Let's begin with the Class3 Boys Championship. Lutheran North Coach Brent Rueter devised a clever game plan to attempt to nullify Maplewood's marquee player, Bryant Allen. His Crusadors 1-3-1 zone would double team the Allen, the point guard, each time that he touched the ball and force him to give it up, push him beyond his normal shooting range. Then, Coach Reuter threw in a box & 1, a 2-3 zone that still trapped Allen each time he touched the ball.  It worked perfectly ...for the first half. Lutheran North held a 32-16 lead in front of a stunned crowd. Allen was held to 7 points (including a 3-ball at the buzzer). Coach Corey Frazier responded to this defense by having Allen play as the off guard, move across or behind the zone using screens to get open. He encouraged his Blue Devils to use the middle of the zone and take the "open" perimeter shots.  On the other end of the court, Coach Frazier played Allen defensively right in the face of LN point guard Charles Dunbar. The 2nd half looked like two different teams on the court! Maplewood went on a quick 7-0 run.  When North responded to push the lead back to 7 at the 3rd quarter buzzer, most fans knew it wasn't over! The 4th quarter tightened up as North was unable to get into the "flow" as Dunbar seldom touched the ball. When North was called for a charging foul with 20 seconds remaining while holding a 1 point lead, everyone knew what would happen...and it did! Bryant Allen dribbled around half court until he saw an opening. He darted down the left lane and laid up the winning shot off the glass with just 4 seconds left. Maplewood had won!!  It makes perfect sense to me...somehow get your star player involved. Don't let him become strictly a decoy. Sure, you do need others to contribute but I'm thinking...ride the horse that brought you to Mizzou Arena ! Don't forget Allen sank the winning shot in the semi's with just 22 seconds on the clock as the Blue Devils nudged Hogan Prep 52-51. Allen scored 27 of the Maplewood 52 points! Now...there is a horse to ride !!

Class 2 Boys was loaded with GREAT GAMES! Both semifinals were terrific games. The first semifinal game saw the W.Platte Bluejays who trailed 52-36 with just 5:00 minutes left until the final buzzer, rally big-time. Using a press, some stout rebounding and swishing a few treys they tied the game at 54! South Iron's Levi Middleton banged home a 3-ball with 6 ticks left in the game to send the Panthers into the Championship game. The nightcap on Friday night (around 9:30pm) was well worth waiting to see. The Harrisburg Bulldogs and Clever Bluejays literally raced up and down, back and forth at each other throughout the entire game. There was an incredible 26 lead changes, 13 ties. 3 Pointers, twisting layups, slick passing, strong post play...you name it....we had it. Until the final 2 minutes (aside from an 8 second time slot where the Bulldogs saw a 6 point lead cut in half with a 3 ball), the largest lead of the game was 3 points. The Bluejays 8 man roster finally caught up to them. With 3 players fouling out for Clever, Harrisburg knocked down key free throws in the last 2 minutes while they shut out Clever for the last 4:16 of the game to advance with a 73-67 victory. Depth and free throws - sounds like a familiar tonic for the winning teams. In the Championship, Harrisburg prevailed 51-44 as Jr. Cory Via scored 25,(practically half of Bulldog points) on a scorching 7 of 9 from the field and 7 of 11 at the line.

Class 3 girls had their taste of great games also. In the semis, the Skyline Tigers (28-3) outscored the Metro Panthers 11-6 for a come-from-behind 44-40 win. Skyline scored their last 6 points from the charity stripe to ice the win. Their opponent in the Championship game was the #1 ranked S.Shelby Cardinals (26-2) who had won all but two games by more than 10 points! Both teams mixed and matched offenses and defenses throughout the game. Finally with 0:16 remaining and the Cardinals on top by one point at 43-42, a Skyline Freshman, Ashley Roberts, hits both free throws that prove to be the difference!  44-43 The Tigers grab the STATE Championship Trophy.  Ya know.... while the star players do need to carry the team (see above paragraph), you do need unexpected performances along the way in the STATE tournament. Key buckets, defense, Free throws, steals, rebounds...something must happen by other players on the STATE Title teams to "go all the way".

What about a 3-peat ?  Jefferson Eagles, two time defending champion, had a tremendous semifinal foe in the Scott County Central Braves. The Braves, under highly successful coach-Ronnie Cookson, averaged 85+ ppg ! Folks...that's some points ! Jefferson using a red hot 26 of 45 shooting percentage from the field upended the Braves 70-68 in yet another tight one.  The next day, the Eagles beat Glasgow 59-30 to glide to the Championship. How about those Juniors at Jefferson--they've won STATE basketball throughout their entire HS life !

The Class 2 Girls title game had an unusual twist. The game featured two unbeaten teams!  The Westran Hornets were on the 3rd consecutive trip to Columbia so they clearly had the experience over the Penny Hornets. In the semis, both leading scorers of Westran, Kayla Rice (3 time All-State) and Becca Schemmer suffered injuries during the game. Each returned to play in the semis but clearly were in pain and without all their quickness. Nevertheless, Rice popped in 21, Schemmer 15 as the Hornets knocked off Crane 51-42. Playing through their injuries, each player gave the best in the final game. The difference actually was at the line-- Penny was 17of 24 as Jordan Esry downed 8 of 10 as Penny grabbed the 46-39 victory. When one thinks about, probably Westran didn't go to the line as frequently because their two stars were not quite as fast, not quite as confident, worried about landing on their drives so instead they took the jumpers from the perimeter which don't result in free throws. It was a tremendous effort by both Hornet teams.

The basketballs have not been put away, uniforms collected, award nights are wrapping up, the 07-08 season was spectacular. Prepcasts covered many great games this year-- don't forget YOU can still listen to the replays ANY TIME--FREE. Just click to the month of the game, find YOUR game, click, sit back and enjoy. Spring sports are on the way.