A day after watching the Lady Saints celebrate winning a Sub-Regional at midcourt, Selma’s boys team wasn’t about to let the girls have all the fun.

Riding an outstanding defense and a third-quarter offensive surge, the Saints clinched a trip to Troy for regional play with a 64-42 win over Opelika Friday night at home.

The Saints won the game in the paint.

After a bit of slow start, the post presence of Jeremy Carter and Darrett Fletcher completely took the Bulldogs out of their offense. Opelika seemed intent on attacking the big men in an attempt to draw some fouls, instead Selma’s dynamic duo racked up blocks, rebounds and points.

Carter ended the night with 10 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks.

Fletcher was just as impressive with eight points, 14 rebounds and six blocks.

While it didn’t show up on the stat sheet,

Fletcher forced countless shooters to miss the mark as they tried to avoid getting swatted into the stands.

With the big men patrolling the paint, it opened up things for Selma’s wing men.

Senior guard Brandon Davis, who promised a win the night before, was pleased that the guys inside helped him fulfill that guarantee.

Maxey said the Saints stressed the inside play all week.

On the outside, Davis ended the game with 16 points and seven assists to lead all scorers. John Daily added 11 points and four rebounds.

Robert Childers had nine points and five rebounds.

Edgar Brown added all six of his points in the second quarter while Malcolm McCrittenden gave the Saints a big lift in the first with four points.

For Opelika, Jeremy Gray led with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams got off to a slow start which might have been caused by some big-game jitters.

The teams struggled to find the bottom of the bucket early.

McCrittenden came off the bench and gave Selma four needed points and Fletcher played like a wild man on the boards.

He grabbed six rebounds in the first quarter alone.

Davis got a bucket and a pair of free throws and the Saints led 11-6 after a quarter of play.

Things picked up in the second as Brown came off the bench for six points, including a George &uot;The Iceman&uot; Gervin worthy finger roll on a fast break.

Daily added five points in the frame while Carter worked hard on the glass. At the half, Selma led 28-20.

If the Bulldogs wanted to get back in the game, they needed to make a move early in the second.

Instead, the Saints landed a haymaker and knocked the Bulldogs out.

Carter pushed the lead to 10 with a putback, then Childers got an old-fashioned three-point play.

Daily stroked a jumper and then Davis found Childers for a trey.

When Davis capped the 12-0 run with a steal and one-handed jam, Opelika could have called it a night.

Instead, the Saints cooled down and ran some clock.

Maxey took advantage of the opportunity to rest his starters through the rest of the third and the Saints held onto a double-digit advantage.

The Bulldogs never made a serious run, nor cut the lead inside of 12 as Selma clinched the right to return to Troy for regional play.

Like the Lady Saints, Selma will play Tuesday in Troy at 10:30 a.m. against Jeff Davis, according to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Web Site.

The Lady Saints are scheduled to play Dothan at noon.