Summit headlines competitive 11-AAA hoops

Summit and Brentwood have separated themselves as the boys basketball front runners to win a competitive District 11-AAA race.

However, there isn't much room between the Spartans and Bruins from the rest of the league.

"It's an amazing district," Brentwood second-year coach Greg Shirley said. "You have to be ready to play every night.

"There is an intense level of play and coaching and fan support at each school. It's hard to find a better district."

Brentwood (18-3, 5-1 11-AAA) hosts Summit (16-2, 5-0) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the second of a two-game series. The Spartans handed Brentwood a 48-46 loss on Jan. 3.

Summit's success this season comes after the Spartans went 19-8 with a first-round district tournament loss to Dickson County a year ago. Summit is currently ranked fifth in the Associated Press' Class AAA statewide poll. It is the lone Williamson County school ranked in Class AAA.

Navy signee John Carter (19.5 ppg), 6-foot-9 post Demontay Dixon (16.8 ppg) and Jaden Lewis (13.8 ppg) lead the Spartans' offense.

"It's good and it's tough to be in this position," Summit coach Josh Goodwin said. "The secret to success is we've got some good players. I'm not going to sit here and say we're just doing amazing things and getting these guys to do things they could never do before.

"I think it really comes down to them being mentally tough. They are starting to embrace tough times and not respond negatively to calls or turnover situations."

Franklin (11-6, 4-2) is tops in the second cluster of schools after Summit and Brentwood.

The Rebels haven't missed a beat despite former Beech coach Darrin Joines taking over the Rebels' boys program.

Independence (11-9, 3-4) and Ravenwood (11-9, 3-4) wrap up the top five from the league. Independence, which is led by Belmont signee Grayson Murphy, has been in a downward trend recently. The Eagles enter Tuesday's game with Ravenwood on a five-game losing streak, including three consecutive in league play.

Among Independence's losses is a 76-71 overtime defeat to Summit this past week.

The top four teams in next month's district tournament advance to the region.

"We're hoping (the competitiveness) plays to our advantage," Ravenwood coach Patrick Whitlock said. "I think we all have a chance to beat each other up.

"I think Summit is clearly the No. 1 team right now. I think the rest of us are trying to catch them."

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com or 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @Kreager.