No. 6
Hoover (Ala.) defeated
Florence (Ala.) 66-56 behind 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots from four-star Tennessee signee
DeWayne Brown Saturday night in the Class 7A state title game at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
Hoover (35-0) closed out the season as the first undefeated state champion in Class 7A in Alabama, while also becoming just the third team from the Yellowhammer State's highest class to win three straight state titles — joining Mountain Brook (Birmingham) 2017-2019, Geraldine 1931-1933 and Simpson (Birmingham) 1923-1925.
The Buccaneers also extended their win-streak to 45 dating back to last season behind a balanced effort that saw four players score in double-figures. Senior guard
Jarett Fairley contributed a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds, three-star UAB signee
Salim London had 18 points and three steals and senior guard
Austin Dudley chipped in 13 points and six rebounds in the win.
DeWayne Brown piled up 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots for Hoover in the state title game despite battling foul trouble. (Photo: Travis Kirkland)
Florence came out strong in the opening quarter as it jumped out to a 16-15 lead at the end of the first period before falling behind 32-25 at the half after London converted a transition layup off a steal to give himself 15 points at the half.
Hoover began to stretch the margin in the third quarter as it outscored the Falcons 16-11 in the period to take a 48-36 advantage into the final stanza.
After Brown picked up his fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, it gave Florence renewed life as the Falcons went on a 5-0 run with the big man sidelined to cut the deficit to 52-47.
Although a 3-pointer from Fairley appeared to put Hoover in a strong position with a 57-49 lead with approximately 2:20 remaining in the contest, senior guard
Bryant James had the response on the other end with a 3-pointer in the right corner to cut the margin to 57-52.
A late tip-in from Brown off his teammates missed free throw was the final dagger in the contest before free throws extended the lead in the final minute.
James finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss to lead the way for Florence (26-8).
Outside of a 63-60 victory over Huntsville in the state quarterfinals, Hoover saw little resistance in its lead up to their third consecutive state championship game. The Buccaneers opened state tournament action with a 70-36 shellacking of Albertville and blew past Central (Phenix City) 94-67 in a state semifinal showdown earlier this week.
During its historic run over the past three seasons, Hoover has compiled a record of 96-7 while outscoring opponents by 21.8 points per contest.
The Buccaneers outscored opponents by an average of 27 points per contest this season and saw just two games decided by single-digits. They have a 9-0 record against over out-of-state opponents with wins over teams from Alaska, California, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
