Familiarity can breed complacency, but not for the Hoover boys basketball team.

The fourth-ranked Bucs powered their way to an early lead and never looked back in a 77-53 victory over No. 8 Thompson in Tuesday’s Class 7A boys Northwest Regional final at Wallace State’s Traditions Bank Arena in Hanceville.

Hoover (28-3) has now won three of the four matchups this season against Area 5 rival Thompson, whose only win in the series came at home exactly a month ago.

“It was an entire team effort,” Hoover coach Scott Ware said. “Obviously, these three guys (DeWayne Brown, Salim London and Jarett Fairley) are incredible. They carry us most nights, but it was an overall team effort. Everyone on the floor was locked into what we wanted to accomplish.”

The Bucs forced the issue early as Brown opened the first period with a personal 8-2 run, followed by a 3-pointer from Seneca Robinson to give the Bucs an 11-4 lead midway through the quarter. London and Brown combined for a 6-0 run to push the advantage to double digits before a 4-0 spurt from the Warriors cut the deficit to 19-10 entering the second period.

Austin Dudley caught fire in the second quarter, opening up an 8-2 run on a pair of free throws and two 3-pointers. Brown and London once more combined for an 11-0 run and the latter capped the first half with a basket to push the Hoover lead to 42-20 at the halftime break.

Thompson (22-10) attempted to claw itself back into the game in the second half, but could only come as close as 16 points midway through the third period. Colben Landrew scored 11 of Thompson’s 19 third-quarter points and a 6-0 run in the final period came far too late for the Warriors.

Did you know? Hoover advances to its second straight state tournament final four after winning the Class 7A title last season. The Bucs will make their fifth appearance in the final four and have two titles (2015 and 2023) to their name.

By the numbers: The Bucs shot 60.4 percent overall, 47.1 percent from range, and were 11-of-15 at the charity stripe. They also enjoyed a plus-18 edge on the glass while scoring 13 points off 8 turnovers. Thompson was 52.2 percent from the field but went 2-of-10 on 3-pointers, converting one in each half.

Stat sheet: Hoover – Brown produced a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, matching Thompson’s team total rebounds, and added 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals. London finished with 19 points, 5 boards and 4 assists, and Dudley had 10 points. Robinson had 8 points and 4 rebounds, followed by Fairley with 7 points and 3 assists. Elijah Thomas, Caleb Williams and Messiah Millin all had 3 points each. Thompson – Landrew led the Warriors with a team-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Jay Green finished with 11 points and 3 steals. DaeShaun Morrissette had 7 points and Jared Smith and Riley Bryant combined for 8 points and 5 rebounds.

All-Tournament Team: Hoover’s Brown was named MVP and teammates Fairley and London were selected to the all-tournament team, along with Thompson’s Morrissette, Landrew and Jay Green.

Coachspeak: “We talked about sitting down, winning your 1-on-1, challenging every shot and attacking rebounds. For the most part, we pretty much did that as a unit the entire basketball game. On offense, we felt like if the ball would move, we would have some advantages there. The guys did a good job of moving the ball and making shots. We knocked down some big ones today.” – Hoover’s Scott Ware

“There’s a lot to look back on and it’s hard fresh out of the locker room. I got to look at my lone senior Masiah Robinson. He’s poured his heart and soul into the program for the last four years. It’s a blessing and it’s hard to be the only senior on a team and lead these young guys and gain their respect. We have a lot of young production, which is exciting for the future, but we live in the now at Thompson. We’ll reconvene and worry about next year tomorrow.” – Thompson’s DJ Black

They said it: “Coach told us before the game that we could outrebound them and I took that to my head. I locked in on crashing boards every time.” – DeWayne Brown

“Playing them a fourth time, there’s nothing new. You just go out there and play basketball. The finer details will make the difference.” – Salim London

What’s next? Hoover advances to face No. 4 Central-Phenix City in a Class 7A state semifinal at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 29, at BJCC’s Legacy Arena in Birmingham.