Southern Academy took advantage of a whopping 44 foul shots to come from 10 points behind against West Alabama Prep and win 49-44 Friday night in Greensboro.

The visiting Titans, behind a game-high 15 from Kyle Kennedy, led 16-12 after the first quarter, 28-27 at the half, and 40-30 midway through the third quarter.

But with several Titans in foul trouble, the Cougars narrowed the gap to 41-35 at the end of three quarters. Tight defense helped Southern to a 14-3 advantage in the final period and a five-point victory.

Wallace Drury led a balanced Cougar attack with 12 points, followed by Wes Henry with 8, Jason Segura and Matt Collins with 7, Andrew Whitis and Brandon Montz with 6, and Matthew Rutherford with 4.

Kennedy got help from Steven Cockreham’s 9 points, Jake Rich’s 6, Daniel Logan’s 4, Mark Geiger’s 4, Jarrod Weaver’s 3, and Gene Samuels’s 3.

WAP takes the court Tuesday at home against Open Door while Southern hosts Warrior Academy.

Marion Military Institute won a match-up of the area’s only ranked AISA boys’ teams, defeating area rival Warrior Academy 52-48 in overtime.

“We knew how tough it was going to be,” said MMI head coach Dr. Michelle Ivey. “We’re going to play them two or three more times this season, so this could be big for our momentum.”

JaMichael Rivers made a number of fourth-quarter offensive rebounds for No. 10 Warrior, helping the Braves force overtime with the game tied at 41. But the eighth-ranked Tigers capitalized on frequent trips to the free throw line in the extra period to pull out the victory.

MMI won with a balanced attack that saw all four of its scorers reach double-figures. Jovaris Smith led the way with 15, followed by Sam Greene with 14, Wendell Crews with 12, and Kendric Moore with 11.

Rivers scored a game-high 20 to lead the Braves. Robbie Gray scored 18 and Trenedy Bolden 9 in the losing effort.

MMI improves to 13-1 while Warrior slips to

The two schools will meet again in Marion in their regular season finale Jan. 30.

The No. 6 MMI girls, the highest-ranked Class A girls team in the state, got another huge night from Felicia Sprott and defeated the Warrior Lady Braves 44-21. The win keep Mmi undefeated at 13-0.

Sprott scored 26 points and pulled in 21 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers. Emily Easley scored 11, Samantha Suttles 5, and Yolanda Kelley 2.

Keshara Moore led the Lady Braves with 13. Ava Quinney, Tricia Langham, Crystal Clements, and Porsha Knox each scored 2.