Parklane Academy’s basketball team has scraped and clawed its way to the MAIS Overall Tournament semifinals.
The Pioneers witnessed their 13-point first-half lead vanish before clinging to a 53-50 win Tuesday night over Porter’s Chapel Academy in the tournament opener at Mississippi College.
Parklane will now take on AA power Central Private on Friday in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. The last time the Pioneers made it this far in the overall tournament was in 2007, when they lost to Madison Ridgeland Academy in the championship game.
“I thought we came out playing really well ... and we just got a little bit cold in the second half,” Parklane coach Chris Weaver said.
The lead Parklane fought to build was nearly erased in the final seconds as Porter’s Chapel got within 51-50 with 13 seconds left.
Parklane’s Brady Lea missed two free throws but came up with a huge rebound on the ensuing possession and drained both shots to make it 53-50.
“I have to give (Porter’s Chapel) credit,” Weaver said. “They shot the ball extremely well in the second half, so that made them pull them back in the game.”
Lea finished with 10 points and five rebounds for the Pioneers (24-10).
Spencer Remley continued his hot shooting and connected on 5 of 10 3-point attempts to lead Parklane with 19 points. Phillip Strawn added 11 points and Zach Stutzman had 3 points and 8 rebounds.
Weaver said he liked the way his players carried last Saturday’s momentum from a win over Magnolia Heights into Tuesday’s game. It showed in the first half as Parklane looked as if it would cruise into the semifinals.
Parklane used a 13-3 run in the opening minutes of the game to build a 33-20 lead at halftime.
“Being in a different setting at the (A.E. Wood) Coliseum is completely different to them and they did a good job of handling the crowd,” Weaver said.
Porter’s Chapel finished the season with a 26-5 mark behind coach E.J. Creel, who is the first female coach in MAIS history.
“It was neat. She really did a good job with that group of guys,” Weaver said of coaching against Creel. “It’s neat to see our sport evolving and changing.”
Next up for Parklane is Central Private, which knocked off MRA on Tuesday.
Central Private is led by a group of experienced outside shooters and a legitimate big man down low in 6-foot-10 Liam Thomas, who had 14 rebounds and three blocks Tuesday.
“We got to be able to guard the 3-point shot, because they shoot it extremely well from a really deep distance,” Weaver said. “We have to be able to identify who the shooters are and be around them at all times. They shoot the ball as well as anybody I’ve seen all year.”
