Huntsville’s Caleb Harrison had just pushed the lead back to six points on a routine layup but felt an exclamation point was necessary to drive the point home.
Following an opponent’s missed shot and a round of substitutions, Harrison provided the punctuation with a decisive and violent slam amid a game-altering run.
The top-ranked Crimson Panthers clung to a slim halftime advantage but dominated the second half of a 56-38 victory over Oak Mountain in Tuesday’s Class 7A Northeast Regional boys semifinal at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.
“I was proud of our team,” Huntsville coach Christian Schweers said. “Once we could settle in in the third quarter, we had a great first quarter and equally bad second quarter. But we’ve been in that spot before the last couple of years and the maturity showed up from our team in the second half.”
Huntsville (31-2) dominated midway through the opening period, charging ahead on a 13-0 run bookended on a mid-range jumper and 3-pointer from Simon Walker. Oak Mountain’s Chris Kunard got the Eagles on the board with consecutive layups and jumpstarted a 10-5 run to trim the deficit to eight points entering the second quarter.
Both teams combined for 14 points in the second period with only two players from each side getting to the rim or the charity stripe as the Crimson Panthers took a 23-19 lead into the halftime break.
The Crimson Panthers took full control in the third period by not allowing a single field goal and surged ahead on a 13-0 run to close out the quarter. Kunard and Emanuel Johnson combined on 3-of-4 free throws to open the second half, answered by Walker on Huntsville’s initial possession. Caleb Harrison ignited the game-sealing scoring run on a layup and an emphatic dunk that was followed by another 3-pointer from Walker.
Oak Mountain (14-16) had its best offensive output in the final quarter, shooting 6-of-11 overall and 2-of-4 from 3-point range but were one step behind the Crimson Panthers.
Huntsville’s Eli Stapler opened the fourth period with a 3-pointer, answered immediately by O’Dell, and the Crimson Panthers built their largest lead at 19 points on a pair of free throws from Walker. Oak Mountain outscored Huntsville down the stretch, 13-12, but could not overcome a 0-for-7 showing in the third frame.
Did you know? Huntsville advances to its fourth straight regional final and fifth in the past six years. The Crimson Panthers have yet to appear in a state tournament.
By the numbers: Huntsville shot a highly efficient 61.8 percent from the field and was 5-of-14 on 3-pointers. The Crimson Panthers enjoyed a plus-21 advantage on the glass and a plus-18 edge in the paint and held Oak Mountain to 35.3 percent overall and 3-of-12 from three-point range.
Stat sheet: Huntsville – Walker finished with a game-high 17 points for the Crimson Panthers, adding five rebounds, and John David Gossett had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Caleb Harrison posted 10 points, seven rounds, four assists and three blocks, and Bowman contributed eight points and four rebounds. Brayden Rivers and Eli Stapler combined for nine points and seven rebounds. Oak Mountain – Will O’Dell had a team-high 12 points, along with five rebounds and two steals, and Chris Kunard finished with seven points and three steals. Grey Williams had nine points, followed by Chase Lamey with four points.
Coachspeak: “We kept attacking and playing through mistakes. It wasn’t our prettiest game but it doesn’t really matter this time of the year. It’s about finding a way to get it done. Experience is the best teacher and these guys have been taught a lot, good and bad, over these last couple of years.” — Huntsville’s Christian Schweers
“Extremely proud of our guys for the effort they put out there. We put in a game plan to take down Huntsville, the best team in the state, and we just had to beat them one time. A great opportunity to come out shock the world, shock the state, and we had a bit of a chance there for a while.” — Oak Mountain’s Joel Floyd
They said it: “One of the things we highlighted in the locker room was boarding up. And limiting turnovers. If we could that, even if shots weren’t falling, we were confident we could walk out of the building with a win.” — Caleb Harrison
“We knew going in that we had a little bit of a height advantage and we wanted to take advantage of that and use it to our benefit.” — Simon Walker
What’s next? Huntsville advances to face cross-city rival Grissom in Tuesday’s Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum