By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
With its back against the wall and staring down the barrel of a 32-16 halftime deficit to Lutheran North, Maplewood-Richmond Heights was facing one gut-wrenching moment at halftime of Saturday’s boys Class 3 state championship game at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Maplewood coach Corey Frazier didn’t even discuss basketball at intermission, instead, he talked to the team about accepting a challenge.
Following that boys-to-men moment, the Blue Devils played near flawless basketball over the final 16 minutes of the contest to record one of the more memorable comebacks in Show-Me Showdown history.
“You don’t come to a championship game and quit,” Frazier said following the game. “Otherwise you just as well not be here.”
The Blue Devils, who turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, turned the tide on the Crusaders by switching to full court pressure in the second half. North committed 11 second-half turnovers to help Maplewood get back into the contest. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, did not turn the ball over in the second half.
Maplewood standout guard Bryant Allen scored 15 of his game-high 25 points, including the game winning basket, after intermission to jump start the Blue Devil offense. By the time the game clock reached 3:37 in the third period, the Blue Devils had whittled the 16-point deficit down to a more manageable 32-27 score.
Bryant scored six points in the 11-0 third period run on a 3-pointer, a field goal and a free throw. Les Williams opened second half scoring with a lay-up. Travis Howard added a 3-pointer of his own in the run.
Maplewood made just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) shots in the games first 16 minutes. Allen and company, however, were 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) in the second half.
Allen started the Blue Devil comeback late in the first half when he canned a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining before intermission to reduce North’s game-high 19-point advantage. The 6-foot junior then capped off the 14-0 third period run with a free throw.
The Crusaders stretched the advantage back to 43-30 late in the third frame on a 3-pointer from Tim Frierdich. But Maplewood battled back to within 43-36 going into the final period.
The Blue Devils finally knotted the score at 44-44 with 5:34 left in the game on a Williams’ 3-pointer. Lutheran North pulled ahead by five again, but Allen finished off the Crusaders when he scored with four seconds left in the game to give Maplewood its first lead of the contest.
Allen scored his game clincher on a play he and his teammates practice regularly.
“Coach (Frazier) told us we were going to go five wide,” Allen said. “I told the other guys that if they collapsed in on me I’d kick it out. But they didn’t collapse, so I took it to the hole.”
Frierdich appeared to give North a 57-54 advantage when he scored inside with 20 seconds remaining in the game. But Blue Devil senior center Darius Washington made the defensive stop of the game when he stepped in front of Frierdich and drew a charge to set up Allen’s heroics.
Maplewood helped its own cause by holding Charles Dunbar to just two second-half points, and seven for the game. The 5-10 Lutheran North senior averaged over 14 points a game for the season.
“We wanted to take the ball out of Dunbar’s hands,” Frazier said.
Allen, who scored 52 points collectively in the 52-51 semifinal win over Hogan Prep and in the championship contest, connected on 9-of-21 field goals, including 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point line. He also made three of five free throws and was credited with two assists. Williams and Travis Howard scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Maplewood.
Tyler Shaw led the way offensively for Lutheran North with 18 points. Frierdich had 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Alex Doss scored eight points and dished out five assists.
Girls Class 3 Championship
Ashley Roberts made a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left in the game to provide the winning margin for Skyline in a 44-43 win over South Shelby in Saturday’s championship game at Mizzou Arena.
Roberts, who scored four points and grabbed five rebounds, was then credited with a steal to secure the win over the third-ranked Cardinals in a game that featured 12 ties and seven lead changes.
Cold shooting hounded South Shelby the entire game. Despite taking 14 more shots than the Tigers, the Cardinal made just one more field goal while shooting 35 percent from the field for the game. Skyline was 17-for-37 (45.9 percent) from the floor for the contest and 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) in the second half when the Tigers rallied from a slim 26-24 deficit.
South Shelby was credited with six blocks and nine steals, and out rebounded Skyline 32-27.
Deidra Parks and Emily Reyes led the winners with 11 points apiece. Kristi Wilkerson added 10 points for Skyline. Jenna Mueller led South Shelby with a game-high 15 points, while Jill Barry contributed 11 points.
Boys Class 2 Championship
Cory Via hit a pair of 3-pointers and Corey Sublett added another one in the middle of part of the third period to help Harrisburg recover from a three point halftime deficit and build a seven point advantage of its own going into the final period. The Bulldogs then held off a fourth period South Iron rally to secure a 51-44 win in the boys Class 2 championship game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Harrisburg outscored South Iron 15-5 in the opening eight minutes of the second half.
The Panthers did tie the contest on a 3-pointer by Austin Casteel with 1:02 remaining in the contest. But the Bulldogs iced the game by making 4-of-5 free throws in the final minute, while holding South Iron scoreless during that same time span.
The winners were paced by Via’s game-high 25 points, four assists and two steals. Sublett added 10 points. David Prater was the only Panther to score in double figures with 17 points. Casteel and James Cornell added eight points apiece.
Girls Class 2 Championship
Two undefeated teams battled for Class 2 supremacy in the girls title game at Mizzou Arena Saturday. So with its 47-39 win over Westran, Penney became the only unbeaten team left in Missouri for the 2007-08 season.
After falling behind 24-20 early in the second half, Penney rallied to take the lead for good with 3:43 remaining in the third period when leading scorer Taryn Bruce, who scored 11 points in the game, hit a jumper in the middle of an 8-0 run.
The Hornets pushed their lead to nine points three times in the final period. The final time occurred with 42-seconds remaining when Lindsay Vollmer scored on a layup.
Vollmer led the champions with 14 points and three assists. Bruce added a game-high 10 rebounds to her 11 points, while Jordan Esry poured in 10 points. Kayla Rice led all scorers with 19 points and added six steals for Westran. Becca Schemmer scored 16 points for the runner-ups.
Boys Class 1 Championship
Jefferson was never challenged in Friday’s 59-30 championship win over Glasgow at Mizzou Arena.
The three-time defending champions took a 12-3 lead after a period of play and pushed their advantage to 32-13 at halftime. Unlike Maplewood-Richmond Heights, the Yellowjackets were unable to rally in the second half.
Even Jay Lee struggled against the Eagle defense. Lee has led Glasgow by averaging 30.5 points a game this season. He ended up with 14 points Friday on 5-of-19 shooting (26.3 percent). The 5-11 junior had four rebounds, four personal fouls and nine turnovers in the contest.
Craig Matson scored a game-high 20 points and added five rebounds and five assists to go along with six turnovers. Kyle Schieber and Kevin Moffat added 14 and 12 points a piece for the Eagles.
Scott County Central proved to be the stiffest competition for Jefferson in the semifinals. Jefferson squeezed out a 70-68 win in the contest.
Girls Class 1Championship
A strong defensive effort in the first period of Friday’s girls Class 1 championship game vaulted Northeast (Cairo) to a 54-32 win over Delta. The Lady Cats shut out Delta 14-0 in the first period and didn’t allow a point for the Bobcats until Brittni Deprow drilled a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the second period.
The 22-point win gave Northeast (28-3) its first girls basketball title in school history. The Bobcats, meanwhile, finished the 2007-08 season with its second runner-up trophy. Delta was second in 1980, as well, and finished third in 2003 and 2006.
Northeast used a triangle-and-two defense to slow down Sarah Keys and Taylor Smith, Delta?s leading scorers. The strategy helped the Lady Cats get off to a faster than normal start.
“We don’t shoot the ball well in the first quarter,” Northeast coach Bob Roberts told the Southeast Missourian. “We don’t defend well in the first quarter. It usually takes us midway through the second quarter before we kind of get geared up a little bit. Tonight we came geared up to start out with. That was kind of nice.”
Four Lady Cats scored in double figures led by Brandie Roberts’ game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. Darlene King added 12 points and four steals, while Shelby Gittemeier and Daris King added 11 and 10 points respectively. Smith scored 14 points for the Bobcats.
Missouri State Basketball Tournament Scores
Boys Class 3
Maplewood-Richmond Heights 59, New Madrid County Central 52
Hogan Prep 71, Bishop LeBlond 54
Lutheran North 62, Highland 47
Linn 48, Spokane 44
Maplewood-Richmond Heights 52, Hogan Prep 51
Lutheran North 52, Linn 39
Championship – Maplewood-Richmond Heights 56, Lutheran North 55
Consolation – Hogan Prep 86, Linn 60
Boys Class 2
South Iron 50, New Haven 27
West Platte 57, Lee’s Summit Community Christian 45
Harrisburg 64, Concordia 53
Clever 66, Laquey 61 (OT)
South Iron 57, West Platte 54
Harrisburg 73, Clever 67
Championship – Harrisburg 51, South Iron 44
Consolation – Clever 67, West Platte 33
Boys Class 1
Scott County Central 98, Chadwick 73
Jefferson 77, Newtown-Harris 63
Glasgow 63, LaPlata 44
Fair Play 51, Pilot Grove 45
Jefferson 70, Scott County Central 68
Glasgow 54, Fair Play 42
Championship – Jefferson 59, Glasgow 30
Consolation – Scott County Central 83, Fair Play 58
Girls Class 3
Metro (St. Louis) 43, Greenville 34
Skyline 46, St. Pius X (Kansas City) 36
South Shelby 53, Lutheran (St. Peters) 21
Hermann 56. Aurora 55
Skyline 44, Metro (St. Louis) 40
South Shelby 48, Hermann 32
Championship – Skyline 44, South Shelby 43
Consolation – Hermann 65, Metro (St. Louis) 56
Girls Class 2
Clopton 65, Naylor 53
Penney 59, Osceola 48
Westran 66, Smithton 57
Crane 59, Hartville 48
Penney 65, Clopton 50
Westran 51, Crane 42
Championship – Penney 47, Westran 39
Consolation – Clopton 59, Crane 54
Girls Class 1
Delta 56, Exeter 50
Meadville 54, Rock Port 53
Northeast 43, Silex 35
Macks Creek 62, Tuscumbia 31
Delta 49, Meadville 39
Northeast 68, Macks Creek 61 (2 OT)
Championship – Northeast 54, Delta 32
Consolation – Meadville 58, Macks Creek 36
