Sunshine held off a late A.L. Johnson run to advance to knock off the Eagles 54-47 and advance to the second round of the AHSAA Class 1A, Area 5 Tournament Friday night.

After losing to the Eagles twice in the regular season, head coach Walter Jones and the Tigers entered Friday night with a different strategy.

“We played them three times. I knew this season that we’re not as talented as we had been in the past athletically,” Jones said.

“I figured we would end up playing them in the tournament. Finishing second or third (in regular season region play), all that means is a different color jersey. So we just played them straight up in the regular season.”

Friday, the Tigers focused on limiting ALJ shooting guard Kejuan McGhee, who scored 35 against them in their own gym less than a month ago.

“We wanted to push him to use his left hand,” Jones said.

“We didn’t do that during the regular season.”

John May led the Tigers with 19 points Friday. His complement came in the form of Thronzo Ward, who put in 12 points.

McGhee finished with 16 for ALJ while Thelbert Staten added 13.

“They’ve meant a whole lot on the field, off the field, on the court, off the court,” ALJ head coach Mose Jones said of the seniors who played their final high school game Friday night. “They’ve just been a real good bunch. I’m real proud of them.”