By Joshua Huff, sports editor
BIRMINGHAM — A carefully calculated schedule and a season’s worth of grit and determination have paid off for the Center Point boys’ basketball team as the Eagles withstood a furious fourth-quarter Ramsay rally on Wednesday to book their ticket into a second consecutive championship game berth.
For all their work, the Eagles are awarded with a Class 5A state championship game clash against Fairfield.
The Tigers will join the Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 10:45 a.m., for a chance to stand alone atop Class 5A.
“We’ve had a really tough schedule,” Center Point head coach Rodney Chatman said. “We’ve played pretty much everybody that is in (the tournament). So, we don’t get rattled too much in situations as far as nerves.”
Fairfield advanced past LeFlore, 49-44, in the Final Four to end Wednesday’s run of games thanks to an 18-0 run to begin the second half. With the score knotted at 20-all early in the third quarter, Fairfield opened its run with a Malachi Holt-Bennett basket that gave the Tigers the lead at 22-20. That lead grew to 38-20 before LeFlore ended its scoring drought with 25 seconds left in the third quarter on a Malik Nathan 3-pointer.
LeFlore managed to narrow the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter thanks to a 21-11 run, but Fairfield’s third-quarter scoring frenzy had dug LeFlore into an unescapable hole.
The Tigers were led by Isaiah Davis’ 14 points. Reginald Perry added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jadarrius Torrance recorded 10 rebounds, and Holt-Bennet concluded the night with four point and nine rebounds.
Fairfield’s victory now sets up an all-Birmingham state championship game. In addition, the matchup pits two teams that pride themselves on stout defensive play. The Eagles advanced throughout the tournament behind a defense that has harried and harassed opponents throughout.
In their previous two games, the Eagles have crippled a hot-shooting Springville team and a Ramsay team whose lone loss in 2020 came against Class 7A No. 1 Mountain Brook, 54-53. The Rams finished Wednesday night shooting just 42% from the field (22-for-52).
“It’s feeling unbelievable,” Jonathan Dudley said following the Eagles’ Final Four victory. “No one expected us to be here.”
Both teams will enter the final game of the season looking for their first championship in program history. Center Point advanced into the Class 5A championship in 2019, but the Eagles fell to Wenonah, 51-34.
“That’s been the thing,” Chatman said. “Trying to get these kids to believe in themselves and understand that you can’t be passive in doing a thing like this. You’ve got to be aggressive. I’m really proud of them. They’ve grown a lot (over) the season.”