Spartans advance to Birmingham

Hunter Lucas scored 16 points and Jack Kline added 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Mountain Brook Spartans' quest for a third straight state championship moved to just two wins away after a 65-59 win over Gadsden City in the Class 7A Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville.

The Spartans (26-7) committed 24 turnovers but offset that with good shooting and rebounding. Bucky McMillan's team shot 47.4 percent from the field and made 4 of 9 3-pointers. They took advantage of 55 whistles (26 on MB and 29 on GC) to convert 25 of 38 free-throw attempts.The Spartans won the war on the boards, 42-27.

Terrell Guy, saddled with foul trouble, added 10 points in nine minutes for Mountain Brook.

Chris Dudley led Gadsden City (24-6) with 16 points and six rebounds. He was one of three Titans who fouled out.

Lucas, who was named the MVP, made 3 of his 6 shots from the floor, 2 of 5 3-pointers and 8 of 9 free-throw attempts. Kline and Guy joined him on the all-tournament team. He scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 4:52 of the contest, beginning by hitting a trey with the Spartans down 52-51.