The high school basketball season was brought to a close on Monday morning when the Missouri State High School Activities Association canceled its upcoming Class 4-5 state tournament in Springfield due to the outbreak of COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus.
The Illinois High School Association did the same last week when it canceled its entire Class 3A and 4A state championships in Peoria as well as the Supersectional games that led to the Final Four.
The cancellation of these two big events in both states brought the end to some magical team seasons as well as the careers of some great players.
*Caleb Love of CBC finished his spectacular career at CBC with a 24-point performance in the Cadets victory over Francis Howell in the Class 5 quarterfinals at Francis Howell Central. Love came up with several clutch buckets down the stretch and scored his 2,000th career point in the process to wrap up a stellar four-year run for the Cadets.
*The Vashon Wolverines were on track to winning their fourth state championship in five years as they rolled to another Final Four berth. The Wolverines defeated Jennings, Hazelwood East, Ladue and Kirksville by an average victory margin of 27 points on their way to the Final Four and a probable state championship. The Wolverines will also say good-bye to a stellar senior class, which includes Division I players Cam’Ron Fletcher, Kobe Clark and Phillip Russell.
*Incarnate Word Academy’s girls were seeking its fifth Class 4 state championship in the past six years. The Red Knights advanced to the Final Four in dramatic fashion with a 57-54 victory over Ladue in the Class 4 quarterfinals at St. Charles West. Sophomore Jaiden Bryant took a great pass from classmate Saniah Tyler to sink the game-winning 3-pointer with one second left for the victory to send IWA back to the Final Four.
*The Chaminade Red Devils clinched a spot in the Final Four for the fifth time in the last six years after a hard fought victory over Mehlville in the Class 5 quarterfinals at Francis Howell Central. Senior guard Luke Kasubke had a great closing act with a 20 points to lead the Red Devils. The dynamic sophomore duo of Tarris Reed Jr. and Damien Mayo combined for 27 points as the 6’8” Reed scored 15 and the 6’2” Mayo added 12, including an emphatic slam dunk to open the fourth quarter.
*Hazelwood Central’s girls put on an impressive offensive display in defeating Troy 79-60 in the Class 5 quarterfinals at Francis Howell Central. The Hawks’ overall speed and quickness was too much for the Trojans as they put five players in double figures. Senior forward Jakayla Kirk and junior guard Tristan Stith led the way with 18 points each, followed by junior Nariyah Simmons with 16 points, junior J’Lessa Jordan with 14 points and senior Sydney Dukes with 13 points.
*The Kirkwood Pioneers clinched a spot in the Final Four for the fourth time in five years after defeating Poplar Bluff 44-33 in the Class 5 girls quarterfinals at Francis Howell Central. Senior forward Natalie Bruns led the Pioneers with 20 points. She was going to make her third trip to the Final Four after starting to Kirkwood’s two state-championship teams in 2017 and 2018.
*On the Illinois side, a pair of Metro east teams had advanced to the Final Four of their respective state tournaments. The Madison Trojans earned a berth in the Class 1A Final Four. The Trojans were led by head coach Maurice Baker, a former star player at Madison. The Breese Mater Dei Knights had advanced to the Final Four of the Class 2A state tournament.
*A pair of Southwestern Conference teams was in the running for state championships before their seasons were cut short at the Sectional championship stage. The Collinsville Kahoks finished their season with a robust 31-3 record after defeating O’Fallon 62-38 in the Class 4A Sectional semifinals at Belleville West. Collinsville was looking to follow fellow conference member Belleville West into the state-championship mix. West had won back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019. The spectacular career of guard Ray’Sean Taylor of Collinsville was also brought to a close. The 6’2” Taylor finished his career as the leading scorer in the illustrious history of Collinsville Kahok basketball. Quite a feat.
East St. Louis was hoping to repeat as Class 3A state champions and their postseason run was off to an impressive start with one-sided victories over Cahokia, Triad and Marion. The Flyers had reached the Sectional championship stage before the season was halted.
