MONTGOMERY — The Francis Marion Rams advanced to the Class 2A central regional tournament finals with a 58-44 win over the Central-Hayneville Lions Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery.

“It feels great,” Francis Marion head coach Lee Hollis said. “You know, this is what we have been working for all season. It has come down to not being satisfied. I think I have a group of hungry kids who are refusing to lose and doing whatever it takes to win these ball games.”

The Lions jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter by getting offensive rebounds and second chance points, but in the second quarter the tide began to turn.

“I feel like early on they hurt us on the boards,” Hollis said. “Once we talked to the guys about making that correction and working harder on the boards.

“That’s what we talked about all week is being able to match those guys on the boards and in the second half I think we did better on the boards.”

Francis Marion senior LaDarius Tabb led the Rams with a game-high 29 points.

“I told my team we needed to get motivated,” Tabb said. “The last couple of years we have been out of it and nobody was counting on us and we just came out hungry.”

It was Tabb who created the spark that allowed the Rams to pull away in the tightly contested game.

In the middle of the third quarter Francis Marion’s Devontae Knox found Tabb on a breakaway and Tabb dunked the ball, igniting the Ram faithful who had made the trip to Montgomery from Marion.

On the very next possession, Tabb forced a turnover and again slammed it home.

“Coach said go harder,” Tabb said. “So every time I had a chance, I was dunking.”

This marks the first time since 2008 the Rams have reached the regional finals.

“It’s very nice,” Tabb said. “I don’t know what to say, it’s too exciting. It’s pretty sweet to make it this far.”

Francis Marion must now get ready to take on Lanett on Friday at 10 a.m. in the Acadome on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery.

“I think they fit what we want to do,” Hollis said. “They want to get up and down. We want to get up and down. They want to press. We want to press. I think whoever plays well that day will win that game.

“It’s about getting to that point, the regional championship,” Hollis said. “Anything can happen all you have to do is get there.”