By Josie Howell, The St. Clair Times
SPRINGVILLE — The Moody and Springville boys teams have both secured a spot in the St. Clair County basketball tournament finals. The Tigers were able to cruise past Ashville while the Blue Devils defeated Ragland in each of their respective semi-final games. Both teams will go head-to-head for the tournament crown at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Moody 66, Ragland 32: The Blue Devils seemed to have no issue in defeating second seed Ragland in the semi-final matchup on Friday. Moody head coach Chad Bates said his team was able to play to its strengths in order to get the win.
“We had a size advantage and finally attacked the basket and finished around the rim and that kind of gave us the boost because we really didn’t shoot it well,” he said. “They just kept battling and played really good defense and so that got us over the hump.”
Davion Dozier had a stand out night as he collected a total of 20 points for his team. Mason Trimm also took a hand in boosting his team with 15 points on the board.
Meanwhile, Braxton Layton led the Purple Devils offensively with eight points while Ezra Hill and Javaris Turned scored seven points each.
Springville 68, Ashville 28: The Springville boys rolled over Ashville on Thursday night of the tournament. The Tigers limited the Bulldogs to no points at 19-0 by the end of the first quarter and later pulled away 33-8 by halftime.
Springville head coach Jeremy Monceaux said he was happy with how his team played.
“This may have been one of our best games offensively in terms of our ball movement, shot selection and ability to play fast but make good decisions, ” he said. “No matter who we play in the championship game, we will need to continue doing the things that we do well to have a chance.”
Derek Moore had a record night as he led his team with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Amari Cowan followed behind 12 points for the Tigers while Luke Richardson and Collin Lockhart posted nine each.
A version of this story appeared in The St. Clair Times. It is used here with permission.