Some of the best basketball talent in the region was on hand last Saturday at the Midwest Showdown Shootout at McCluer North. Event coordinator Terrell Ramey put on another impressive event for the area basketball fans to enjoy.
In the feature game, Chicago Morgan Park defeated McCluer North, 74-64. The powerhouse team from Chicago pulled away late after getting a spirited battle from the host Stars. Junior standout Kain Harris scored a team-high 20 points to lead Morgan Park, who won the IHSA Class 3A state championship last season. McCluer North was led by Rashad Lindsey’s 21 points.
In the co-feature, CBC defeated Bentonville (Ark) 62-53 as Jordan Barnett scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The best show came in the event’s opener when St. Mary’s defeated Alton Marquette, 68-59. St. Mary’s scoring standout Josh Robinson scored 32 points to lead the Dragons to the victory. However, the story of the game was 6’4” senior Deion Lavender of Marquette, who scored an event record 53 points. The first five minutes of the game was truly spectacular as the two guards traded baskets with a tremendous fury.
In other games, Plainfield East (Ill) defeated Fort Zumwalt North 60-55; St. Louis Christian Academy defeated North Tech 67-55, St. Charles defeated Ensworth (TN) 58-47 and Willard (Mo) defeated Jennings 58-47.
Once again, congratulations go out to Terrell Ramey and his staff for putting on another successful event.
Three wins
It was a very productive week for the CBC Cadets, who won three games last week. In addition to defeating Bentonville in the Midwest Showdown Shootout, he Cadets defeated Metro Catholic Conference rivals DeSmet and Chaminade. Senior forward Jordan Barnett enjoyed two big performances. The 6’7” Barnett had 22 points against Chaminade and followed up with 31 points and 10 rebounds against Bentonville. CBC defeated Chaminade 80-73 in a very entertaining game featuring two of the state’s top teams.
Early bid
The Alton Redbirds are making an early bid to become the top team on the Illinois side of the river. The Redbirds are currently 5-0, which includes the championship of their annual Tip-Off Classic to begin the season. Alton is a team with tremendous depth and quickness at the guard position. They are led by senior guard Mike Williams-Bey, who is averaging 15.6 points a game. Senior guard De’Ante McMurray is averaging 9.2 points while junior guard Darrius Edwards is averaging 7.6 points. Up front, 6’7” junior Bryan Hudson is averaging 10.6 points while athletic 6’3” junior Carlos Anderson is averaging 9.6 points.
Webster winner
Lafayette High played very good basketball in winning the Webster Classic last weekend. The Lancers defeated Miller Career Academy 72-54 in the semifinals on Friday night, then came back to defeat the host Statesmen 52-36 in the championship game. Lafayette’s displayed excellent perimeter shooting in both games as they nailed 10 3-pointers against Career Academy and Webster Groves. Senior guard Nate Messer was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.
Thrilling victory
Fort Zumwalt South defeated Kirkwood 57-55 to win the St. Charles West Warrior Classic. Junior forward Marshawn Blackmon hit two free throws with five seconds left to give South the thrilling victory.
Suburban Shootout
The GAC-Suburban Shootout will be held this weekend at the Family Arena in St. Charles. The 17-game event will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will pit teams from Suburban St. Louis County against teams from St. Charles County. Among featured games at the event include Kirkwood vs. Washington on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by St. Charles vs. Webster Groves at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, the game to watch will be Fort Zumwalt South vs. Oakville at 9 p.m.
(You can follow Earl Austin Jr.’s daily basketball reports on his website, www.earlaustinjr.com. You can also follow Earl on twitter @earlaustinjr.)
