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Michael Vice (25) shoots over a defender during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Paul Michael Hargrove (0) prepares to fight for the opening tipoff during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Coleman Barranco (1) floats in for an eay basket during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Coleman Barranco (1) drives on a Florence defender during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Paul Michael Hargrove (0) elevates over defenders for a basket during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Jackson Smith (12) celebrates a made three pointer during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Coleman Barranco (1) aligns the offense during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Paul Michael Hargrove (0) gathers a pass on the block during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Paul Michael Hargrove (0) shoots an uncontested layup during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Presumably the entire student body from Vestavia Hills came to cheer on the Rebels during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Head Coach Patrick Davis during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Michael VIce (25) shoots an easy layup during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavis's Davis Holbert (2) pats down Luke Couch (10) during starting lineups at a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Coleman Barranco (1) looks to make a pass during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Michael Vice (25) gathers an entry pass during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Michael Vice (25) shoots over defenders during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Head Coach Patrick Davis during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia cheerleaders lead cheers during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Presumably the entire student body from Vestavia Hills came to cheer on the Rebels during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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The Vestavis Hills student section reacts to a buzzer beater made by Paul Michael Hargrove during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Grant Uldrich (22) makes an entry pass to the paint during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Michael Vice (25) is the first to the floor and wins a loose ball during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
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Vestavia's Michael VIce (25) looks to pass during a Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal game between Vestavia Hills and Florence on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville. (Kamp Fender)
HANCEVILLE — Accumulated experience paid off for the Rebels in the second half.
The Vestavia Hills High School boys basketball team transformed a halftime stalemate into a convincing 61-45 victory over Florence on Thursday afternoon in the Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinals, held at Wallace State Community College.
Vestavia Hills (22-10) emerged from the halftime locker room with the score tied at 25-25 but proceeded to start the third quarter on a 14-0 run, with senior Luke Couch scoring seven consecutive points in the midst of it.
But it wasn’t those points he was most interested in when talking about the defining burst.
“Defensive stops,” he said when asked about the key to the run. “We got stop after stop, and it kills momentum.”
The Rebels held a 12-10 lead after the first quarter, and Florence tied the game at the halftime break. At the break, Vestavia Hills head coach Patrick Davis said the team refocused on its transition defense after a few lapses late in the second quarter. Dialing in allowed the Rebels to slow down the athletic Falcons.
Vestavia Hills didn’t allow Florence (29-4) a field goal the entire third quarter, with the Falcons’ only two points in the period coming on a pair of free throws. Vestavia Hills took its 39-27 lead into the final quarter and didn’t look back.
“If you get three stops in a row, we call it a kill,” Davis said. “We got a lot of kills.”
After Florence cut the lead back to eight points early in the fourth, Vestavia Hills went on a 9-1 run that included six points from Paul Michael Hargrove.
Couch finished the game with 11 points and was one of three double-digit scorers for the Rebels on the day. Michael Vice scored a game-high 18 points to go along with nine rebounds. Hargrove went for 15 points and seven rebounds.
What do all three have in common? They are seniors who have been there before, and they helped send the Rebels to their second regional final in three years.
“We’ve talked all year and all this week about how much experience plays a role in the regional,” Davis said. “It ain’t a secret. We’ve got eight seniors and seven that play a ton, and we ride with those dudes.”
Those eight seniors will aim to keep the ride going as long as possible.
“We’ve been playing together forever and we don’t want it to end,” Vice said.
Vestavia Hills will take on Mountain Brook in the regional final next Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. It will be the fourth meeting this season between the two area foes and neighboring rivals, with Mountain Brook winning the previous three games.
But the Rebels don’t plan on approaching things any differently.
“Prepare like normal,” Couch said. “The biggest game of the year is always the next game.”
