Eagles punch ticket to 2nd straight final four
HANCEVILLE – Over a two-minute stretch at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Eagles turned the game on its heel.
Oak Mountain High School’s boys basketball team ballooned its lead from three to 11 with an 8-0 burst at the start of the fourth quarter and used that momentum to secure a 43-30 win over Hoover on Thursday in the Class 7A Northwest Regional final at Wallace State Community College.
The Eagles now advance to their second straight state final four and will face Auburn next Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at UAB’s Bartow Arena.
Wilder Evers knocked down a 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter. Noah Young converted a layup moments later, and Brady Dunn knocked down a big 3 of his own to make it 31-20 with 5:41 to play.
But it was holding Hoover scoreless for the first three minutes of the period that impressed Oak Mountain coach Chris Love the most.
“The defensive end did it for us,” he said. “The kids have really bought in. We’re athletic and long and can disrupt people on that end of the floor.”
It was the fourth time the two teams had played this season, with Hoover winning two of the previous three. Both teams knew the other’s move every step of the way and the difficulty for both teams to score throughout reflected that.
“We knew if both teams show up to play, it’s going to be like this,” Hoover head coach Scott Ware said. “Neither team was trying to play slow. It just came down to who executed, which they did.”
Noah Young posted a double-double to lead Oak Mountain (22-9) with 13 points and 10 rebounds on the day.
“It’s a big accomplishment. It’s what we planned on doing,” he said of returning to the final four, where the Eagles fell to eventual champion Lee-Montgomery in the semifinals last year.
Despite high expectations entering the season, it took Oak Mountain a few months to really find its footing. Back-to-back losses to begin area play in January likely had people doubting, but the Eagles have lost just once since (to Hoover in the area tournament final).
“Our kids have never wavered,” Love said. “We struggled early in the year. It took us awhile. But these kids are special. They’re great kids. They wanted this moment again.”
After a slow first quarter, Oak Mountain held an 8-4 lead. Hoover got the better end of the second period and took a 16-12 lead into the half. Oak Mountain recaptured the lead heading into the fourth, then put the game away.
Evan Smith finished the day with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Colby Carter led Hoover with 11 points.
Hoover finishes Ware’s first season as head coach with a 20-9 record.
Oak Mountain hopes its second trip to the final four will be different this time. Love said his team looked nervous in the semifinal game last year, but the experience should pay dividends this time around for a team that returned plenty of pieces from that group.
“That can do nothing but help us,” Love said. “They’re not going to back down from anything.”