BIRMINGHAM — American Christian Academy boys basketball made a clean sweep of Bibb County at the AHSAA Boys Class 4A central regional semifinal at Bill Harris Arena.

The Patriots defeated the Choctaws 60-51 on Monday after topping them in both regular season contests. It was a back-and-forth first quarter which saw the teams exchange the lead, but a 5-0 run by ACA tied the game at 12 to end the first period. The Patriots then outscored the Choctaws 13-6 in the second quarter, holding them scoreless for the majority of the period, to take the 25-18 lead at the break.

Bibb County outscored ACA 19-17 in the third quarter, cutting the lead to as little as three-points at one point, but ACA successfully held off any second half Bibb County comeback efforts as they went onto claim victory.

"I think it's a testament to our guys to stay together because in that third quarter it got close and was getting chippy with the fouls," ACA interim head coach Austin Grammer said. "I was very proud of how they stayed together to finish the game in the fourth quarter."

ACA's Davis Dare led all scorers with 21 points to go with five assists and four rebounds. Bibb County's Jordan Leverette finished with 19 points and five rebounds.

With the win, ACA punched its ticket to the Elite 8 and will play the winner between Hale County vs. Fultondale in the boys Class 4A central regional final at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21.

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Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AHSAA regionals: ACA boys defeat Bibb County to punch ticket to Elite 8