BAY MINETTE, Alabama — The Spanish Fort Toros outlasted the Golden Bears of Robertsdale for the 2012-13 Baldwin County junior varsity boys basketball title Saturday at Baldwin County High. The Toros pulled away from a close contest in the final minutes to finish strong with a 61-44 championship victory.

The Bears led 39-37 to start the final period after a 12-7 third quarter run turned around a 31-27 Spanish Fort lead at the half. But a series of early turnovers by RHS swung the momentum back in the Toro's direction for a 51-41 SF advantage three minutes and 59 seconds into the fourth quarter. Good shooting at the foul line by SF compounded the breakout as SF went 9-for-10 down the stretch and 17-of-24 overall. The Bears hit just 3-of-9 in the fourth period and were 7-for-16 in the game.

Spanish Fort’s Kyle Lopley had a game high score of 17 points while teammates Cole Whaley and Trent Strickland added 13 each, Chris Rose finished with 10 and Jake Godfrey eight for the Toros.

Noah Finley and Nathaniel Kendrick led the Golden Bears with 12 points each and Nathan Smith added 11.

The Toros advanced to the final with a tough 44-43 semifinal win over Gulf Shores while the Bears defeated Bayside Academy 65-56 in the other semifinal. In the quarterfinal round Bayside took a 65-54 win over Baldwin County, Robertsdale edged Fairhope 48-47 in overtime, Spanish Fort topped Foley 62-46 and the GSHS Dolphins drew the bye after Daphne had a scheduling conflict.

The JV season wraps up soon and a number of the younger players will move up to finish the season with their varsity teams.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said BCHS head varsity coach Lorenzo Hunter. “Getting these guys lots of playing time. And not just regular game time, but tournament playing time. Basketball is a tournament sport and some of these guys will be better and ready to play at the varsity level with experience like this. We hope we can keep on doing this every year.”