The 100th AHSAA State Basketball Championships got underway Monday at the BJCC Convention Center Legacy Arena. With two more wins, any one of our teams from the Tennessee Valley could claim a blue map.
Class 1A Girls’ Semifinals Skyline 57, Loachapoka 44
Skyline School will have a chance to defend its Class 1A girls’ title won in 2021. The Vikings (28-8) defeated Loachapoka 57-44 in the opening game of the AHSAA’s 100th State Basketball Championships Monday’s at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena.
Blakely Stucky scored 21 points making 5-of-6 shots from the field and sinking 8-of-8 at the free throw line, to lead Skyline. Gracie Rowell added 16 points, including five 3-pointers. Skyline never trailed, led by nine at the end of the first quarter, led by double digits at halftime and pushed the lead to 23 early in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Class 1A Boys’ Semifinals: Decatur Heritage 42, Brantley 38
Decatur Heritage Christian School used a strong defensive effort to knock off Brantley in Monday’s 100th AHSAA State Basketball Championships Class 1A boys’ semifinals at the BJCC Legacy Arena. The Eagles (21-7), coached by Jason Marshall, held the Bulldogs scoreless for more than five minutes in the fourth quarter – with Brantley missing 13 straight shots – to earn a 42-38 victory and a berth in Thursday’s Class 1A state championship game to be played at 5:45 p.m., against Covenant Christian (28-6).
Brayden Kyle and Hayden Page scored nine points apiece to lead the Decatur Heritage offense. Kyle also had 15 rebounds. The teams deadlocked in a 21-21 tie at halftime, and Decatur Heritage clung to a 34-31 lead as the fourth quarter started. The Eagles made just one shot in the fourth quarter but hit 8-of-11 free throws and turned up the defensive pressure against Brantley.
Class 1A Boys’ Semifinals: Covenant Christian 73, Autaugaville 62
Whatever Covenant Christian boys’ basketball coach Bret Waldrep said at halftime, it worked. Covenant turned 28-28 halftime tie into a 14-point lead at the end of third quarter and earned a 73-62 victory over defending Class 1A champion Autaugaville in the Class 1A boys’ state semifinals Monday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. “We played great in the third quarter,” Waldrep said.
The Eagles (28-6) advance to the 1A title game against Decatur Heritage. The two north Alabama private schools – located about 45 miles apart – are set to play Thursday at 5:45 p.m. It will be the Tuscumbia school’s first boys’ state championship appearance in history.
Class 2A Girls’ Semifinals Pisgah 64, Lanett 47
Pisgah High School’s defense shut out Lanett over the first six minutes of Monday’s Class 2A girls’ state tournament semifinals to take a 14-point lead and then fended off the scrappy Wildcats’ second-half comeback effort to post a 64-47 win in the 100th AHSAA State Basketball Championships being held at the BJCC Legacy Arena. The Eagles (32-3), coached by Carey Ellison, needed that cushion in the end as the Panthers (17-8) of Coach Charlie Williams outscored Pisgah 40-39 the rest of the way. Lanett could never get closer than nine, however, and the Eagles moved one win closer to claiming its fifth AHSAA state championship in a row. Pisgah moves into the Class 2A finals Friday morning at 9 a.m.
Class 2A Boys’ Semifinals: Section 81, Lanett 58
Section High School’s Lions shot a blistering 64% from the field Monday night en route to an 81-58 win over Lanett in the semifinals of the 100th AHSAA State Basketball Championships Class 2A boys’ tourney at the BJCC Legacy Arena.
Section (27-9) of Coach Derek Wynn were 18-of-23 from the field on 2-point attempts in the second half for an even hotter 78.3%. The Lions, reaching the state finals for the first time since 2006, were red-hot from the start taking a 22-13 lead after one quarter. Lanett, coached by Trentavious McCants, clawed back in the second quarter and trailed by five at intermission 33-28.
Seniors Alex Guinn, Logan Patterson and Jacob Cooper led the way for the Lions scoring 24, 20 and 16 points, respectively. The 6-foot-5 Cooper also had 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Patterson added eight assists and senior Dominik Blair had 12 points.
Class 2A Boys’ Semifinals Mars Hill Bible 64, Highland Home 62
Mars Hill Bible junior guard Hugh Hargett sank a crucial 3-point goal with 46 seconds remaining Monday night to tie the Class 2A boys’ semifinal basketball game with Highland Home at 62 all. He then drilled two free throws with nine seconds left to seal the win as the Panthers (15-15) squeaked into the boys’ state finals for the first time since 2001 with a 64-62 win. The Class 2A semifinal closed out the first day’s action ad the 100th AHSAA State Basketball Championships got underway Monday at the BJCC Legacy Arena Monday. The win sends Mars Hill Bible, coached by Jim South, into the finals to face Section Friday morning at 10:45 a.m. Action resumes Tuesday with girls’ and boys’ semifinals in Class 3A in the morning session and Class 4A in the afternoon.
Hargett was just 6-of-18 from the field – and 4-of-13 from the 3-point line but he was precise in the clutch to finish with 23 points. His 3-point goal completed a five-point play following a Highland Home technical foul erased the Flying Squadron’s 55-50 lead with 3:44 to play to set up some heroics on both sides the rest of the game. Highland Home (28-6), making its first trip to the State Basketball Championships, had a strong board presence with Keldric Faulk, who slammed a dunk with 59 seconds left to give the Flying Squadron a 3-point lead at 62-59. Hargett answered swiftly with his final trey of the night to tie the game and set up the final heroics. Faulk finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds to pace Coach Jonny Mitchell’s squad. He also played most of the second half with four fouls. His younger brother Jakaleb Faulk added 16 points. Mars Hill also got 14 points and six rebounds from Joshua Bowerman, and Connor Pigg had nine points. The Panthers were 14-of-20 at the foul line and sank 10 treys, and Highland Home out-rebounded Mars Hill 42-23 but was only 10-of-25 at the foul line.