By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
Escambia County High School’s Blue Devils will be headed to the next round of the 2022 AHSAA Class 4A State Basketball Playoffs after defeating Holt High School 69-50 on Monday, February 21, during the Class 4A Regional Semi-Finals in Montgomery.
The Blue Devils and the Ironmen fought evenly over the first half of play, and ECHS led by just one point, 31-30 at halftime. ECHS finished strong, firing off 11 unanswered points during the last 2 minutes of gameplay.
Sheldon Williams led the way for ECHS, scoring 27 points, pulling down 13 rebounds, blocking four shots and handing out two assists.
Sheldon’s brother, Stephen Williams, followed with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and an assist. Conner McPherson added 11 points and dished out 5 assists; Jacob Dirden contributed 6 points and 2 steals.
Anthony McCants and Hakeem Johnson each scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds; and Kaiden Arnold topped off the Blue Devils scoring with 2 points and added 2 rebounds.
With the win over Holt, ECHS advanced to the 2022 AHSAA Class 4A Southwest Regional Finals, where they will face Williamson this Thursday, February 24, at 1:30 p.m. at the Montgomery Multiplex and Garrett Coliseum.
If ECHS is successful in winning the Regional Championship, the Devils will then advance to the State Class 4A Semi-Finals which will be played on Tuesday, March 1.