Games

BIRMINGHAM – The Hoover Bucs made history on Saturday, sweeping the Class 7A state basketball championships with wins by both the girls and boys teams. The Hoover boys team, led by sophomore stars Salim London and DeWayne Brown, defeated Central-Phenix City 84-66 to capture their first state title since 2015. London scored a game-high 34 points while Brown recorded a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with 6 blocks. "These guys have been carrying us all year," said Hoover coach Scott Ware. "They're really, really good players and we're blessed to have them on our side."…

BIRMINGHAM -- The Hoover High School Lady Bucs captured their third consecutive Class 7A girls basketball championship on Saturday, defeating Sparkman 55-44 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. Led by senior star Reniya Kelly, Hoover dominated early to build a 20-5 lead after the first quarter. The top-ranked Bucs took a 35-15 advantage into halftime. Kelly, who finished with 25 points and 6 rebounds, has been part of all four of Hoover's state titles over the last five seasons. She was named tournament MVP. "I'm on cloud nine right now," said Kelly. "To go out with them - my teammates, my…

BIRMINGHAM -- Behind a monster performance from freshman phenom Caleb Holt, the Buckhorn Bucks captured their first state championship since 1995 with a 65-56 victory over Mountain Brook in the Class 6A finals on Saturday. The 6-foot-5 Holt scored 32 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out 4 assists en route to tournament MVP honors. He scored Buckhorn's first 9 points of the second half as the Bucks pulled away after leading just 29-28 at the break. "He's an unbelievable talent," said Mountain Brook coach Tyler Davis. Holt scored 33 points against McGill-Toolen in the semifinals, finishing with 65 points…

BIRMINGHAM -- The Hazel Green Lady Trojans etched their names in the AHSAA record books on Saturday, capturing a sixth consecutive Class 6A girls basketball championship with a 53-40 win over Huffman. No AHSAA program, boys or girls, had ever won six straight state titles until Hazel Green accomplished the feat. "You don't want to be the one to break the streak," said junior Sydney Steward. "It's just crazy to think about." Coach Tim Miller has now won an incredible 10 state championships as a head coach - 6 with Hazel Green, 3 with Bob Jones and 1 with Jeff…

The Valley Rams finished off a perfect 33-0 season by claiming the first state basketball championship in school history, defeating Charles Henderson 54-50 in the Class 5A finals on Saturday. Valley is the first AHSAA bos team to go undefeated since Autaugaville in 2021, and just the 11th overall. The Rams trailed 20-18 at halftime, but junior Cam'Ron Dooley sparked an 18-2 run in the second half that put Valley ahead for good. Dooley scored 19 of his game-high 19 points after halftime and was named tournament MVP. "It was very frustrating in the first half," said Dooley of early…

The Pleasant Grove Spartans won their first ever girls basketball state championship on Saturday, defeating Arab 53-36 behind a dominant performance by tournament MVP Tamya Smith. After the teams were tied 9-9 in the first quarter, Pleasant Grove seized control in the second quarter, outscoring Arab 23-8. Smith knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to start the period, sparking a 12-0 Spartans run. She finished with 14 points in the quarter on her way to a game-high 27 points along with 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. "Right now, I can't even articulate what I'm feeling," Pleasant Grove coach…

BIRMINGHAM -- Jacksonville senior John Broom wanted the challenge of guarding Westminster junior star Chase McCarty in Friday night's Class 4A title game. "He's a great player," Broom said. "D1 on D1 is what everyone wanted to see. I wanted to give the crowd what they wanted." Broom certainly gave Jacksonville High School what it wanted. The South Alabama signee scored 20 points and played tough defense on McCarty most of the night as the second-ranked Golden Eagles pulled away to beat No. 1 Westminster Christian 51-37 and claim a second consecutive state title. "That was a battle of wills,"…

BIRMINGHAM -- Prattville Christian leaned on its dominant frontcourt duo of Coco Thomas and Hannah Jones to win its third consecutive girls basketball state championship. The Panthers defeated Priceville 76-59 in the Class 4A title game on Friday, moving up a classification after winning the previous two 3A crowns. Thomas scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jones added 23 points and a game-best 18 boards. Together they accounted for 52 points and 31 rebounds, outrebounding the entire Priceville squad. "They meant 52 points and 31 rebounds, unbelievable," PCA coach Jason Roberson said. "They've carried us for…

BIRMINGHAM -- Plainview held off a late rally by Midfield to win a defensive battle 40-37 and claim the Class 3A boys basketball state championship on Friday. The Bears led for the entire second half but could never pull away from the Patriots, who cut the deficit to one point three times in the fourth quarter. Plainview did not make a field goal in the final 5:35 but went 5-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the victory. Midfield had one last chance when Shannon Jones launched a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer that bounced off…

BIRMINGHAM -- Emma Kate Smith overcame a slow start by catching fire in the fourth quarter, leading Trinity to a 52-48 comeback win over Clements in the Class 3A girls basketball state championship on Friday. Smith, Trinity's all-time leading scorer, had just 3 points through three quarters as the Wildcats trailed by 8 entering the fourth. But she knocked down a deep 3-pointer to spark a 23-11 run to close out the game. Smith finished with 14 points, including three 3-pointers in the final period. Her last one from about 25 feet gave Trinity a 6-point lead with under 2…