From Sweet to Elite: Sylacauga’s hot start sends it to Regional Final

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Sylacauga Aggies are headed to the Elite Eight.

Sylacauga punched its ticket to the regional final with a commanding 62-37 win over Elmore County at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome, delivering one of its most complete performances of the season on a big stage.

Just as they did in the sub-regional round against Jemison, the Aggies wasted no time setting the tone. Senior Corbyn Patterson opened the scoring with a three-pointer, then knocked down another soon after. Senior Erick O'Neal followed with two triples of his own as Sylacauga raced out to an 18-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Senior CJ Franklin had a quiet opening quarter with just two points, but it did not stay that way for long. Franklin found his rhythm in the second period, scoring eight points to stretch the lead to 31-17 at halftime. It was a sharp contrast to last season's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Selma, when the Aggies trailed at the break.

There would be no second-half rally from Elmore County.

Sylacauga never surrendered the lead and never allowed the Panthers to cut the deficit to single digits. Franklin stayed aggressive after the break, adding nine more points over the final two quarters while collecting four steals.

With the lead comfortably above 20 in the fourth quarter, head coach Joel Jones cleared his bench once again. Junior Jayden Sanders made the most of his opportunity, drilling a three-pointer on his first offensive possession and drawing a roar from the Sylacauga student section. Even with reserves on the floor, the Aggies finished strong and closed the game on a 17-10 run.

The numbers told the story.

Sylacauga started 4 of 5 from three-point range and finished 10 of 23 from beyond the arc. After taking the early 3-0 lead, the Aggies never trailed and led for more than 31 minutes.

Defensively, Sylacauga forced 11 steals and turned those into 24 points. Elmore County managed just two steals and two points off turnovers.

Franklin finished with 19 points, five assists and four steals. Patterson added 12 points while shooting 4 of 7 from three-point range. O'Neal contributed 13 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Speer chipped in five points, five rebounds and five assists.

Sylacauga will return to the Acadome next Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 2:15 p.m. to face the Marbury Bulldogs for a spot in the Final Four.