MOBILE, Ala. — In a high-profile matchup of two of the best high school basketball teams in Alabama, Hoover got the better of Saraland on opening night, then went straight to work.
The Bucs pulled away for a 66-60 win in the McGill-Toolen Tip-Off Classic. Within 10 minutes of the final horn, they were in the weight room for a strenuous lift.
“We have guys who want to come in and play at Hoover, and they see that shiny penny and all those trophies, but they don’t understand the work that goes on inside the program,” Hoover coach Scott Ware said. “We’re going to get in our three workouts a week.”
Hoover reached the state championship game last season after winning the previous three Class 7A titles. Saraland made the Class 6A semifinals a year ago behind sensational forward LJ Williams.
How it unfolded
Williams, a 6-foot-8, 228-pound junior, hit a 3-pointer and scored in the lane in the first 90 seconds to give the Spartans an early lead. He finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds, a block and a steal.
Saraland led by as many as four in the first quarter before the Bucs went on a 15-1 run, building their largest lead of the game at 24-14 with 4:46 left in the first half. The Spartans pulled within 29-26 at the half, then went ahead late in the third quarter on a Williams contested dunk and free throw with one minute left in the period.
The game was tied 47-47 entering the fourth. Hoover took the lead for good on a three-point play in the lane by 6-foot-8 senior center KJ Steele on the first possession of the quarter.
Saraland was still within three with 26 seconds to play, but Hoover got a free throw from Michael Gates and a layup by Xavier Smith at the buzzer to make the final margin six.
The box score
Gates led the Bucs with 24 points. Steele, the latest in a line of star Hoover centers following current Tennessee player DeWayne Brown and current Vanderbilt player Jackson Sheffield, finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Tory Smith added 15.
“It was a really great game to tip off the season. I think both teams are going to have really great seasons ahead of them,” Saraland coach Dru Powell said. “They just made a couple of more plays than we did tonight but I’m proud of our guys.”
Recruiting watch
Williams is headed to Oxford this weekend for an official visit with Ole Miss while the Rebels host Georgia in football. It will be his second official visit, following an earlier trip to Nebraska.
