Spartans wrap up regular season this week, prepare for area

Entering the season's final week of regular season play, Class 7A, Area 6 has been decided on both the boys and girls side of things for the Mountain Brook High School basketball teams.

The boys wrapped up a 5-1 area slate by knocking off rival Spain Park last Friday night in a winner-take-all game for the area championship, as the Spartans dominated to the tune of an 83-43 victory.

Mountain Brook began the game on fire, dropping 31 points in a first quarter that featured eight 3-point makes from Spartans, including three from Sean Elmore, who scored 13 in the period.

Trendon Watford picked up where Elmore left off in the second, as he scored 11 of his game-high 22 points. Mountain Brook's brilliant first-half performance sent them to the locker room with a 49-21 halftime edge.

In the third quarter, it was Britton Johnson's turn to wow the audience, as the lefty drained four 3-pointers in the quarter, outscoring Spain Park by himself.

With the win, the Spartans locked up the top seed in the area tournament and the right to host it next week. They will take on Oak Mountain in the opening round, who is 0-6 in the area but is nothing short of a competitive team. The winner will take on the winner between Spain Park and Huffman in the area championship.

The Spartans also traveled to Montgomery on Saturday, as they fell to Carver-Montgomery, 62-51, in the Steel City vs. Magic City Challenge.

The Lady Spartans were not as fortunate as the boys on Friday, and fell to a 1-5 finish in Area 6 with a 60-40 loss to Spain Park. Hannah Straughn led Mountain Brook with 14 points in the game.

Spain Park ran the girls side of the area with a 6-0 mark, setting up another matchup of the two teams in the area tournament to be played at Spain Park. The winner will move on to face the winner between Oak Mountain and Huffman.

But before the postseason games begin, there are a few games on the docket this week. Both Mountain Brook squads will host Wenonah on Tuesday evening and Clay-Chalkville on Friday. 

The boys will host Border Wars Showcase on Saturday.