The Mountain Brook boys basketball program knows what it’s like to win and has known so for quite some time.

But they also know what it’s like to lose.

Having spent every day for a literal year fuming and stewing, following a regional final exodus last season in overtime, the second-ranked Spartans avenged their loss to the very same team in a 71-59 victory over No. 7 Huffman in Tuesday’s Class 6A Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

Mountain Brook (25-7) took a quick 2-0 opening lead in the first minute of action on a Ty Davis layup, but the Vikings responded with matching buckets to tie the game at 4-all less than three minutes into the period. The Spartans hit a 10-2 run during a four-minute stretch, Davis adding a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, but Huffman closed out the frame with consecutive buckets by Peyton Wiggins to grim the deficit to 14-10 entering the second period.

The Spartans took control in the second frame, opening up a 25-12 lead on an 11-2 run that saw Kyle Layton, John Colvin and Davis all drain contested 3-pointers. Huffman reasserted itself and crawled back within earshot on an 8-3 run with 3:01 remaining in the half. Mountain Brook enjoyed as much as an 11-point lead late in the second period and held a 36-28 lead at the halftime break.

Colvin expanded the Spartan lead to open the second half, pushing the advantage to 41-28 on a personal 5-0 run in the first two minutes. Huffman responded with an 8-1 run to trim the lead back down to single digits and entered the final frame trailing 48-42 to the Spartans.

Huffman (22-11) matched buckets with the Spartans early in the fourth period but was unable to close the gap further than a 58-51 deficit with 5:16 remaining in the game. Mountain Brook pushed its lead to more than 13 points three separate times and finished 7-for-8 at the foul line in the final three minutes.

Did you know? Mountain Brook advances to its 11th state tournament in program history, following its 15th regional final appearance. The Spartans have won six titles from 2013-2014, 2017-2019 and 2021.

All-Tournament Team: The Class 6A all-tournament team for the NE Regional features, Oxford’s TJ Allen, Huffman’s Brandon Tinsley and Peyton Wiggins and Mountain Brook’s John Colvin, Ty Davis and Julius Clark, the latter of whom was named tournament MVP.

By the numbers: The Spartans finished shooting 48.9 percent overall, 46.2 percent on 3-point attempts and 21-for-30 at the charity stripe, and enjoyed a plus-6 advantage on the glass. Huffman was 44.1 percent from the field, only 4-for-14 at the charity stripe, and forced 12 turnovers that resulted in 14 points.

Stat sheet: Mountain Brook – Davis led the Spartans with a game-high 21 points, adding five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Clark produced a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. John Colvin finished with 16 points and three rebounds, followed by Kyle Layton with 10 points and three boards. Huffman – Wiggins had a team-high 15 points, along with five rebounds and three assists, and Tinsley finished with 12 points, three boards and three blocks. Trevion Morris had eight points and Ezell finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Timothy Austin and Jamel Williams had six points each, the former adding nine rebounds.

Coachspeak: “Excited to be going back to the final four. Extremely happy that we were able to take that hurt that we had 365 days ago and go to work. These guys paid attention to detail. We made a lot of mistakes in this game but at the end of the day, our guys withstood what they needed to do to be able to move on. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.” — Mountain Brook’s Tyler Davis

They said it: “Just with how we went home last year, 365 days ago today, that hurt and that feeling, we put in all the work for a whole entire year to come back and avenge our loss from last year. We did that. The emotions are overwhelming and we got to have that awesome feeling with our students.” — Davis

“The feeling that we just had — I can’t even explain it. I feel so good. Losing last year really hurt me and then this year I don’t even know how to explain it. I have no words.” — Clark

“This is what I dreamed of as a kid. Playing in events like this. I grew up watching Mountain Brook go the final four every year and I always wanted to be a part of that.” — Colvin (who also helped lead Mountain Brook’s football team to a title game appearance this past season)

What’s next? Mountain Brook advances to the 2023 AHSAA state tournament next week at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.