UMS-Wright clawed back from a 12-point deficit and tied the game late, but Escambia County center Stephen Williams made sure the Bulldogs got no closer, leading the Blue Devils to a 43-35 win in the Class 4A boys South Regional semifinals Monday at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery.
The 6-foot-9 senior scored on back-to-back layups to break a 35-35 tie in the closing minutes and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds to power Escambia County into the next round.
“(Williams) is a man,” UMS-Wright coach Michael Napp said. “He got 12 and 12. His ability to finish plays for them defensively is big.”
UMS-Wright, which finished the season 16-17, fell behind 21-9 in the second quarter and never led at any point in the game. Still, the Bulldogs continued to chip away, eventually tying the score at 33-33 with roughly six and a half minutes remaining and again at 35-35 with 3:15 left on the clock.
That is when Williams took over. Escambia County, which shot 50% from the field for the game, patiently worked against UMS-Wright’s zone defense to free Williams for his first go-ahead layup, putting the Blue Devils back in front 37-35.
Moments later, a steal by Michael French set up another Williams post-up basket to extend the lead to 39-35. Escambia County guards Lorenzo Arnold and Cleo Bolar closed out the win at the free-throw line, combining to make four free throws in the final 44 seconds.
“Give credit to our kids for competing so hard to get back in it,” Napp said. “We needed another two stops and we couldn’t find it today.”
Bolar led all scorers with 17 points for Escambia County (17-8), which advanced despite Bolar spending long stretches on the bench in foul trouble.
“I thought going in if we could hold (Bolar) and (Williams) to 25 points combined, we’d be right in it,” Napp said. “They got 29.”
Bolar played just 19 minutes because of foul trouble, but UMS-Wright was unable to capitalize, going without a field goal over the final 3 minutes, 20 seconds of the game.
Jeff Holston paced the Bulldogs with 10 points in the loss. UMS-Wright was outscored 22-14 in the paint and 19-4 on points off turnovers, areas that ultimately proved decisive in a tightly contested regional semifinal.
The Bulldogs will graduate three senior starters — Joe Lott, Jack Church and Sims Druhan — and are set to move up to Class 5A next season. Despite the tougher competition ahead, Napp said he remains optimistic about the program’s trajectory.
“We’re going to be good but we’re also going up to 5A,” Napp said. “But we’ve been there before. The last time we were in 5A, we went to the final four.”