The Oakwood Academy boys basketball team is not exactly a modern-day telling of the story of Job.

But it’s close.

Rather than the loss of prosperity and family, an athletic opportunity of historic importance was wrenched from their hands a year ago. And like the prophet Job, they remained faithful in their service to a higher power.

The third-ranked Mustangs sought divine intervention and met it halfway in earning a 72-46 victory over Faith Christian in Monday’s Class 1A Northeast Regional semifinal at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

“We’re just glad to be back here,” Oakwood Academy coach Melvin Allen said. “We want to thank our coaches, our school, our church, our fans and the entire state, for the support they gave us last year. The ruling from the AHSAA not only will make accommodations for our student-athletes but all student-athletes throughout the state regarding their religious faith.”

Last winter, Oakwood Academy, a Seventh Day Adventist School in Huntsville, forfeited its Northeast Regional semifinal boys basketball game that was scheduled to be played on a Saturday afternoon.

As with Judaic tradition, Seventh-Day Adventists observe the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

In May, the school filed a lawsuit against the AHSAA, stating its religious rights were violated, and the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board of Control subsequently approved a new ruling in September allowing schools to request a religious accommodation during championship play when certain conditions are met.

“We were, of course, disappointed that we couldn’t play last year, but our faith was that all things work together for good,” Allen said. “That’s certainly has been something that I’ve kept before these student-athletes all year long.”

“The policy has been changed and you have an opportunity to play,” he added. “Now you have this awesome responsibility to work hard every day to get back. And they did that.”

Oakwood Academy (25-8) got the action started with a Jayden Nesbitt layup in the first seven seconds of the opening period, but fell behind as Faith Christian’s Thomas Curlee scored on consecutive buckets to cap a 7-2 run at the 5:44 mark. The Mustangs responded with a 13-4 run in the final 5:21 of the period, Nesbitt and Jonathan Walden combining for nine points, and carried a 17-11 lead into the second quarter.

The Lions opened the second period with a 3-pointer from Connor Richerzhagen and ended an ensuing 4-0 spurt from Oakwood Academy on another 3-pointer from the eighth-grader. Despite stretching the lead to 26-19 midway through the quarter, the Mustangs allowed a 7-0 run from Faith Christian to tie the game at 26 with 2:54 remaining in the first half.

Oakwood Academy closed out the half on a 7-0 run powered by Walden and Nesbitt, the latter of whom produced a double-double in the first 16 minutes.

The Mustangs extended the lead to 11 points on back-to-back jumpers from Camden Edmonds in the first minute of the second half, but Curlee slapped together a personal 6-2 run to trim the deficit to seven points at the 5:22 mark of the third period. Oakwood Academy dominated the remainder of the quarter, closing out with a 14-3 run and allowing the Lions one made field goal in the final 4:57.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 53-35 lead, Oakwood Academy controlled the time of possession, making 7-of-10 shots and limiting Faith Christian opportunities, and finished on a 16-8 run in the final 3:49 of the game.

Did you know? The new AHSAA rule that went into effect for the 2023-2024 school year, ironically, will not affect the Oakwood Academy boys basketball team this season. The regional final is scheduled for Wednesday, and state tournament games are set for Monday, Feb. 27, and Thursday, March, 2, at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

By the numbers: The Mustangs finished shooting 61.2 percent overall – 27.2 percent from 3-point range – and were 9-for-18 at the foul line. Oakwood Academy gave up 17 turnovers, but forced 14 that resulted in a 17-7 scoring advantage, and physically dominated the interior with a plus-22 advantage scoring inside the paint and a plus-16 edge on the glass.

Stat sheet: Oakwood Academy – Nesbitt produced a double-double for the Mustangs, scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 boards while adding three blocks and two steals, and Edmonds finished 12 points and three steals. Walden had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Eleazar Williams added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tysean Allen, son of Oakwood Academy coach Melvin Allen, finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, followed by Micah Andrews and Davis Still, both of whom had five points. Faith Christian – Curlee led the Lions with a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to produce a double-double. Connor Richerzhagen finished with eight points, followed by Carson Harris and Yashua Arevalo with seven points each and a combined seven rebounds.

Coachspeak: “I certainly think that He (God) allows everything for our good. It’s not always good to us. Last year wasn’t good to us. But we believed it was good for us. Our young people have stayed focused and looked forward to this day. This has been mentioned at our practice since our first official day back in October. We couldn’t wait to get down here. It seemed like that two-hour ride was a three-hour ride. We do believe that we worked hard and all things have worked together for good.” – Oakwood Academy’s Melvin Allen

“What kind of inspired team did we play against? Whew. I always try to shoot my guys straight. I think we’re a really good basketball team, even though we’re young, but I told them in the locker room that if we played a perfect game tonight, Oakwood still wins. They … wow. Size-wise, athleticism, they got nine seniors – they came out with a game plan to play bully ball and they absolutely executed that.” – Faith Christian’s Cory Hughes

They said it: “We’ve been thinking about this day and waiting for this moment ever since last year. All that built-up energy, waiting and waiting, we finally were able to play and we showed that tonight with our energy.” – Nesbitt

“We already knew we had to come in with some real energy. We already had a chip on our shoulders because we couldn’t play (last year). We had to come up in here and work harder than the other team to get this win.” – Tysean Allen

“It’s nothing but the grace of God that we were able to come here and come back. Our coaches told us that divine intervention is important, but it’s nothing without the work. We wanted to work to prove to ourselves that we deserve to be here. That’s where our energy came from, we wanted to prove to ourselves because everything is you against you. It was important, against ourselves, that we prove to ourselves that this wasn’t just a fluke game. We were meant to be here.” – Williams

What’s next? Oakwood Academy advances to face No. 8 Skyline in Wednesday’s Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.