MBA 72, Brentwood Academy 51: The Big Red win first state basketball title since 2010

COOKEVILLE — Montgomery Bell Academy can call itself kings of Division ll-AA boys basketball for the first time since 2010.

MBA (16-2) beat Brentwood Academy 72-51 in the  state championship game Saturday at Tennessee Tech's Eblen Center.

Brentwood Academy (20-4) had no answer for MBA's Will Montana, who finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Trent McNair led the Eagles with 17 points.

In a rematch of a game played 12 days prior, MBA got off to a hot start and never let up.

MBA led whole the game. The Big Red connected on 57% of their shots as they built a 14-point halftime lead over the Eagles. 

The Big Red's onslaught continued in the second half as they upped their lead to 20 just a few minutes into the quarter.

Brentwood Academy's struggles continued as they managed just nine points in the quarter.  

Three-point shooting proved to be one of the biggest differences in the game. MBA was 8-of-19 while Brentwood Academy was 1-of-11 and did not make its first until there were just over three minutes remaining in the game.

Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.