By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Hickman Mills appeared to have Grandview figured out early on in the championship game of the Culver’s Classic basketball tournament in Lee’s Summit last weekend.
But Grandview dominated play in the second quarter, rallying from a 19-12 first quarter deficit to take a 40-24 halftime advantage.
The Bulldogs pressed, pressed and pressed some more during the 28-5 second quarter run, turning Cougar miscues into easy transition points.
“Everybody knows exactly what they are supposed to do,” Grandview’s Quantel Denson told the Kansas City Star following the 78-73 win. “Some guys know their role is to dribble, others pass. The thing is we all know exactly what we can do and that’s what we do, we don’t try to get selfish.”
Despite trailing by 24 points at one point during the second half, Hickman Mills rallied to within three points late in the game. The Cougars outscored the Grandview 49-38 over the course of the final two quarters.
The hole, however, was too large as the Bulldogs upended Hickman Mills for the second time this season in a championship game of a Kansas City-area tournament. The Bulldogs knocked off Hickman Mills 84-76 in the finals of the William Jewell Tournament in late December.
Grandview set a new tournament record by scoring 242 points in wins over Blue Springs South, Raytown and the Cougars collectively. Three different players led the Bulldogs in scoring during the three-game sweep.
Ronnie Boggs’ (6-4, Sr.) 23 points led the team in the 80-46 opening round win over Blue Springs South. In an 84-61 second round win over Raytown, Pierre Poplion (6-3, Sr.) led the way with 21 points.
Denson (6-8, Jr.) scored 22 points in the 5-point win over the Cougars.
Alec Burks (6-5, Sr.) was the team’s leading scorer in the tournament, with 47 points. Denson had 46 points, while Boggs added 43 points to the balanced attack.
With the loss, Hickman Mills drops two spots to 10th in the latest Class 4 boy’s basketball poll. Grandview rises three spots to 7th in the Class 5 rankings after winning its 11th straight contest.
Below is a look at the latest Missouri boys and girls basketball rankings.
Missouri Boys Basketball Rankings
Class 5
1. Columbia-Rock Bridge (17-0) 1
2. Chaminade (15-1) 2
3. Webster Groves (13-3) 6
4. Lee’s Summit West (14-3) 7
5. McCluer (15-4) 8
6. Parkway South (14-4) 9
7. Grandview (15-1) 10
8. McCluer North (13-3) 4
9. Liberty (13-3) 5
10. Hazelwood Central (14-3) 3
Class 4
1. St. Charles West (16-2) 2
2. St. Francis Borgia (13-3) 1
3. Helias (13-4) 4
4. Sikeston (13-2) 5
5. Jennings (13-3) 6
6. Moberly (12-3) 3
7. Farmington (14-3) 7
8. Aurora (14-1) 9
9. Sullivan (14-1) –
10. Hickman Mills (13-3) 8
Class 3
1. Maplewood-Richmond Heights (15-2) 1
2. Blue Eye (14-1) 5
3. Liberty-Mountain View (14-1) 7
4. Seneca (14-2) 8
5. Palmyra (13-2) 3
6. Hogan Prep (12-3) 4
7. Cardinal Ritter (12-4) 2
8. Linn (11-4) 9
9. Mount Vernon (11-3) 6
10. John Burroughs (10-4) –
Class 2
1. Bernie (15-1) 2
2. Santa Fe (13-1) 3
3. Laquey (14-1) 1
4. Portageville (13-1) 5
5. Wellston-Eskridge (12-3) 6
6. Saxony Lutheran (15-2) 4
7. Clever (16-3) 8
8. Harrisburg (12-3) 10
9. South Iron (12-1) –
10. Mid-Buchanan (12-2) 7
Class 1
1. Jefferson (13-0) 1
2. Scott County Central (15-1) 2
3. Newtown-Harris (14-1) 3
4. Eminence (13-1) 5
5. Glasgow (10-2) 6
6. Chadwick (13-3) 4
7. St. Elizabeth (14-2) 7
8. Meadville (12-1) 9
9. Leopold (12-2) 10
10. South Holt (11-3) –
Missouri Girls Basketball Rankings
Class 5
1. Incarnate Word (18-1) 1
2. Hazelwood Central (12-2) 2
3. Columbia Rock Bridge (15-2) 3
4. Springfield Kickapoo (14-3) 4
5. Blue Springs (13-2) 5
6. St. Joseph’s Academy (11-6) 6
7. Nixa (15-2) 8
8. Parkway South (15-3) –
9. Springfield Glendale (12-6) –
10. Nerinx Hall (12-7) 7
Class 4
1. Dexter (17-0) 1
2. St. Dominic (15-0) 3
3. St. James (15-1) 4
4. Platte County (14-1) 2
5. Sullivan (13-2) 5
6. Webb City (15-2) 7
7. Notre Dame de Sion (13-3) 9
8. Farmington (13-4) 10
9. West Plains (14-3) 6
10. St. Joseph-Benton (14-4) 8
Class 3
1. Macon (14-0) 1
2. Fair Grove (16-2) 2
3. California (14-1) 4
4. Skyline (15-3) 6
5. Kelly (12-1) 8
6. Centralia (12-3) 3
7. Metro (9-8) 9
8. South Shelby (10-2) 5
9. Bowling Green (11-2) 7
10. Lawson (12-2) –
Class 2
1. Osceola (11-0) 1
2. Couch (16-0) 3
3. Canton (12-1) 4
4. Sparta (12-0) 7
5. North Platte (12-1) 2
6. Penney (11-2) 8
7. Portageville (14-2) 5
8. Laquey (17-1) 9
9. Harrisburg (11-2) 10
10. New Franklin (13-1) –
Class 1
1. Jefferson (13-0) 1
2. Montrose (12-0) 2
3. Exeter (15-1) 3
4. South Nodaway (13-1) 4
5. Southwest-Livingston (11-0) 5
6. Linn County (11-1) 9
7. Marion County (11-2) 10
8. Fairfax (12-2) –
9. Meadville (12-2) 6
10. Northeast Nodaway (12-3) 8
