued AHS.
Down 14-9, the Lady Tigers rallied, going on a quick 8-0 run fuelled by Hallman’s two three-point baskets to go up 17-14 less than four minutes into the quarter. Despite getting two free throws from Jordyn Cobb at a pivotal moment, AHS’ lead did not last long as Lindsey continued to torment AHS and give CHS a 24-22 lead entering halftime.
From the get-go, the Lady Tigers’ adjustment was evident: get Winfrey going with direct runs down the land toward the basket. And for a time, that strategy paid off as the star junior guard notched eight points. Yet the game plan unraveled as Gerritt Griggs’ three-point shooting and easy layups swelled CHS’ lead into double figures.
Down 45-33 with eight minutes to save their season, the Lady Tigers refused to lie down. Led by Daley Alsobrook and Winfrey, AHS went on a 9-0 run that whittled the Lady Red Devils’ lead to three points less than halfway into the quarter. Despite the early success, that run eventually ended as a prolonged scoring drought and Lindsey’s 17 fourth quarter points ultimately doomed the Lady Tigers.
Hallman led AHS with 20 points, while Winfrey, Alsobrook and Cobb recorded 19, eight and six points, respectively, for the Lady Tigers. Lindsey topped all scorers with 40 points for the Lady Red Devils, and Griggs contributed 12 points.
The boys’ game began without a tipoff after Auburn was assessed a technical foul for not wearing their white home jerseys. From there, Hill scored the game’s first points with two free throws before a single second had ticked off the clock. While Hill and Jayddence Ford were dynamic early, Tabari Allen’s tough baskets and offensive rebounding near the rim and a last-second Karl Lindsey three-pointer gave the Tigers a boost heading into the second quarter.
Down 13-11, AHS looked to build on their late momentum. While they managed to corral a white-hot Ford, Hill proved virtually unstoppable and scored in almost every imaginable way en route to 13 second quarter points. However, Allen did just enough underneath the basket and Lindsey chipped in another three-point basket to 26-21 with CHS ahead at halftime.
Following the break, Allen continued his dominant performance in the paint from the first half with seven third quarter points. At the same time, tough team defense from the Tigers also began to hold Hill in check, and Antwane Daniels’ four points helped whittle the Red Devil’s lead down to 34-32 entering the fourth quarter.
With the game neck-and-neck, things took a turn as questionable refereeing elicited impassioned reactions from both coaches. Through the first few minutes, it appeared AHS would set itself up in prime position to win the game in the final moments. That chance never materialized as momentum started slipping through the Tigers’ claws due to a string of turnovers that let Hill and Bryce Dawson blow the game open with 19 combined fourth quarter points.
Allen finished with 23 points, while Daniels, Lindsey, Tyler Dixon and Mark Bazzell recorded nine, six, two and two points, respectively, for the Tigers. Daniels led all scorers with 34 points for the Red Devils, and Ford contributed 14 points.
