AISA BOYS PLAYOFFS: Valiant Cross cruises past Hooper; Abbeville Christian, Escambia advance
Hooper’s Kaleb Jackson allows James Cosby and Deshawn Hall of Valiant Cross to jump ahead of his shot in the semifinal matchup at the Multiplex on Thursday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
What was projected as the best game in the Alabama Independent School Association’s state basketball tournament didn’t live up to the pre-game hype.
Hooper Academy and Valiant Cross Academy had split their regular-season meetings, with each team winning on their home court with a last-second shot. What was expected to be another nail biter turned into a rout as the Warriors used an early run to jump out to a comfortable lead and a 55-46 victory in the Class AA semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Valiant Cross (11-20), which forfeited 17 games for the use of an ineligible player before battling their way through the postseason bracket, has made the school’s third trip to the playoffs a special one by playing in the Class AA championship game against Springwood School on Friday at 6 p.m.
“We’re on the cusp of making history,” Valiant Cross coach Letwan Hall said. “Our program has never won a state championship in varsity sports, so any time you get a chance to do that, it’s a great thing. This bunch, we’re two years in and they’re excited and we’ll try to go make history tomorrow night.”
They actually made history on Thursday. After losing in the quarterfinals in 2022 and losing in the semifinals last season, the Warriors reached the finals for the first time with a squad that played loose and confident in its rubber match against the Colts.
“Any coach that’s got Deshawn Hall on his team is a pretty confident guy,” said his father Letwan. “We knew we hadn’t played well against them. In the first game, we didn’t shoot the ball very well, took a lot of bad shots. In the second game that we played at their place, we played better but we missed 20 free throws. So I knew we would play better and I knew we would shoot better.”
Evan Richardson hit a pair of 3-pointers early, Jordan Archie contributed 14 points and Deshawn Hall added 18 as the Warriors broke free from a 5-5 tie with 18 unanswered points.
“We work extremely hard, hang our hat on our defense,” Hall said. “We didn’t play well in the second half defensive wise, but we’ve been getting it together on the defensive side of the ball. We get the stop and that leads to early offense.”
Hooper, which traded a pair of early baskets, suddenly couldn’t get the ball to go through the net as Valiant Cross went on a run that led to an insurmountable lead that was finally answered with a Luke Moseley basket 90 seconds into the second quarter.
“The ball just wasn’t falling for us during that little stretch and they caught fire,” Hooper coach Darryl Free said. “They hit everything they threw up in the first half, it seemed like, and we just couldn’t see the ball go in the basket. Unfortunately, we got in too big a hole and couldn’t claw our way out.”
Hooper finally started putting it together in the fourth quarter, cutting a 20-point lead to 14 points with a little over six minutes remaining and eventually to 10 points.
“That just shows the resilience these guys have shown all year,” Free said. “That’s the thing I’m most proud of today is that they did not quit because they had multiple opportunities to let the thing snowball out of control. Not only did they not quit, they made it a little nerve wracking at the end for Valiant and I was excited to see them make a final push as a group of seniors.”
Hooper ends the season at 25-2, one of the most successful seasons in school history but a game short of the goal in Free’s second season as coach of the Colts.
“I don’t know where to begin,” Free said. “This group of seniors, I thank them for welcoming me into this program and buying in to what we brought to the table. I really believe they have changed the culture of this program and set the standard for this program, moving forward. I can’t be more proud of them as a coach. To see them make back-to-back Final Fours, a 25-2 record is nothing to hang your head about. They were a good basketball team. The ball just didn’t fall our way tonight.”
Abbeville Christian 60, Cornerstone Christian 55
Jayden Buckhannon scored 26 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as Abbeville Christian pulled away late in the AISA Class A semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
Abbeville Christian will play Escambia Academy for the Class A state championship on Friday at 2 p.m. The Generals have lost in the semifinals six times in the eight years since winning the 2016 state title.
Abbeville led just 44-42 at the start of the fourth quarter before Buckhannon went to work, securing Abbeville’s trip to the finals for the second consecutive year. Riddge Crawford added 15 points, followed by Blake Cooper and Rusty Ward with eight points each.
Seth Dillard led Cornerstone with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Malachi Adams added 17 and Zeke Adams had 13.
Escambia Academy 49, Trinity Christian 45
Escambia Academy took an early lead and held off Trinity Christian 49-45 in the AISA Class A semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl on Thursday.
Escambia will play Abbeville Christian for the Class A state championship on Friday at 2 p.m. The Cougars have advanced to the championship game four times in the last eight years, losing in each of the previous three trips.
Escambia jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter and expanded the lead to 30-17 at the half, Ronta Watson led the Cougars with 22 points, followed by Bryce Stevens with nine.
Nate Riddle led Trinity Christian with 15 points. Mac Ellis, who went 9 of 9 at the free-throw line, added 13 points.
The Eagles, a second-year AISA program, has reached the state tournament in each of the last two years, falling in the semifinals both times.
AISA STATE TOURNEY - BOYS
CLASS AA
First Round Results
Banks Academy 60, Morgan Academy 46
Evangel Christian Academy 54, Chambers Academy 19
Valiant Cross Academy 58, Macon East Academy 39
Edgewood Academy 74, Southern Academy 41
Quarterfinals
Springwood School 47, Edgewood Academy 37
Evangel Christian 64, Monroe Academy 24
Valiant Cross 67, Bessemer Academy 40
Hooper Academy 62, Banks Academy 41
Semifinals
Valiant Cross 55, Hooper Academy 46
Springwood School 54, Evangel Christian 53
Finals
Valiant Cross vs. Springwood School, Friday, 6 p.m.
CLASS A
First-Round Results
Abbeville Christian 57, North River Christian 22
The Oaks School 67, Hope Christian 56
Snook Christian 62, Meadowview Christian 57
Patrician Academy 54, Sparta Academy 47
Quarterfinals
Cornerstone Christian 46, Snook Christian 36
Abbeville Christian 51, Wilcox Academy 37
Escambia Academy 60, The Oaks School 46
Trinity Christian 55, Patrician Academy 39
Semifinals
Escambia Academy 49, Trinity Christian 45
Abbeville Christian 60, Cornerstone Christian 55
Finals
Escambia Academy vs. Abbeville Christian, Friday, 2 p.m.