By Rubin E. Grant
Mountain Brook senior swingman Colby Jones had to think for a moment while trying to remember when the Spartans last played a basketball game at Spartan Arena.
“It’s been a minute,” Jones said before recalling the opponent, Sidney Lanier of Montgomery.
Mountain Brook routed Sidney Lanier 73-46 on Dec. 14 at Spartan Arena, then spent the rest of December playing in two out-of-state tournaments.
The Spartans traveled to Coral Springs, Florida, Dec. 18-21 and posted three victories to win the Kruel Classic.
Then, Mountain Brook went to Bristol, Tennessee, Dec. 26-31 and recorded four double-digit victories against teams from Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina to claim the championship in the Arby’s Classic.
After defeating North Mecklenburg, North Carolina, 77-66 in the championship game on New Year’s Eve, the Spartans didn’t get back home until 2:30 a.m. New Year’s Day.
They didn’t have much time to rest because they had a home game against Hoover the next day at Spartan Arena.
Despite the quick turnaround, the road-weary, Class 7A No. 1 Spartans managed to pull out a 59-50 victory against the No. 2 Bucs last Thursday in the only regular-season meeting of the season between the two schools.
The game was closely contested throughout and the score was tied 44-44 entering the fourth quarter. Jones sank two 3-pointers in the first minute of the final period to help the Spartans edge ahead 51-46, and they managed to hold the Bucs at bay the rest of the way.
Jones finished with 30 points, on 11 of 18 shots from the field and 7 of 11 from the free-throw line. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The 6-foot-5-inch Xavier University signee could have scored even more points, but he misfired on a few shots from close range.
“I didn’t have my legs,” Jones said. “I missed some shots that I usually make. But it was good for me to fight through the fatigue and show that when I’m not fresh, I can still have an impact getting rebounds and playing defense.”
Senior guard Carter Sobera added 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Spartans. He made 7 of 10 field goal attempts, most coming on uncontested layups as he worked free in Mountain Brook’s motion weave half-court offense.
Thanks to its half-court offense and a trapping half-court defense that produced 11 steals leading to fast-break layups, Mountain Brook shot 58 percent from the field (22 of 38).
Junior guard D.J. Fairley led Hoover (16-6) with 19 points and junior forward Chip Culpepper added10.
Mountain Brook coach Bucky McMillan said the Spartans were fortunate to defeat the Bucs.
“They did a good job,” McMillan said. “They put pressure on us and were a shot or two away from coming away with a victory.
“We didn’t play well. It might have been the worst game we’ve played all year, but being tired and Hoover might have had something to do with that. It was ugly, but we got it done.”
After playing five games in seven days, Mountain Brook canceled its scheduled home game against Hueytown last Friday to get some rest.
The Spartans and Bucs open play in their respective areas this week. Mountain Brook visited Spain Park on Tuesday and plays host to Vestavia Hills on Friday in Area 6 games. Hoover played host to Oak Mountain on Tuesday and entertains Thompson on Friday in Area 5 contests.
The victory against Hoover left Mountain Brook with a 19-1 record. The Spartans’ only loss was to Grayson (Georgia) 71-60 in the Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament on Nov. 30 in Atlanta.
The three-time defending Class 7A champion Spartans haven’t missed a beat this season without McDonald’s All-American and two-time Alabama Mr. Basketball Trendon Watford, who’s now at LSU.
“It’s our culture,” McMillan said. “Trendon is an unbelievably great player, but before he came here, we went to three straight state finals and won two of those.
“Our players just expect to win.”
Jones said McMillan deserves much of the credit.
“That just shows the kind of program we have and the type of coach Bucky is,” Jones said. “He makes sure me and my teammates constantly work to improve our craft.
“I don’t think we’re nowhere near our potential for this season. We showed we’re capable of beating anybody in those out-of-state tournaments, but we have to keep playing hard and getting better day-by-day.”
