Central thumps Auburn to capture Regional title, advances to Class 7A semis

Last February, the Central Red Devils saw their season end on a last-second shot against Auburn in Montgomery. With the same team challenging them in the same arena Tuesday, the Red Devils got going early and never looked back

The Red Devils practically ran Auburn out of the Dunn-Oliver Acadome in the AHSAA Class 7A Central Regional finals, taking down the Tigers 62-36. The victory not only gives Red Devils sweet revenge against a region rival, but it also sends Central to the Class 7A semifinals in Birmingham for the second time in three years.

“I think our defense played a big role in us winning,” Central coach Bobby Wright said. “Having played these guys four times previously, we knew them and they knew us. We went back and really worked on what we thought would work. I trusted my three (top shooters) against their three, and we just tried to box out their best shooters.”

The leader among Central’s shooters was Donald Jackson, the senior who had set the pace for the Red Devils time and again this season. That was once again the case, as Jackson ended the evening with 18 points and 9 rebounds and took home tournament MVP honors.

For Jackson, his latest performance was a product of the standard he holds himself to as a veteran on the team.

“As a leader and a senior, I felt like I just had to come out and be aggressive,” Jackson said. “I’m trying to make it to Birmingham and win a state championship. I just felt like that was my job tonight.”

Jackson powered the Central offense through a competitive first half, but its lead was only 23-17 to start the second half. The third quarter, however, left the Tigers reeling, as Central opened the period with nine unanswered points en route to 19 in the quarter.

Justyn Ross helped provide the final two of the opening nine that put Auburn out of contention. He worked his way down the left side of the court and fired a pass to Tremere Brown, who dunked the basketball to the delight of Ross and the Red Devils supporters.

“Us pushing the ball in transition and being able to feed each other the ball and pass it to each other was a big spark for us,” said Ross, who was named to the all-tournament team. “(The scoring run) felt great. It just made us go harder to finish the game.”

Ross was among the contributors on the 2016-2017 squad that saw the year end when Auburn’s Garrison Brooks hit a layup to give his side a one-point victory. Ross said the loss was a heartbreaker, but it motivated the upperclassmen to come back strong and finish when they got the chance.

The win was just as sweet for Wright, who said the loss one year ago remained a thorn in his side. As he left the press conference area that day, he chatted with some friends outside, telling them confidently that the Red Devils would be back.

It took a year’s worth of waiting, but Wright’s group finally proved him right.

“I probably said it prematurely, but I told y’all we would be back,” Wright said. “We are.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Central thumps Auburn to capture Regional title, advances to Class 7A semis."