Watford spurs Spartans to victory at Steel City

With Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center as his backdrop, Mountain Brook High School  sophomore Trendon Watford lit up the scoreboard on Tuesday night in the second round of the Steel City Invitational.

The 6-foot-8 forward posted 21 points as he led his now 12-0 Spartans to a 63-35 victory over Vestavia Hills.

“He makes the right play every time,” Mountain Brook head coach Bucky McMillan said of Watford. “That’s why he’s a pro.”

Vestavia had earned its way into the game thanks to a 63-60 double overtime triumph against Lanett earlier in the day. Mountain Brook enjoyed a first-round bye.

Despite its heavy legs, Vestavia played Mountain Brook close through the game’s first 10 minutes. The Rebels’ Mitchell Langley poured in eight straight points to trim the Spartans’ lead to 14-12 early in the second quarter.

Mountain Brook, however, closed out the half on an 18-9 run. Watford posted 14 first-half points – eight of which came from the free-throw line – to give his team a 32-21 lead heading into the locker room.

“I was just trying to mainly score inside out and amp it up on defense,” Watford said.

Mountain Brook came out firing in the second half. Four Spartans combined to knock down five 3-pointers in the third quarter. Britton Johnson, who finished the game with nine points, accounted for two of the five 3s.  

Mountain Brook outscored Vestavia 22-6 in the third quarter. The Spartans added nine more in the fourth to bring the game to its final.  

“I thought that our guys were pretty fresh in the second half, and I thought Vestavia really battled, but I thought that we had a fresh team that second half,” McMillan said.

Mountain Brook finished the game 20-of-48 shooting (48 percent). The Spartans outscored their opponent 18-10 in the paint.

The Rebels’ Langley led his team with 12 points. Vestavia finished the game 13-of-40 shooting (33 percent).

“We competed our tails off,” Vestavia head coach Patrick Davis said. “We had some pretty good looks that just didn’t go.”

With the win,  Mountain Brook  advanced to tomorrow’s semifinal against Pelham. The two teams are currently the state's top-ranked squads in their respective classifications -- Mountain Brook in Class 7A and Pelham in 6A. The semifinal will be held Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Vestavia will play Homewood at 1:30 p.m. in the loser's bracket. The Patriots lost to Pelham on a last-second free throw in overtime, 64-63.