Glenwood boys defeat Tuscaloosa Academy for Class AAA title

Montgomery, Al. – Trip Day’s Glenwood team had not won a state championship since he was an eighth-grade reserve. He made sure that Glenwood would have another, as he scored 30 points and paced the Gators to a 50-31 victory over Tuscaloosa Academy in the AISA class AAA championship at the Montgomery Multiplex.

Day had an outstanding tournament, scoring 34 points in the quarterfinals and semifinals before the explosion against the Knights. Those efforts earned him tournament MVP honors.

“This team has beaten us three straight years and it was not going to happen this time. I knew what I had to do, and our team accomplished it,” Day said.

“Thank God for Trip,” Glenwood coach Dusty Perdue said. “His play carried us all night, and we rode him. What a way to end your high school career, to go out a champion.”

Joining Day were seniors Brandon Moseley and James Beck on the all-tournament team.

“I was proud of our three seniors and all three were on the all-tournament team,” Perdue said. “We had some moments in the fourth when their press gave us some problems but our seniors played well and we kept it together as a team.”

Day was also in double figures in rebounds and had five steals and four blocked shots despite only being charged with one foul. It was Glenwood’s offensive rebounding that secured the victory, as they outrebounded the Knights three to one.

Cameron O’Neill ended the outing as the second-leading scorer. The forward came in and scored his season-high with nine points.

The only double figure scorer for the Knights was JaMarcus Darien with 14. Day’s efforts landed him a sport on the all-tournament team for the second straight year.

It was the second victory for the Gators over Tuscaloosa on the year, as Glenwood also defeated the Knights in the region championship finals. The Gators finished with a 24-3 record, while Tuscaloosa was 19-5.

“I could not have been prouder of that record, and especially that last win,” Perdue said.

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Glenwood boys defeat Tuscaloosa Academy for Class AAA title."