By Josie Howell, The St. Clair Times
SPRINGVILLE — The Springville boys basketball placed runner-up in the Class 6A Area 13 tournament on Friday after falling to Oxford, 52-57.
The Springville boys’ basketball team suffered a rare loss on their home court, dropping the 6A Area 13 championship game to Oxford on Friday, February 11, 2022. (Photo by Josie Howell, The St. Clair Times)
The Tigers were looking for a clean sweep after defeating Oxford twice during the regular season (42-41, 41-39). The Yellow Jackets, however, were able to break that streak. Both teams will advance to sub-regionals next week.
Springville appeared to have a solid advantage over Oxford holding the lead for most of the first half, however, the Yellowjackets put themselves ahead by one point before going into intermission, 26-25.
Coming back into the second half, Oxford found a solid 10 point lead later in the third. While Springville was able close in and tie the score towards the end of the final quarter, back-to-back threes from Oxford’s Kyler Wright put the yellow jackets ahead enough to seal the win.
Head coach Jeremy Monceaux said despite the loss, his team played hard every moment of the game.
“I thought when we tied it up there, we had some blown coverages defensively that may even be my fault, because those kids played their butts off,” he said. “But look, we’ve had a heck of a year and we’ve got a chance to go play in the playoffs Tuesday, so we’ve gotta get over that and get ready for the next one.”
As he is finishing out his first year as Springville’s head coach, Monceaux said his team has not only met his expectations, but outworked them as well.
“At this point, I’ve enjoyed coaching them so much, I don’t want to see it end, but we’re going to get ready for Tuesday and show up and play hard.”
Derek Moore dominated under the basket for the Tigers, leading offensively with 21 points for the night, 12 of which were scored in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Howard also boosted Springville with 11 points while Gavin Gooch chipped in 10.
