Local rivals could meet in Central Regional
Mon. February 20, 2012 at 1:00 a.m. | By Andrew Carroll
Paul W. Bryant’s Kevin Holland hit the winning basket against Pleasant Grove in a Class 5A Sub-Regional game to send the Stampede to the Central Regional in Montgomery. (Photo by Jason Harless)
TUSCALOOSA | Kevin Holland’s last-second shot put the Paul W. Bryant boys basketball team two wins away from reaching the AHSAA Tournament. To get to Birmingham, the Stampede might have to face off against a local rival in Montgomery.
Paul W. Bryant and the Central Falcons make up half of the bracket in the Class 5A Central Regional. Central plays Sylacauga on Wednesday, with Bryant meeting Talladega at Alabama State University. The winners play on Friday.
Holland’s basket gave the Stampede a 48-46 victory over Pleasant Grove last Friday.
"We’ve done some things that haven’t been done here at Bryant," coach Shon Peck-Love said. "We started a solid foundation last year with this group of guys. They did a lot of growing up and maturing toward the end of the season. We knew we had a good group of guys coming back. They jelled together quickly. They understand their roles. They play well with one another, and they’re happy when each other does well, so it’s a good feeling."
Central guard Jevaris Richey scored 30 points in a 58-44 win at Fairfield.
"It’s a special time for us," Central coach Robert Watson said. "We’ve got some young guys, and as soon as they can get that feeling or experience this moment I think we might be able to go further. Our team is full of guards. That’s our strength, and we’ll definitely be using that to try to go further."
Three defending champions from West Alabama advanced. Hillcrest, which captured the 2011 Class 6A title, defeated Carver of Birmingham 62-40 as Rayshawn Tubbs had 18 points. Hillcrest will play Hazel Green on Tuesday in the Northwest Regional in Hanceville.
Pickens County, which won the Class 2A championship in 2010 and the Class 1A title last year, plays R.A. Hubbard in Hanceville. Greensboro, which won the Class 3A championship, plays Handley on Thursday in Montgomery.
American Christian Academy (Class 2A) defeated Phil Campbell 64-36 to reach the Northwest Regional. ACA will play Mars Hill Bible School on Wednesday.
"It’s awesome," ACA coach Greg Crowe said. "We haven’t won the area in 14 years, so it’s exciting for the kids. We have a ninth-grader and two 10th-graders, so we’re young, but we have good senior leadership. I hope we don’t go and get overloaded, but we’re just going to focus on doing what we do."
In Montgomery, Sumter Central (4A) plays Dallas County; Hale County (3A) plays Central-Coosa; and Francis Marion (2A) plays Lanett. The Linden Patriots qualified for the Class 1A South Regional in Mobile and will play Georgiana.
Cameron Kiszla contributed to this story.
AHSAA REGIONALS
Here are the pairings for West Alabama boys basketball teams in the AHSAA regionals:
Northwest Regional
At Wallace State, Hanceville
Class 6A
Tuesday
10:30 a.m. — Hillcrest vs. Hazel Green
1:30 p.m. — Minor vs. Austin
Friday
10:40 a.m. — semifinal winners
Class 1A
Tuesday
4:30 p.m. — Pickens County vs. R.A. Hubbard
7:30 p.m. — Marion County vs. Decatur Heritage
Friday
5:20 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 2A
Wednesday
4:30 p.m. — American Christian Academy vs. Mars Hill Bible
7:30 p.m. — Cold Springs vs. Tanner
Saturday
10:40 a.m. — semifinal winners
Central Regional
At Alabama State University, Montgomery
Class 5A
Wednesday
10:30 a.m. — Central vs. Sylacauga
1:30 p.m. — Paul W. Bryant vs. Talladega
Friday
5:45 — semifinal winners
Class 2A
Wednesday
4:30 p.m. — Central-Hayneville vs. R.C. Hatch
7:30 p.m. — Francis Marion vs. Lanett
Saturday
10:45 a.m. — semifinal winners
Class 3A
Thursday
10:30 a.m. — Greensboro vs. Handley
1:30 p.m. — Hale County vs. Central-Coosa
Saturday
2:15 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 4A
Thursday
4:30 p.m. — Dadeville vs. Midfield
7:30 p.m. — Sumter Central vs. Dallas County
Saturday
5:45 p.m. — semifinal winners
South Regional
At South Alabama, Mobile
Class 1A
Tuesday
10:30 a.m. — McIntosh vs. J.F. Shields
1:30 p.m. — Linden vs. Georgiana
Friday
11:45 a.m. — semifinal winners