Tournament MVP Terrell Johnson scored 21 points — including nine on 3-pointers — and Brandon Purifoy added 11 more as Vigor outlasted St. Paul’s 45-40 in the Class 5A, Area 2 boys’ championship game at Vigor on Saturday night.

Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 17.9 seconds left in the game to secure the win, ending a game that went back and forth for most of the contest. Vigor improved to 20-10.

“I told our team this was going to be a hard-fought battle, and we were going to have to play all 32 minutes,” Wolves head coach Jairius Jackson said. “I knew this was going to be a battle for the whole entire game. St. Paul’s is a very tough team, and I told our team we were going to really depend on our defense.

“The defense was what held us together this game. The final score was 45 to 40. The score was in the 40s, which was a defensive game. Our defensive was encouraged, and they bought into it, and our guys responded.”

St. Paul’s (15-11) was led by Joe Brown with 17 points, while Garrett Walker added 15. The Saints, who came off a tough 70-69 overtime victory over LeFlore on Friday night, were plagued by numerous turnovers and were unable to get shots to fall when they need them most.

“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Saints head coach Brandon Garrett said. “For us, it was a simple game of turnovers, and some of them was at the wrong time. Hats’ off to Vigor — I wish them a lot of luck and I hope to see them down the road.

“After a tough overtime win against a good team like LeFlore, I don’t think we were sharp mentally. We had some heavy legs, and we didn’t do the things we’re accustomed to do to get us over the hump tonight.”

Vigor was 15 of 25 from the free throw line, while St. Paul’s was 4 of 6.

From the start, it was destined to be a defensive battle as St. Paul’s led only 8-7 at the end of the first period. Things picked up in the second period as the game went back and forth. Vigor’s biggest lead in that period was only four points, but Brown and company chipped away at the lead and went up by three, 15-12.

The game was tied twice after that, but a Johnson 3-pointer and a Jaden Addison free throw made it 23-19. Vigor stayed ahead by four until Brown’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in the half pulled St. Paul’s to within one, 25-24.

The two teams combined for a total 12 points in the third period as defense and turnovers kept the game close and the score low. St. Paul’s still trailed by only one, 31-30, at the end of the period, but took the lead early in the fourth on a Brown basket.

A pair of Johnson free throws tied the game, however, and after Johnson was fouled, he hit two more to give Vigor the lead for good. Chris Bracy’s 3-pointer kept things close at 40-37, but free throws by Purifoy and Tyler Dixon put the Wolves up by six.

St. Paul’s would get no closer than five the rest of the way.

“We did a good job of making free throws down the stretch,” Jackson said. “We wanted to make it a two-possession game, and the guys did a good job of making the free throws and not turning the ball over on the inbounds. That was huge.”

Both teams move on to sub-regional play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Vigor hosts B.C. Rain, while St. Paul’s travels to play Williamson.

— Arthur Mack

CLASS 6A

Mountain Brook 74, Shades Valley 57: Mountain Brook made 14 3-pointers on the way to the Area 10 championship.

Ty Davis led the way with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. John Colvin added 14 points, while Julius Clark had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Lawson Gardner had 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The Spartans host Gadsden City at 6 p.m. Tuesday in sub-regional play.

CLASS 1A

Brantley 53, Florala 45: Jayden Parks had 29 points and 6 rebounds as Brantley won the Area 2 championship. Jordan Parks had 13 points for the Bulldogs (23-3). Keldric Brown added 7 points and 12 rebounds.

AHSAA Boys’ Area Basketball Tournament Championships

Saturday’s Results

CLASS 7A

Area 3 at Dothan HS

Championship Game

Dothan 45, Enterprise 44

Area 4 at Auburn HS

Championship Game

Central-Phenix City 59, Auburn 56

CLASS 6A

Area 10 at Mountain Brook HS

Championship Game

Mountain Brook 79, Shades Valley 54

CLASS 5A

Area 1 at LeFlore HS

Championship Game

Vigor 45, St. Paul’s Episcopal 40

CLASS 4A

Area 10 at Jacksonville HS

Championship Game

Jacksonville 69, White Plains 48

CLASS 2A

Area 4 at Highland Home HS

Championship Game

Highland Home 50, Zion Chapel 30

Area 8 at Vincent HS

Championship Game

Vincent 56, Cornerstone School 55

CLASS 1A

Area 2 at Florala HS

Championship Game

Brantley 53, Florala 45

Area 4 at Choctaw County HS

Championship Game

Choctaw County 53, Southern Choctaw 45

Area 15 at Oakwood Academy

Championship Game

Skyline 68, Oakwood Academy 56