Mustangs claim area title

Madison Academy’s Will Acuff, posing with mom Kelly and sister Molly on Senior Night, scored 16 points as the Mustangs defeated West Morgan 72-48 to win the Class 3A, Area 15 tournament championship. CONTRIBUTED

HUNTSVILLE – Madison Academy’s boys basketball team entered this week hoping a recent smooth ride continued.

In what has been a roller-coaster ride through the season, the Mustangs entered last night’s Class 3A sub-regional game at home against Hanceville on the heels of a two-game winning streak that saw the return of star guard Josh Langford.

Langford, a Michigan State signee, missed 11 games with an ankle injury but returned for the Area 15 tournament. He knocked off any rust in wins over Clements (71-33) and West Morgan (72-48) that put the team within five victories of repeating as state champion.

The Mustangs entered the sub-regional with a 17-12 record while playing a challenging schedule. Since the start of the season, they’ve had winning streaks of three twice and four once and lost three straight twice and two in a row twice.

Madison Academy, however, had not lost to a team below 5A entering the postseason. The Mustangs fell to 5A Johnson and 7A Spain Parker to end the regular season.

Madison Academy went 6-5 in Langford’s absence. He had 15 points as Madison Academy easily defeated West Morgan. Myles Parker led the win with 23 points and Will Acuff had 16.

“Obviously, when you have your full team you’re excited,’’ Madison Academy coach Andy Blackston said. “The team is hungry. We’ve had some tough periods against some tough competition. Maybe that heavy lifting will pay off.’’

The Madison Academy-Hanceville winner advances to the Northwest Regional.