Spartan basketball season ends at Jacksonville
A heartbreaking day at Jacksonville State University ended both the boys' and girls' basketball seasons for Mountain Brook on Feb. 22. Both teams had won their area tournaments and advanced for the regional playoffs, but could not advance past that point. The girls lost 56-44 to Shades Valley, and the boys lost 61-58 to Hewitt-Trussville in a packed arena filled with 600 Mountain Brook students in their neon shirts, happy to be out of school to cheer on the Spartans.
The boys team started the season with a different look than normal, with only three seniors and a new point guard from Iceland. Over the course of the season, however, the team seemed to gel and the fans came to love the backcourt duo of Mario Stramaglia and Matti Sigurdarson. Sophomores Sean Eaton and Patrick Keim played significant minutes, as did juniors Jeremy Berman and Reagan Alexander.
The Spartans, who ended the season at 24-10, beat Vestavia and Spain Park to win the area tournament. Mountain Brook played nearly a perfect game to beat Spain Park for the first time all season in the area championship. Eaton was the tournament MVP, providing 24 points.
But the following regional game at Jacksonville State proved too much to handle. With a rocking all-neon student section cheering them on, the Spartans clawed back from a 36-21 deficit on a 24-8 run that featured a couple of three-pointers from Stramaglia and several shifty drives for layups by Sigurdarson. But the tight game ended up going to Hewitt, who hit clutch shots when they had to. Sigurdarson had 27 points in a game that marked the second time in three years that the boys were unable to advance past the first regional game.
The girls team also had a successful year, going 26-7 with young talent. Kaki Simpson led the team as the only senior, and Mary Katherine Pinson, Collier Ogilvie, and Ellie Mouyal were the leading scorers for the Lady Spartans.
Their final record of 26-7 speaks for itself. The girls also won the area tournament by beating Spain Park with stifling defense by a score of 46-22.
The 12:00 time slot at Jacksonville loomed on the horizon as the Lady Spartans were set to face Shades Valley, who had beaten Mountain Brook twice already and sported a record of 31-2. The Mounties’ quick defense propelled them to a strong second half that saw them pull away for the victory.
A season of victories and broken records seemed to disappear in a blink of an eye a few weeks ago in Jacksonville. The squeak of sneakers is gone in Spartan Arena. Those neon shoes will be hung up for a while. But these memorable seasons will not soon be forgotten.