Jones leads Spartans to final
BIRMINGHAM – Colby Jones will do whatever it takes.
Not only is he a prolific scorer, but he is willing to do the dirty work, such as pulling down rebounds and drawing charges.
He did each of those things at a high level in the Mountain Brook High School boys basketball team’s 60-50 win over Fairhope on Thursday afternoon in the Class 7A semifinals at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.
Before the Spartans took the floor, Mountain Brook head coach Bucky McMillan told his star player, “It’s your time to get 30 [points].”
He didn’t reach that benchmark, but he finished with a more-than-respectable 29 points and 14 rebounds.
“When you’ve got somebody that can fill up the stat sheet and make people better, that’s what superstars do,” McMillan said. “He had to play multiple positions in the game. He played the 4 and guarded their 5. At the end of the game, we played him at point guard.”
Jones scored all 10 of Mountain Brook’s points in the third quarter after putting forth 14 in the first half, as the Spartans took a 28-17 lead into the halftime break.
“My teammates have the most trust in me to get a bucket when we need, but I was just trying to do what we needed to,” Jones said.
Mountain Brook (32-2) opened up a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Fairhope (24-5) fought back, cutting the deficit down to 53-49 with a minute to play.
“The message in our huddle was we have to keep attacking on defense,” McMillan said. “When we got back to attacking, good things happened to us.”
Mountain Brook scored seven of the game’s last eight points in the final minute of play.
Last season, Mountain Brook made history by becoming the first school in the history of the Alabama High School Athletic Association to win three straight state championships at the highest classification. On Saturday, the Spartans can extend that record by claiming a fourth.
“I’m glad we’re still alive and looking forward to Saturday,” McMillan said.
Holt Bashinsky and Carter Sobera provided the supplemental scoring punch for the Spartans on Thursday, with each chipping in 12 points. Sobera also had eight rebounds in the contest. Bashinsky, Sobera and Alex Belt said following the game that Mountain Brook’s experience at this level is a significant advantage.
“It helps a lot,” Bashinsky said. “Even as kids, coming and watching, we’re used to seeing the guys ahead of us win, you’re used to winning.”
Mountain Brook will face Lee-Montgomery (32-1) on Saturday at 5:45 p.m., as the Spartans look for yet another state title.
“I don’t know a better state final you could have,” McMillan said. “That’s how you want it. Hopefully the fans appreciate that and we have a good crowd on Saturday.”