Hoover’s DeWayne Brown is an imposing figure for only a sophomore and mimicking his natural physical gifts in practice has been a fool’s errand for any team tasked with defending him.

Brown and the second-ranked Bucs broke an early stalemate and powered to a 65-41 victory over No. 8 Austin in Friday’s Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville.

Hoover (28-4) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on consecutive buckets from Brown and alternated baskets until the Black Bears closed out the opening period with a 4-0 run, pulling within a single point.

The Bucs pushed back ahead to open the second period, Salim London powering a 7-0 run for a 16-8 lead, and closed out the quarter outscoring Austin 10-7 to hold a 26-17 lead entering the halftime break.

The Black Bears trimmed the deficit to single digits early in the second half, but allowed Hoover to reclaim a 37-24 lead after three periods. The Bucs went back to work in the final quarter, extending its lead to 17 points, but Harry Malone hit three 3-pointers in the period to close the gap before Hoover shut the door on an 18-9 closing run.

Austin (20-11) failed to reach the regional final with its last appearance coming in 2018.

Star of the Game: Brown. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward produced a double-double for the Bucs, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He was 10-of-12 from the field and added three assists, four blocks and three steals.

“I knew they were going to get me the ball and once I got it, I did what I needed to do to finish,” he said.

Did you know? Hoover advances to an eighth regional final and the first since the 2021 season.

Stat sheet: Hoover – The Bucs shot 48 percent overall, 33.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and were 12-for-13 at the foul line. They also collected 12 steals off 20 turnovers. Salim London finished with 17 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals and Jarett Fairly had 12 points, two boards and four steals. Johnathan Caicedo contributed five points, seven rebounds and six assists. Austin – The Black Bears were held to 39.1 percent from the field, 21.4 percent on 3-pointers and won the rebounding battle with a slim plus-1 edge. Jordan Johnson led Austin with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, followed by Harry Malone with 11 points and two boards. Isaiah Fuller had eight points and eight rebounds and Cam Collins added four points, four rebounds and three assists.

Coachspeak: “Super proud of the guys today. One of the things we’ve battled all year long with our youth is trying to be who we are and get a game plan and stick with it. We did an excellent job of that today. We stressed this time of year you need quality possessions on offense and stops on the defensive end.” – Hoover coach Scott Ware

“This game came down to inside play. We tried to prepare for it the best we could, but it’s hard to simulate a 6-9 in the paint. I tip my hat off to my guys because they worked all night long. They did not quit at any point. They fought the whole time in the paint. Tonight we came up short.” – Austin coach Desmond Phillips

He said it: “We’re trying to make a statement. We remember the feeling (from last year).” – London

What’s next? Hoover advances to the Northeast Regional final, where they’ll face Buckhorn on Tuesday at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum.