James Clemens plays Von Braun Center
Bradley Belt works against DeVonte Lanier of Mae Jemison (Record Photo/Chris Shimek)
HUNTSVILLE- On the biggest stage of the season James Clemens played one of their best games but it wasn’t enough as Mae Jemison, led by Alabama signee John Petty came away with a 62-57 win in a semifinal of the al.com classic Dec. 28.
Jemison will play Mountain Brook Dec. 29 at 7 pm and James Clemens will play Austin at 5 pm in the third place game also at the Von Braun Center Propst Arena.
“It’ tough to win when the other team shoots 23 free throws,” James Clemens head Coach Danny Petty said. “We played well just to get here and it was a great experience for the players. There were sellout crowds at Jemison for the first two games so it was a lot of fun.”
Jemison hit 16 of 23 free throws, Petty was 9 of 10 from the line.
A.J. McGinnis was on fire early for the Jets hitting two three pointers in the first quarter as the Jets led 14-9. Jemison took the lead for good in the second quarter. Marcus Lacey kept the Jets close scoring 16 points in the second half. The Jets closed to 53-52 on Lacey’s offensive rebound and putback.
Bradley Belt played a strong game and had 12. A.J. McGinnis finished with 15.
James Clemens hopes the momentum from wins over Muscle Shoals and Huntsville will propel them to more wins in the second half of the season.
In the area race James Clemens stands at 0-3 after close losses to Bob Jones, Sparkman, and Buckhorn.
Petty is getting good minutes from Jamil Muhammed, Garrett Hicks, Bradley Belt, Lacey and McGinnis. In wins over Muscle Shoals and Huntsville the scoring was evenly distributed.
“All of the guys are playing better,” Petty said. “We just got to finish ball games. Our season goal which is to make a run in the playoffs is still reachable. It would have been nice to play Mountain Brook.”
Mountain Brook is the No. 1 ranked team in 7A in Alabama.
Tournaments like this provide a chance for college coaches to see players and establish relationships with them. Petty said some SEC teams have come to watch Belt play “but they have not contacted me.”
Belt could play football in college.
Petty said that he expects Lacey will play college basketball somewhere.
