Going into Christmas break, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Morgan Academy is playing some of the best basketball within Dallas County.

The Senators (6-4) won five of their last six games, with the one loss in that time coming to defending AISA 3A champion Tuscaloosa Academy.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen the focus that it takes in practice to play really well in the games,” Morgan coach Jacob Lyon said. “We always play hard but I think that’s one of the things that the guys picked up during football season that you can’t just show up on Friday night and expect to win.”

All the hard work during practice is clearly starting to pay off.

Lyon’s Senators won the Autauga Academy Tournament last week and are entering the second half of the season with a winning record.

Lyon, who is in his first year coaching the Senators, said the biggest adjustment the team has made is slowing the ball down.

“We are playing a little bit slower on offense — not pushing the ball quite as hard and being more patient and making other teams guard for extended periods of time,” Lyon said.

He’s also shortened his bench. Right now only seven Senators are seeing extended playing time on a nightly basis, but he knows that’s something that will have to change for Morgan to contend for an Alabama Independent School Association championship.

“We are really only playing seven guys significant minutes, which is something that will have to change for us to get better in region play and to be able to knock off some of these Tuscaloosa type, Glenwood type teams,” Lyon said.

The Senators aren’t winning the way teams traditionally do either. There’s no go-to scorer on offense and no particular player has been hot over the last month. Instead, five different players have led Morgan in scoring over the 5-1 streak — Sawyer Hopkins, Jackson Henderson, Tyler Bush, Woodham Kemmer and John Ross Bone.

“I think that’s really key for us. It starts at the top,” Lyon said. “We are getting really good point guard play and when you can move the ball to different guys and trust your teammates then that just makes us a lot harder to guard. We are hopefully going to continue that. I don’t have a problem with that at all — not having a go to guy.”

Some of Morgan Academy’s biggest games of the year are still on the schedule.

Morgan still has all four region games on the schedule, with home and home series planned with Autauga Academy and Hooper Academy.  Those games will be later in January, but first the Senators will try to keep their winning streak going.

The Senators will take part in the  Glenwood Tournament Monday and Tuesday. Morgan will face Calvary Christian from Columbus, Ga. Monday and Grace Christian from Bainbridge, Ga. Tuesday in the tournament, which faces off teams from Alabama and Mississippi in every game.

Morgan will then host the Morgan Academy Tournament, which will feature 10 teams, Jan. 2-3.