Spartans fall to Lee-Montgomery in state final
BIRMINGHAM — Few dry eyes remained on Bucky McMillan’s bench Saturday night at Legacy Arena.
His Mountain Brook High School boys basketball players were overcome with emotion after falling to Lee-Montgomery 40-38 in the Class 7A state final. The Generals rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to secure their first state championship in school history.
“It wasn’t a high-scoring game, but you just witnessed like a war out there, you know what I’m saying?” said McMillan, Mountain Brook's head coach. “You just saw, on both sides, people that would die for their brothers out there on the floor with them.”
Lee-Montgomery (33-1) started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to trim Mountain Brook’s 21-12 halftime advantage down to one. But Carter Sobera, who led the Spartans with 14 points, responded by sinking two free throws and a pair of layups to keep his team ahead.
The Spartans (32-3) didn’t stay there long, though, as Lee drew even at 29-29 on a Deyunkrea Lewis layup at the end of the quarter.
“We usually play pretty good after halftime for some apparent reason," Lee head coach Bryant Johnson said. "I think we play with more sense of urgency...I think our energy kind of changed after halftime.”
The Generals made only 2-of-14 3-pointers on Saturday, but a triple from Nicholas Barnes with 5:20 remaining gave them their first lead, 34-31. Holt Bashinsky answered on Mountain Brook’s ensuing possession with a 3 from the right wing to tie it at 34-34.
It was his team’s only 3 of the night, as the Spartans shot 1-of-14 from beyond the arc.
“They didn’t make a lot of 3s. They made one more than us…” McMillan said. “We could play that game 100 times, and we may make the one more 3 and win.”
Mountain Brook never led again after the teams traded 3s. Lee’s Jamari Smith converted four clutch free throws in the final 4:14 to help this team reclaim and retain its edge. Mountain Brook pulled to within one twice down the stretch, 37-36 and 39-38, but couldn’t push ahead.
A shot from Mountain Brook’s Colby Jones bounced off the rim just before the final buzzer. Lee’s Lewis pulled down the game-sealing rebound.
Jones finished with 10 points, eight of which came in a dominant second quarter that he closed by hitting an off-balance jumper. Mountain Brook played well in the opening half, scoring 16 of its 21 points in the paint and outrebounding Lee 19-10.
“I thought we played really good defense,” McMillan said. “I thought we did a good job mixing our defenses up to try to keep them a little bit off rhythm.”
Lee outrebounded Mountain Brook 30-28 by game’s end, and both teams committed 13 turnovers. Duke Miles led the Generals with 12 points and was named tournament MVP. Jones and Sobera were both named to the all-state-tournament team.
“I feel like our guys and I really just left it all out there,” Sobera said, “and I think that’s something we can live with.”
The Spartans entered Saturday’s final hoping to win their fourth consecutive championship in the state’s highest classification and sixth in eight years.
“These guys fought, and they put it on for our city, the same way Lee did,” McMillan said. “And when you get to see something like that, it’s truly special, and I’m so proud of these guys and I’m so proud to be their coach.”