Washington heats up, lifts Spartans to state final
BIRMINGHAM — A cast of college basketball coaches rendezvoused at Legacy Arena on Thursday morning for the Class 7A state semifinal between Mountain Brook and Lee-Montgomery.
Memphis' Penny Hardaway. Alabama's Avery Johnson. Two of Mike Krzyzewski's assistants at Duke.
All were there to check out Mountain Brook High School senior Trendon Watford, a five-star forward still looking for a college home.
But on a day when Watford drew so much attention — from both coaches and defenders — it was another Mountain Brook senior who stepped up to lead the Spartans to their third consecutive state final.
Alex Washington, a Harvard football signee, scored 14 consecutive points in the second half to help his team hold off Lee-Montgomery 59-48.
"I just kept shooting," said Washington, who recorded a game-high 19 points. "I was shooting with confidence."
Washington drained four 3-pointers during his scorching stretch, which spanned from the end of the third quarter to the end of the fourth.
After canning his final 3, taken from the right wing near the Mountain Brook bench with under two minutes to play, he turned to his teammates.
They've seen him do it before.
"He always does," said Watford, when asked if he'd witnessed a similar showing in practice.
Mountain Brook (30-3) needed Washington to heat up when he did. After trailing by three at the half, 24-21, Lee-Montgomery (29-4) came out firing post-intermission.
The Generals sank five 3-pointers in the third period and led by as many as six points. Demond Robinson (14) and Nicholas Barnes (12) paced their team in scoring.
Mountain Brook carried a one-point lead, 41-40, into the final quarter. Spartans head coach Bucky McMillan gave his team simple instructions to counter Lee-Montgomery's run.
"Please find No. 10, because he's got it going," McMillan said in regard to Barnes, who hit four 3s.
Lee-Montgomery started the fourth quarter with another 3 but then cooled off. Washington never did. His prolific effort enabled the Spartans to overcome a performance that McMillan said was far from their best.
The victory was his 300th as a coach.
"Sometimes it's better to win ugly than lose pretty," he said. "That's kind of what I felt it was."
Mountain Brook started sluggishly and trailed 15-10 after one quarter. The Spartans committed eight turnovers against Lee-Montgomery's full-court press in the opening frame.
Watford, who tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds, provided a spark early in the second. He scored five straight points to pull his team even, 15-15, before three minutes had run off the clock.
Lior Berman, another senior, picked up the torch from there. As Lee-Montgomery defenders hounded Watford, Berman found a way to get to the basket. He scored 11 points in the first half, most of them coming on layups.
"I knew we were struggling at first, and we were turning the ball over," said Berman, who finished with 17 points. "...I just wanted to attack the rim and do everything I could."
Mountain Brook will vie for its third straight state title on Saturday against either Hoover or Baker. Tipoff is at 5:45 p.m. at Legacy Arena.