Boys Basketball: Mountain Brook 43, Vestavia Hills 40

Jeff Sentell, Birmingham News, February 10, 2012 8:47 p.m.

Mountain Brook advanced to the Class 6A, Area 12 finals with a 43-40 win against Vestavia Hills despite several layers of difficulty.

Vestavia Hills, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, surged to a 31-24 lead with 2:46 left in the third quarter across a game dominated by 3-point shots.

That's the point where Mountain Brook coach Bucky McMillan said his squad took "absolute control" of the game. The Spartans scored 13 of the next 16 points in the game to stake a 37-34 lead with 5:25 to play.

The Rebels had a chance with the ball and 4.5 seconds left to play, but could not extend their season. Mountain Brook (22-9) has now won six straight games since a 44-42 result on the road at Vestavia Hills last month.

Vestavia Hills (14-16) stayed in the contest thanks to a hot night shooting from beyond the perimter. The Rebels made seven of their first 10 attempts from 3-point territory.

The Spartans were led by Mario Stramaglia's 15 points. B.J. Houston led the Rebels with a game-high 25 points. He made five of his eight 3-point tries.

The teams combined to put up 40 3-point shots in the contest, including 20 of those attempts in the first half.

Mountain Brook will face the winner of Friday's Homewood-Spain Park semifinal in the Area 12 championship game at Spain Park on Monday.