The Morgan Academy Senators started their basketball season Tuesday night at home against the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights.

The girls lost 53-22, but the boys team won 63-55.

The girls team, coached by Kayla Thacker, jumped out to a quick 4-0 start, but the Knights overpowered them with perimeter shooting for the rest of the game.

The girls were down 38-12 at halftime. They struggled to find open shots against a lengthier Tuscaloosa team.

Grace Pelphrey led the Knights in scoring with 23 points. She made five three-pointers in the first half alone.

The Senators were led in scoring by Abigail Lane with 10 points.

“Tonight, we did really well with what we can do,” Thacker said. “We have a lot to build off of, and a lot of new people. Tuscaloosa’s a really good team with really good shooters, and we know what we have to work on now.”

The boys, on the other hand, played a much tighter game. Both teams took turns exchanging leads until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

“We played outstanding, but we missed 20 free throws,” Morgan head coach Mark Knight said. “I’m a little concerned about that, but I’m proud of my guys… They’re a little rusty with their shots, but I think we’re going to come around.”

Gunnar Henderson led Morgan Academy with 22 points.

The highlight of the night was high fast break dunk in the second quarter that fired up the student section. Britton Adams was second on the team in scoring and finished the game with 12 points.

“[Gunnar] was a big spark tonight,” Knight said, “But it was a total team effort. Our guys got after it pretty good.”

The defense survived a 26-point outbreak by Knights guard Jamarcus Darien.

The Senators played more aggressively in the second-half, but weren’t able to pull away until the final two-minutes of the game.

“We decided to start trapping a little bit… they were hurting us on the wing, so I went to a 1-2-2 look to try and take that wing shot away,” Knight said.

Morgan Academy will host Lee Scott on Thursday, Nov. 16.

OTHER SCORES

Selma University Men lost to Faulkner 102-62.

Selma University Women lost to Faulkner 71-42.

Wallace Community College Selma Men defeated Meridian this past Monday 86-76.

Wallace Community College Selma Women lost to Meridian 74-51 this past Monday.

The Southside High School girls lost to Wilcox Central 49-31.

Scores were not reported in time for the Southside boys, Meadowview Christian boys and girls, the Selma High School boys and girls teams and the Dallas County boys and girls teams.