Road to a state title: Dothan falls short of comeback

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WTVY) - The Dothan Wolves boys basketball squad were facing a tough matchup on Thursday to wrap up semifinal action for Wiregrass teams representing themselves at the 2023 AHSAA State Basketball Finals tournament in Birmingham, as they took on the Hoover Bucs.

Dothan 41 - Hoover 53

A suffocating Bucs defense early in the 7A boys semifinal matchup proved key in helping Hoover (30-4) hold off a valiant Dothan Wolves (26-5) squad.

That defense for the Bucs held the Wolves to just 5 points in the 1st period, with Dothan unable to score a basket from 5-and-a-half minutes left in that quarter up until a little over 4 minutes left in the first half, a full quarter’s length of no baskets for the Wolves.

Dothan managed a comeback in the second half that saw them cut the Hoover lead down to 8 , but the Wolves were never able to grab a lead in the contest. By the final buzzer, it was 12 points in favor of the Bucs and that would advance them to the 7A title game.

Dothan’s Thomas Dowd and Mehkai Menefee reached double digits in scoring in the contest. Dowd finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Menefee had 13 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists.

Hoover’s leading guy was Jarett Fairly, who got 17 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Elijah Herron also assisted the Bucs with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.

The Bucs will return to BJCC Legacy Arena on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. when they take on Central-Phenix City (24-9) for the 7A State Championship.

News4′s Briana Jones will be live from Birmingham throughout the week with highlights and coverage of our local teams. You can find the full Wiregrass team schedule for Birmingham by clicking here.

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