Sipsey Valley Boys Win Area Title, Paul Bryant and Hillcrest Advance

The Sipsey Valley Bears defeated the Central Falcons 44-41 in the boys Class 5A Area 7 championship.

The Bears got off to a very hot start, taking an early 10-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Central finally got on the board in the final few minutes, but the 1st quarter ended with Sipsey Valley up 14-3.

The 2nd quarter was much more even between the two squads, with Central even coming back to within three points of Sipsey Valley. The Bears surged in the final minutes of the first half, with Tyrien Smith hitting a three pointer to put them up 22-15 at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, Sipsey Valley extended their lead even more and was up by 10 points going into the 4th quarter.

In the final frame of the game, Central made an effort to comeback and outscored the Bears 14-7, but the Falcons ran out of time. Sipsey Valley hung on to win. It is Sipsey Valley’s third area championship in program history.

With the win, Sipsey Valley will host the runner-up of the Class 5A Area 6 championship, either Marbury or Elmore County, next week in a Sub-Regional game. Central will be forced to travel to play in it’s Sub-Regional game against the Class 5A Area 6 champion.

In boys Class 6A competition, the Hillcrest Patriots earned a hard-fought win over Brookwood, 63-52 to advance to the Area 7 Championship Game.

Hillcrest held a 29-19 at halftime, and pushed the lead to 17 points going into the fourth quarter.

Brookwood mounted a serious rally, cutting the Patriots lead to six points with less than a minute left in the game before Hillcrest sealed the victory.

Hillcrest will face Paul Bryant in the Area 7 Championship Game. The Stampede used a big second-half performance to beat Northridge, 72-49.

Paul Bryant led 25-18 at halftime, and Northridge was not able to match the Stampede’s up-tempo pace in the 2nd half. Paul Bryant’s lead was up to 13 points by the end of the 3rd quarter. Northridge was not able to get closer than 10 points of the Stampede in the 4th quarter.

Paul Bryant and Hillcrest will play in the boys Class 6A, Area 7 Championship Game on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Hillcrest High School.