Auburn hangs on against Rebels
The Vestavia Hills High School boys basketball team battled Auburn and Mississippi State signee Garrison Brooks on Thursday afternoon at the Steel City Invitational, falling just short, 49-45.
Auburn opened up a 10-point lead at halftime, but the Rebels closed the gap and made a game of it, almost strictly from beyond the 3-point line.
At one point in the game, 30 of Vestavia Hills’ 34 points had come from 3-point range. The Rebels were shooting 10-of-17 from deep and just 2-of-17 on all other shots.
Vestavia had hopes of making some things happen inside the arc, but Brooks’ length – he stands 6-feet-10 -- was disruptive all day.
“It’s no secret that we shoot it well from the 3, and we don’t want to be one-dimensional, but I felt like we did a good job of adjusting,” Vestavia head coach Patrick Davis said.
Luke Champion’s 3-point make with 2:30 to play in the final quarter cut Auburn’s lead to just four points, and was the first field goal for either team in the entire period. Auburn began milking the clock in the fourth quarter, bringing the game’s rhythm to a grinding halt.
Mac Smith had a look from deep that went in and out in the final moments, that would have cut the lead to one, but the shot went in and out, and Brooks iced the game with a pair of free throws, as he led all scorers with 23 points on the day.
Scott Morrison poured in four 3-pointers for the Rebels on the way to a team-high 14 points. Mitchell Langley knocked down three shots from deep and notched a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall, the Rebels finished the Steel City Invitational with a 2-2 mark, an encouraging sign for Davis in his first season at the helm. Vestavia defeated Lanett and Homewood and fell to Mountain Brook and Auburn.
“From the day I got the schedule, I was pumped that we were in this tournament,” Davis said. “In every game, you’re either playing a really good player or a really good team or both.”
Vestavia Hills returns to action late next week, in Homewood’s Metro Tournament.