Chasing perfection is the mindset of every winner, and Hoover coach Scott Ware knows that.

Senior Austin Dudley’s time at Hoover was an example brought with a laugh on Saturday night.

“When he showed up on campus at Hoover High School, when he shot the first shot, I told him, don’t ever shoot again; he knows I’m not lying to you,” Ware laughed and pointed.

How long did it take for Dudley to prove his coach wrong?

“Immediately, the next day, he came in, we had a meeting, and he went to work,” the coach smiled. “Hard work pays off.”

It was something the now-Hoover starter took to heart, parlaying it into a few state championships along the way; now, he and his squad accomplished a first and made history.

The Bucs completed the first undefeated season in Class 7A boys’ basketball history on Saturday with a 66-56 win over Florence to cap off the 35-0 season and win their third straight 7A championship.

The win was also the 45th straight for Ware’s Hoover squad, dating back to January of 2024.

“It’s great because these are my best friends, my brothers, on and off the court,” Dudley said. “To be able to win all of those games and be able to win a state championship at the end, it means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to them too.”

The win showcased a fiery fourth quarter that saw the game be as tight as 4 points with 1:13 left to play after Florence clawed out of a 12-point deficit going into the fourth; the Falcons outscored Hoover 17-9 before the first foul of the closing minute.

Still, Hoover was the Hoover that Ware knew all too well.

“It’s a special group of people, a special group of kids, a special team,” the coach said. “They do special things, not only on the court, but off the floor. Tip your hat there to Florence. That was a hard, hard, hard-fought game, those guys competed all the way to the end. They pushed us; we hadn’t been pushed a lot this year.”

Fairley led the Bucs with 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Salim London added 18 points and 6 rebounds for Hoover; tournament MVP DeWayne Brown posted a double-double in his final high school game worth 14 points and 16 rebounds.

“That means a lot,” London said. “It’s one thing to talk about it, because a lot of people were talking about it before the season; the season we had last year and the season we had before that, people were saying, ‘Y’all could go undefeated this year,’ but we’ve got to do it, people can’t just say it. It means a lot that we did it, and we didn’t think about it as much. Coach Ware says every next game is the most important game.”

Florence’s Bryant James keyed the Falcons with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Jayshod Pearson also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Falcons coach Dylan Burleson left lauding his group for the job done against one of the top teams in the nation, noting how he and his squad fully expected to be in the state title game all year.

“Losing is hard. When you’re defeated, it’s hard, I think when you lose a game like that, it makes it even harder. I felt like our guys left it all out on the court, I thought they executed, I thought they were coachable. We’re really proud of our guys at this time of the year. There’s only one team that wins the last game, and we fully believed that we were going to be that last team.

“We’ve talked about it since November, we’ve talked about it since August. This wasn’t just that things fell in place. We knew that we were supposed to be here, and while it hurts right now, I cannot say enough about these three that are up here and those guys in that locker room.”

Plenty of things brought Florence into the matchup, but Burleson was most impressed with the way his group came together mentally for a historic season.

“The trust level from all three of these guys, from them to the staff to the other guys in that locker room, I just think that when you get this close, and obviously it hurts right now, and you’ll have more thoughts and words as time goes on, but I cannot be more proud of these three guys up here, our guys in that locker room, because I fully believe that we left it all out there.”

Stat sheet: Hoover — Austin Dudley had 13 points and 6 rebounds for the Bucs, while Salim London had 18 points and 6 rebounds, going 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the win. Jackson Sheffield had 3 rebounds and a block and Seneca Robinson had 2 points and dished out a team-high 4 assists. Florence — Jaylen Blackwell had 8 points and 6 rebounds, adding 3 blocks and 2 steals for the Falcons. Jalen Chandler scored 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a block, while Jamarrion Reeder had 9 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

By the numbers: Hoover shot 20-for-49 from the field and 9-for-25 from 3-point range in the win. The Bucs outrebounded Florence 42-31, with 32 of Hoover’s rebounds coming on defense. Florence had just seven turnovers as a team, with Hoover turning the ball over 11 times in the win. Hoover had 8 blocks and Florence had 4.

Did you know? Hoover’s boys are the second program to win three straight state basketball championships since Class 7A was established; Mountain Brook’s boys won Class 7A titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

They said it: “To be able to bring a school together, a community together, a city together, and like we talked about in the locker room, you may not feel it right now, but five, 10, 15 years down the road, you will be able to look back and you were the ones that started this and you were the ones that laid the foundation. To bring those three things together, the community, the city and the school, you can take that with you the rest of your life, and our guys are going to be able to do that.” — Burleson on his group.

“When you’re showing up to work every day, it’s a blessing. I mean, you’re blessed to be around these guys, you’re blessed to work at a great school with a great coaching staff. I wish those guys could be in here right now, because it’s not just about me, it’s not just about these guys. They’ll tell you, my assistants are incredible at what they do. Hats off to them. They deserve just as much limelight as any of us.” — Ware on his team and staff.

“It’s really special to be able to have the opportunity to play a team like Hoover in the state championship. Not a lot, very few people in their lives, get to play in a game like this, and we went into it 100% believing that we were going to win that game. I still think we should have won that game, but really, I’m just thankful that I got the opportunity to play.” — James on facing Hoover.

“Coming into my ninth-grade year, when I first came in, I already knew we were going to be good. As soon as I came in, everybody took me in like I was part of the family from day one. That was the best thing about me coming to Hoover High School, and I just want to thank all the coaches and all the players for helping me get to where I’m at today.” — Brown on playing at Hoover.

“It’s definitely a blessing just being able to be here. Every time we step out on the floor, we try our best to be the best we can be every day. So I think that’s one of the biggest things. And again, for what Coach we’re saying, he would always tell us that the next game is the most important game. So that was one of the main things we focused on this year.” — Fairley on winning a state championship.