Valley junior Cam’Ron Dooley played just five minutes in the first half of Saturday’s Class 5A championship game due to foul trouble.

He didn’t score.

“It was very frustrating,” Dooley said. “It was a rough start. We went to the half, and coach gave me a speech. He told me I was going to have 20 points in the second half.”

The prognostication was almost perfect … just like Valley’s season.

Dooley scored 19 second-half points and claimed Most Valuable Player honors as the Rams held off Charles Henderson 54-50 at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena to claim the school’s first state basketball title and finish an unblemished 33-0.

Valley is the first AHSAA boys team to record a perfect season since Barbour County in 2012. The Rams are the 11th to accomplish the feat in AHSAA history, according to AHSAA records.

“It’s very hard,” Valley coach Marshon Harper said of his team’s undefeated run. “You have a target on your back every game. We had some close games. It’s really a testament to the players and to the coaching staff. All the players bought in. They wanted to be champions. I told them, ‘Let’s do something special, do something no one has every done at Valley High School.’ They bought in.”

The championship and the season were especially meaningful for several reasons. It was especially meaningful for Harper, a Valley graduate, and for the school itself, which is likely facing consolidation with another Chambers County school, LaFayette High.

“This means the world to me,” Harper said. “I played at Valley. There has been a lot on my shoulders. I’ve been trying to do this for 24 years. I’ve had the opportunity to go other places, but I wanted to do it in my hometown. I wanted to stay. I can remember these kids being in fourth grade with my son and him saying, ‘Dad, we are going to win the state title.’ … Being 33-0 is special.”

On Saturday, Valley trailed 20-18 at the half and 29-24 midway through the third quarter. That’s when Dooley sparked an 18-2 run that gave the Rams the lead for good. The 6-foot-5 junior scored 12 points during the spurt. His layup gave Valley a 42-31 advantage with 5:13 left in the game.

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“There wasn’t a lot we could do,” Charles Henderson coach Timothy Fayson said. “Mario (Davenport) is one of our better defenders and he was in foul trouble, but he (Dooley) is a tremendous talent. He came out and imposed his will in the second half. At the same time, we got the shots we wanted. We just didn’t make them.”

Charles Henderson (25-5) didn’t go away easily. The Trojans responded with an 8-0 run and cut their deficit to 42-39 on Austin Cross’ 3-pointer with 1:48 left. They cut the lead to three once more at 53-50 on another Cross’ 3 with four seconds left before Ian Crim-Davis hit one of two free throws to put the game away.

“When we make shots, we are a really good team,” Fayson said. “They dictated tempo and teams have been doing that against us, trying to slow us down. At the end of the day, it’s a make or miss league. You have to make shots, and they made more than us.”

Star of the game: It was clearly Dooley. He was 5-of-10 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also had nine points and four steals.

Stat game: Valley – Crim-Davis added 13 points. Jamarious Martin had 10 points, three assists and three steals. Brandon Thomas had six points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block. Charles Henderson – Jywon Boyd had 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals before fouling out late. Cross finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jayden Spearman had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

By the numbers: Valley had the edge in second-chance points (10-2), bench points (15-5) and rebounding (40-29). Charles Henderson stayed in the game with 10 3-pointers. Valley was 17-of-20 from the free throw line. Charles Henderson was 4-of-8.

They said it:

“I think we earned respect. 33-0. Not a lot of teams can say that. We completed the mission, and a lot of these guys will be back.” – Harper.

“We’ll be talking about this forever. Coaches told us don’t go 32-1, go 33-0.” – Thomas.

“I’m not disappointed. This is great. We love this. It’s where we expected to be. When I took over last year, this is where we wanted to be. It’s a happy day. They scored four more points today, but it won’t undercut what we achieved.” – Fayson.

“It’s not a good feeling to make it all the way to the championship and fall short, especially twice. Only thing I can say is we know what it takes to get here.” – Jywon Boyd on Charles Henderson being the state runner-up in football and basketball.

“I don’t want to say I’m going into next season angry, but I’m definitely coming for revenge. Even though we made it to the state title game in football and basketball, I still feel like people don’t respect us.” – Boyd.

History makers:

Undefeated AHSAA boys basketball teams with classification, final record and season.

Valley 5A, 33-0, 2022-23

Autaugaville 1A, 30-0, 2020-21

Barbour County 2A, 34-0, 2011-12

John Carroll Catholic 6A, 36-0, 2002-03

West End-Birmingham 6A, 30-0, 1995-96

Central-Tuscaloosa 6A, 31-0, 1990-91

Loachapoka 1A, 25-0, 1982-83

Glenn, Birmingham 3A, 36-0, 1973-74

Tuscaloosa AA, 34-0, 1960-61

T. R. Miller A, 28-0, 1951-52

Ensley AA, 31-0, 1949-50