By Rubin E. Grant
Young talent was on full display in the boys Class 7A championship basketball game Saturday night at BJCC’s Legacy Arena.
Fortunately for the Hoover Bucs, they had two sensational sophomores compared to one for the Central-Phenix City Red Devils.
Hoover’s tandem of 6-foot-4 guard Salim London and 6-9 center DeWayne Brown overcame the virtuoso performance of Central Phenix City’s 6-4 swingman Jacoby Hill.
London slashed and slithered his way to 34 points and Brown dominated inside with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, lifting the Bucs (31-4) to an 84-66 victory and the Class 7A title.
“These guys have been carrying us all year,” Hoover coach Scott Ware said. “They’re really, really good players, and we’re blessed to have them on our side.”
London was named MVP and Brown joined him on the all-tournament team as did Bucs senior Johnathan Caicedo. Caicedo had eight points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, including a few to Brown for thunderous dunks.
“This means everything,” London said of capturing the state title. “We’ve been working since August 31st.”
The Red Devils’ Hill was unstoppable, scoring a game-high 37 points from all over the court, including four 3-pointers and 11 of 14 free throws.
“I don’t normally drop that many points,” Hill said. “I let it come to me.”
Hoover led only 32-31 and the game remained close throughout the third quarter before the Bucs pulled away in the final period. London’s layup with 1:21 remaining gave the Bucs their largest lead at 84-64.
Hoover’s victory kept former Bucs coach Charles Burkett from bringing Central-Phenix City (24-10) its first boys state title. Burkett, in his second season at Central, coached Hoover for 14 years and led Hoover to the 2015 Class 7A title with Ware as an assistant then.
“I have nothing but respect for Charles and Central,” Ware said. “We’ve worked together for years, we know each other and love each other.”
The Bucs swept the Class 7A titles. The Hoover girls won their third consecutive Class 7A with a victory against Sparkman just before the boys took the court.
Hoover is the first school to sweep both basketball championships in any classification since Tanner claimed both Class 2A crowns in 2011. The Bucs became just the eighth team in AHSAA history to accomplish the feat.
“It’s an incredible moment,” Ware said. “This is what you work for.”
London said the Bucs’ girls gave the boys a little extra motivation.
“When they won, it got us excited,” London said. “They won it and were walking back telling us we had to do it, too. So, we had to go win it.”
Semifinals
Hoover reached the championship game with a 53-41 victory against Dothan (27-5) Thursday in the semifinals behind 17 points from Jarett Fairley and 10 points Elijah Herron.
