Hillcrest ousts defending champs

Bob Jones' Reggie Ragland covers his head following the Patriots' loss to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Wednesday in the Sweet 16 at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa emerged as the supreme Patriots on Wednesday, as Trey Wells tipped in a second-chance lay-up to give Hillcrest the victory over defending state champion Bob Jones, 49-47.

The game was redemption for Hillcrest, who was eliminated by the Patriots two years ago following their state championship.

“They ended these guys season two years ago, so this one means a lot,” said Hillcrest head coach Scott Suttles. “But we darn near choked this one away, too. We just made one more play than they did. Bob Jones, they just wouldn’t die.”

Bob Jones fell behind by as much as 11 in the second quarter after trailing by nine in the first quarter, a 7-0 run late in the second pull Bob Jones back into contention as Hillcrest (29-3) led 25-23 at the half.

Bob Jones (26-10) fell behind by seven in the third and fourth quarters, but a valiant comeback gave the Patriots a chance at the end.

With less than 2:30 left in the game, Bob Jones tied the ball up three times in a jump ball, gaining possession on two.

The third jump ball pulled Bob Jones to within one when Levi Randolph hit a jumper plus the free throw with less than a minute remaining, and a turnover would give Bob Jones the chance to take the lead.

Following a Hillcrest foul with just under 30 seconds remaining, Bob Jones’ Reggie Ragland made the front end of a 1-and-1, but miss the second shot, leading to Wells’ game-winning tip-in.

The victory was the 18th in a row for Hillcrest, with their last loss coming Dec. 21.

“They’ve got a heck of a team. We knew it was going to be tough coming in, because of their size, but I thought we had a good comeback at the end,” said Bob Jones head coach Danny Petty.

Petty said his team refused to quit, which was evident in the three late jump balls.

“That’s what we had to do to get back in the game,” Petty said. “We had our chances to win the game.”

For Hillcrest, Jalen Houston had a team-high 12 points, followed by Wells with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds and Timothy Anderson with 10 points.

For Bob Jones, Levi Randolph had a game-high 17 points.

“I felt like we were going to be able to pull it out,” Randolph said. “We’ve played in a lot of big games like this. It hurts. I’m real disappointed.”

Jeffrey Moss was next for Bob Jones with 15 points, followed by Ragland with nine points and 12 rebounds.