Class 2A Boys semifinals: No. 1 Providence Christian survives thriller over No. 5 Decatur Heritage
Providence Christian’s Pearce Boone converted a go-ahead layup with only seconds left but it was Luke Strickland who made the game-saving play with a last-second block as the top-ranked Eagles survived for a 57-56 victory over No. 5 Decatur Heritage in Monday’s Class 2A state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
“We figured they were probably trying to come back to 24 (Brady Wilson) and wanted to do a good job of working around,” Providence Christian coach Mark Wright said. “I noticed the first time they ran a similar play, they ran the same play again and Cas (Boone) did a great job of forcing the pass and Luke did a great job of rotating and finishing with the block.”
Providence Christian (29-2) fell behind early, 6-2, in the opening period on a pair of 3-pointers from Decatur Heritage’s Hayden Page, but managed to force a 6-all tie at the 5:17 mark of the quarter. Page and Jordan Davis responded on three consecutive made 3-pointers to build a 15-6 advantage for Decatur Heritage midway through the quarter.
Cas Boone snapped the Decatur Heritage streak with a pair of free throws and sparked a 7-0 closing run to cut the lead to a single bucket.
Both teams failed to convert at the foul line to open the second period and a 3-pointer from Page jumpstarted a 7-2 run that gave Decatur Heritage a 22-15 lead with 4:13 left in the half. Providence Christian countered with a 6-0 run, but Page knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the game with 15 seconds remaining to push the lead to 25-21 at the halftime break.
“Stay the course,” Wright said. “I don’t think we did a bad job defensively, honestly, in the first half. They were just making shots and Page was lights out shooting the ball. We talked about it going like that and we talked at halftime about staying the course.”
Pearce Boone provided the opening momentum swing for Providence Christian in the second half and pulled the Eagles within a single point on consecutive shots that was capped on a 3-pointer. Decatur Heritage managed to hold a 31-28 advantage midway through the third period, but the Eagles surged ahead on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter.
Providence Christian held as much as a 7-point lead with 3:23 remaining, but Page ignited a 9-2 run on his first 3-pointer of the second half and Decatur Heritage tied the game at 51-all with less than two minutes left in the game.
Strickland and Logan Hagler hit back-to-back shots to push the lead to 55-51, but Karter Jeffries nailed a 3-pointer, followed by a layup form Wilson, to give Decatur Heritage a single-point lead inside the final 30 seconds. (Pearce) Boone converted the go-ahead layup on the ensuing possession and Strickland blocked the final attempt by the Eagles.
“Communication is kind of our identity as a team,” (Cas) Boone said. “We’re a really close team and communication helps in those situations.”
Decatur Heritage (21-9) opened the game with a 3-point barrage and finished the first half 7-of-12 on 3-point attempts. However, the Eagles were held to only 2-of-11 from range in the second half, which allowed Providence Christian to power ahead in the third period.
“They press all the time, a little bit different presses, and it gets you out of a rhythm of the things you do,” Decatur Heritage coach Jason Marshall said. “They also press you across half court and it’s hard to get set up in plays sometimes.”
Star of the Game: Pearce Boone. The 6-foot-5 junior finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals. He made back-to-back shots early in the third period to pull the Eagles within a single point of Decatur Heritage, and scored the go-ahead layup with 18 seconds remaining.
Stat sheet: Providence Christian – Hagler had a team-high 15 points and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists. (Cas) Boone had 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and McClintock had 9 points. Strickland contributed 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and the game-saving block. Decatur Heritage – Page finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Paxton Tarver had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Wilson had 6 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. Jeffries added 9 points and 6 rebounds, and Davis had 8 points and 5 rebounds.
By the numbers: Providence Christian shot 42 percent overall, only 23.5 percent from beyond the arc, and was 11-of-13 at the free-throw line. Decatur Heritage was 41.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from 3-point range, and earned a plus-11 edge on the glass.
Did you know? Providence Christian advanced to the first state title game in program history in its first-ever state tournament appearance. Decatur Heritage fell short of advancing to its fourth title game and the first since winning the 2019 1A championship.
Coachspeak: “I had a feeling that was coming. I knew what type of coaching staff they have and what type of pedigree and their experience of being to the finals before. I had a feeling it was going to be a battle and they did a tremendous job scouting and being prepared. Proud of our guys for gutting it out and finding a way in the end. But it could have gone either way. Just a tremendous, competitive basketball game.” — Providence Christian’s Mark Wright
“It hurts, but these guys prepared and played exceptionally hard. The team we played was a very good team and we knew that coming in. Our defense did a really good job playing the guys and just came up a little bit short.” — Decatur Heritage’s Jason Marshall
They said it: “We’ve been a third-quarter team all season. We don’t get down on ourselves and that helped us to push it in the third quarter.” — Providence Christian’s Logan Hagler
“The past two years, the main thing was to keep on going. We had unfortunate team situations where leadership wasn’t there. We knew as three seniors, and even three juniors last year that we needed to step up. Hopefully we poured into our guys enough, and they feel our love towards them and carry on the program.” — Decatur Heritage’s Paxton Tarver
What’s next? Providence Christian will face either No. 3 Tuscaloosa Academy or No. 4 Section in the AHSAA Class 2A title game at 10:45 a.m., Friday, Feb. 28, at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.