Vincent claims fifth straight area title

Published 11:22 pm Monday, February 13, 2012

By TREY HICKMAN / For the Reporter

VINCENT — Behind clutch fourth-quarter performances by Dontravious Moon and Anterio Rogers, the host Vincent High School boys’ basketball team overcame a three-point deficit heading into the final period to take down a determined Holy Family squad on its way to capturing the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 2A, Area 10 tournament crown Feb. 13 with a 74-62 victory.

The visiting Tornadoes came out bent on breaking the Yellow Jackets’ streak of four straight area-tournament titles, with Vincent’s first lead of the game coming via Moon’s 3-point bomb at the buzzer to close out the opening half.

“We had a similar game with them over there, at their place, where they came out in a really good offensive rhythm, hitting a lot of shots early,” said Vincent coach John Hadder. “So we’ve kind of been in that situation before. And we just talked about defending every possession. And we just kind of fought our way back into it.”

The momentum Vincent carried into intermission was quelled in the third quarter as the Tornadoes’ resiliency put them back on top with a 50-47 advantage heading into the stretch. However, it was during those last eight minutes that the Yellow Jackets’ own resolve propelled them to the team’s fifth consecutive area-tournament championship and a home-court berth in an AHSAA Class 2A sub-region game Feb. 17, with a berth in the Northeast Region tournament on the line.

“Well, first half, we were pressing,” said Moon. “We didn’t come out to really play in the first half. Then in the second half, Coach was like, if they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to take it. So in the second half, we came out with more fight to win it. We just came out and fought hard.”

Moon, who was also named tournament MVP, scored a game-high 29 points, including 8 for 9 in free throws during the final quarter, and also paced the Yellow Jackets with eight rebounds.

Rogers scored 10 of his 17 points in the latter period while leading both teams with three steals. Tyler Williams chipped in with 16 points to go along with six assists in the winning effort.

Demauntey Johnson contributed eight points. Jamal McCrimon finished with four points in the win.

For Holy Family, Petez Watts tallied a team-high 28 points and eight rebounds, while Demarco Coleman added 16 points and David Evans dished out four assists

Vincent (23-6) will welcome Lineville in an AHSAA Class 2A sub-region game Feb. 17, with the winner advancing to the Northeast Region tournament.

The Yellow Jackets are searching for their third-consecutive trip to the Northeast Region tournament.