Eagles' season ends on buzzer beater

Wes Banks received the pass in the corner and shot it instantly. The buzzer went off almost simultaneously with the ball swishing through the net.

The three-pointer lifted Hoover to a 42-39 victory over Oak Mountain in the Class 7A Northwest Regional Final at Wallace State Community College on Tuesday afternoon and gives the Bucs a spot in the Final Four next week at the BJCC.

Wyatt Armstrong, the hero in Oak Mountain's win over Sparkman, displayed heroics once again, as he brought the game to a tie at 39-all with 12 seconds remaining.

Points were hard to come by for the majority of the contest, as Oak Mountain led 27-26 after three quarters. But Hoover turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points to 12 for the Eagles in a final period that was tight throughout.

The game was much the same, as no more than seven points separated the teams the entire contest.

Johnathan Postell was the only Hoover player to eclipse double-digit scoring, with 11 points, while also leading the team with six rebounds. Matthew Rickman scored eight for the Bucs, and Justin Rumph and Banks each scored six.

Payton Youngblood scored a game-high 13 points for Oak Mountain. He also pulled down six boards and blocked four shots. Armstrong finished the game with ten points and four rebounds. Will Stephenson scored seven.

Hoover (16-18) has no chance to end the season with a winning record -- there could only be two more games -- but the Bucs have rebounded from a 2-9 start to the season. Hoover will take on McGill-Toolen in its Final Four game on Thursday, March 3, at 10:30 a.m.

Oak Mountain (25-8) enjoyed one of its better campaigns in recent memory, but its season ends with the loss. The Eagles will say goodbye to a productive senior class of Gabe Haynes, Warren Shader, Armstrong, Yeadon Patrick, Ryan Hollingsworth, Youngblood, and Tyler Chery.