SPARTANS WIN TURKEY JAM

The Mountain Brook basketball teams hosted the Spartan Turkey Jam tournaments early last week and both Spartans teams came away with a tournament title. The girls followed up a Saturday, Nov. 17, win over Gardendale to open the week with a 53-46 overtime win over Shades Valley last Monday. Whitton Bumgarner led the Lady Spartans with 17 points in the game, followed by Ann Vandevelde, who scored 16. Mountain Brook grabbed the title on Tuesday with a 51-40 win over Central-Tuscaloosa. It was a balanced game in the scoring column for the Lady Spartans, as Bumgarner paced the team with 14 points. Vandevelde scored 12, Emily Henderson added 11 and Helen Dorough chipped in eight points. Mountain Brook’s boys also won the Turkey Jam ahead of the Lighthouse Classic over the weekend. In the first round of the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 17, the Spartans dominated Alexander (Georgia), 72-39. Last Monday, the Spartans beat South Cobb (Georgia) 74-40 in the semifinals. Trendon Watford led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds and Lior Berman added 12 points and eight boards. Alex Washington and Paulie Stramaglia each scored nine and Colby Jones added eight. In the final on Tuesday, the Spartans claimed the trophy with a 57-41 win over St. Pius X (Georgia). It was the 20th straight home win for the program. In the contest, Watford posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jones and Berman joined him in double figures with 16 and 10 points, respectively, and Washington scored eight. Over the weekend, Mountain Brook played in the Lighthouse Classic in Corinth, Mississippi, and won both contests to improve to 6-0 on the season. On Friday, the Spartans knocked off Bearden (Tennessee), 65-63, one of the top teams in Tennessee. Watford had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jones led the team in scoring with 21 points and six rebounds. Berman had 11 points and seven boards and Stramaglia dished out eight assists. Mountain Brook pulled out another tight win Saturday, this one a 56-53 victory over Olive Branch (Mississippi), which features Memphis commit DJ Jeffries. Jeffries finished with 24 points in the game, but Watford had 25 points for the Spartans on 8-of-14 shooting, with nine rebounds. Jones and Stramaglia each had nine points, Washington finished with seven and Berman had six points and eight rebounds. This week, Mountain Brook’s teams play at Ramsay on Tuesday and at Wenonah on Thursday.

SPARTANS WIN TURKEY JAM

Photo Credit: Sarah Finnegan