The Purple Devils (27-6) will play in the AHSAA 1A semifinals Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Complex. They will play the South Regional winner between Brantley and J.F. Sheilds, which play Saturday in Dothan.
Ragland and Skyline were tied at 41 at the end of the third quarter, but the Purple Devils opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 salvo and never again trailed. Jones scored the first six of those seven points and 16 of Ragland’s 23 points in the final period.
He finished the game with dunk.
Ragland was badly outsized but had 19 offensive rebounds and took 31 more shots than Skyline. Jones had a team-high 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive end.
The Purple Devils also committed just five turnovers while forcing 19.
Skyline, which beat Spring Garden in Monday’s regional semifinals, got 24 points and 21 rebounds from center Jacob Walker and 12 points from Gage Swingford. The Vikings finished their season at 23-8.
Sports Columnist Joe Medley: 256-235-3576. On Twitter @jmedley_star.
