By Lee Davis
The cold rainy weather of March 3 was an unhappy omen for the Hoover and Spain Park boys basketball teams.
Both teams saw their dreams of a state 7A title end that gloomy day in the semi-finals of the Final Four at Legacy Arena at the BJCC.
Buccaneer and Jaguar fans alike could point to 100 might-have-beens as their teams lost in overtime. Hoover fell to McGill-Toolen 77-74 in double overtime, while Spain Park followed with a 63-61 loss to Central-Phenix City that took a single overtime period to settle.
Hoover, which had a 16-18 record entering the Final Four, seemed close to earning its second consecutive bid in the championship final when it built a 72-68 lead with only 2:07 remaining in the second overtime. The Yellow Jackets’ Rene Scott scored five consecutive points to give McGill the lead at 73-72. The Bucs rallied when Johnathan Postell scored from inside to give Hoover a brief 74-73 advantage. Scott then scored the game’s last four points to give the Yellow Jackets a lead they wouldn’t lose. Two final Hoover possessions failed to produce points.
Postell led Hoover with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“Scott is an outstanding guard,” Hoover coach Charles Burkett said. “When his team needed him the most, he came through in the clutch.”
Hoover shot 42 percent from the field, while McGill shot an even 50 percent.
Despite the loss, Burkett was proud of the way his team ended its up-and-down season. “We worked extremely hard to get to this point,” he said. “When things weren’t going well, we never quit. We never stopped believing in what we do. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
That ride almost earned another blue trophy for the Bucs.
Spain Park’s loss was equally frustrating. The Jaguars had two solid shots at tying the game at the end of overtime, only to see both of them blocked by the Red Devils. The final blow came when Austin Wiley’s shot was knocked away by Tionne Williams as the buzzer sounded.
Wiley had no excuses when it ended. “I’m not going to complain that I got fouled,” he said. I should have made the shot.”
Despite playing with a sprained ankle, Wiley – who stands 6-11 – scored 19 points and bagged 13 rebounds in the losing cause. Spain Park’s hopes also dimmed when Jamal Johnson fouled out with 10 seconds left after being called for a charge on a layup attempt.
“I thought I had an easy layup,” Johnson said after the game. “They got the charge call on me, but I thought it was a blocking foul against them. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Johnson ended with 20 points and nine rebounds.
The game, which ended in a 54-54 deadlock after regulation play, was a see-saw battle from start to finish.
“I knew it would be a wire to wire game,” Spain Park coach Donnie Quinn said. “It came down to who had the ball last. They would go on a run and take the lead. Then we would go on a similar run and regain the lead. We came up a bit short, but it was not because of lack of effort or intensity. I’m very proud of this team.”
Spain Park ended its season with a 23-10 record, and with Wiley and Johnson returning, the Jags should be a pre-season favorite for the state title in 2017. But for now, the next title run will have to wait.
