No. 6 Gadsden City boys upset No. 3 Hoover

Mon. February 06, 2012 at 10:44 p.m. | By Nick Johnston Sports Writer

Gadsden City’s Jalen Strong goes up for a shot against Hoover during the sixth-ranked Titans win over the No. 3 Bucs. (Photo by Sarah Dudik | Gadsden Times)

The Class 6A, sixth-ranked Gadsden City boys basketball team defeated No. 3 Hoover 58-47 in front of a packed gymnasium and a regional TV audience Monday night.
What message did the Titans send to those teams watching?
“We’re coming for them,” senior guard Jalen Strong said.
Strong and the Titans (24-4) certainly aren’t lacking in confidence and they appear to have the game to back up the talk.
“They see that we’re for real, that we’re serious,” Gadsden City coach Reginald Huff said. “It’s going to take a really good team to beat us when we play our best game.”
Strong scored 16 points and made five assists, but Monday’s game was all about defense. The Titans had 17 steals — Strong had five — and forced 26 turnovers in a game that, at times, was played at a frantic pace.
“The guys are really nailing it down to the floor on defense,” Huff said.
The win avengend a 53-48 loss to Hoover in the Big Orange Classic championship game Dec. 28. Poor free-throw shooting doomed the Titans in that game, but Monday night they fared a bit better, making 68 percent from the charity stripe. Gadsden City made all six of its attempts in the fourth quarter, needing each one as Hoover outscored the Titans 23-19 in the final frame during which Gadsden City at one point held a 19-point lead ahead 43-24. For the game, Gadsden City made 19 of 28 from the free-throw line, while Hoover was 7 of 7 — all in the second half.
Rakim Lubin scored 12 points in the win, while De’Keviyan Davis added eight points.
Gadsden City never trailed, jumping out to an 8-0 lead an eventually holding an 11-5 advantage to end the first quarter.
But Deontay Curtis put the Buccaneers on his back in the second quarter, scoring all nine of his points in the frame. His fast break dunk brought Hoover within 17-16 with 3:12 remaining until halftime and forced Huff to call a timeout.
From there, the Titans ended the half on a 7-0 run, capped by a Charley Terrell layup just before the buzzer sounded.
Gadsden City used an 8-0 run in the third quarter for 34-21 cushion and led 39-24 heading into the fourth. That’s when Hoover tried to make a run behind Q Hardy, who scored nine of his team-high 12 in the fourth.
Hoover pulled within eight on a layup by Jerrick Rumph with just 23 seconds remaining, the first time the Bucs pulled within single digits since early in the third.
Gadsden City’s Trey Smothers rainbowed a 3-pointer as time expired for the final margin and sent Gadsden City fans into a frenzy.
Now, Gadsden City begins its quest for a trip to the Final Four in Birmingham. The Titans host the Class 6A, Area 14 tournament beginning Friday. Two wins will give Gadsden City a home game for sub-region play and a victory in that contest will send the Titans back to the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State.
Gadsden City is a regular at JSU, but it has been unable to get over that hump and reach the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham for a shot at the Class 6A state championship.
“Every team that has went to the Final Four, they had to come through Gadsden City,” Huff said. “It’s time for us now to make a mark and make a visit down to Birmingham ourself and see what that party is all about.”