By JOSH FRYE
News Sports Writer
Atmore Christian School’s Rams made a solid appearance on Friday, February 8, against Central Christian in Robertsdale during the Panhandle Christian Conference Regional Tournament, outplaying the Saints to capture a 54-37 victory.
ACS appeared strong during the first period of the game and was able to jump in front of the Saints and take a 22-14 lead.
A pair of 3-point shots from Reese White helped place the Rams ahead of the Saints early. White was backed by Drew Shelly’s 6 points and 4 points each from Caden Battles and Luke Chambless. Kyle Hostetler added 2.
The second period, however, was fruitless as neither team scored.
With the score holding 22-14 at the start of the third period, both teams turned up the intensity to put points on the board.
Finally, points began to show through for the Rams by way of Battles, who scored 7 points in the period. Chambless tallied 6, and Kyle Hostetler added 1.
The Saints matched the Rams almost perfectly on shots during the third period, 12-14, and the fourth period started with the Rams leading the Saints 36-26.
With a 10-point lead, ACS’s players turned up the intensity to capture the 54-37 victory.
“The team executed the game plan very well,” Coach Tim Battles said. “We rebounded and defended well and were efficient enough to keep the score spread and capture the win.”
With the win against Central Christian in the book, the Rams turned their attention to the SL Jones Christian Academy Warriors on Saturday night, February 9.
The Rams, however, were not so lucky this time and fell by a 100-32 score.
SLJ outscored the Rams 23-9 during the first period, but the punishment didn’t stop there.
The Warriors ran up the score and held a commanding lead, 48-14, as the teams retired for the half. Despite all attempts by the Rams within the third and fourth periods, the Warriors ran the court to claim the one-sided win.
“We just ran into an SL Jones buzz saw that beat us handily,” Battles said.
Despite the tough loss, ACS secured a second-place finish in the Panhandle Christian Conference West Region and has secured a berth in the Panhandle Christian Conference Final Four.
The Rams are set to face the East Region Champion, the East Hill Christian Academy Eagles, in the first round of the Final Four at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. on Friday, February 15 at 4:30 p.m.