Several basketball teams from the St. Louis metro area were in Columbia last weekend to participate in the Norm Stewart Classic. The event is a continuous 48-hour hoop festival that was held at The Mizzou Arena. Games started last Thursday night and ran straight through until Saturday night.
Vashon High’s girls had one of the biggest victories of the area teams when the Wolverines defeated North Little Rock (AR) 51-46. North Little Rock won 27 games last season and won a state championship in the state of Arkansas. The Wolverines played an excellent game, which was sparked by its outstanding guard play.
Junior guard JaNyla Bush was named the Most Valuable Player of the Game after scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Chantrel Clayton added 15 points while senior Raychel Jones had nine points. Vashon has won three consecutive games to improve its record to 5-1 against a very rugged schedule of excellent teams from the region.
On the boys’ side, Chaminade, East St. Louis, Cardinal Ritter and Principia all posted victories in Columbia. Chaminade defeated Columbia Hickman 65-51 in a battle of two of the top teams in the state. Senior guard Nilivan Daniels scored a game-high 25 points to earn Most Valuable Player honors of the game for Chaminade.
East St. Louis came away with a 74-61 victory over Jefferson City on Saturday evening. The Flyers led by only two points after three quarters but outscored the Jays 21-10 to pull away for the victory. Kansas State recruit Macalaeb Rich, a senior, had 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks to lead East Side. Senior Cal-State Fullerton recruit Antwan Robinson added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.
In one of the most exciting games of the event, Cardinal Ritter defeated New Madrid Central 50-49 in a battle of two teams that advanced to the Final Four of the state tournament last season. A driving layup by junior Nashawn Davis in the closing seconds gave the Lions the victory. Junior guard Derrick Rivers was the Most Valuable Player of the game.
Principia continued its excellent early season start under new coach Jay Blossom with a 55-23 victory over Christian-O’Fallon. Stephen Okoro, a 6’9” senior forward, was the Most Valuable Player of the game after scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Principia is currently 9-0.
Lutheran-St. Charles’ girls and CBC’s boys also participated in the event. Lutheran-St. Charles defeated Columbia Hickman while Springfield Kickapoo defeated CBC.
*Brooke Flowers in SLU Record Books
Former Metro High girls’ basketball standout Brooke Flowers has been closing her excellent career at Saint Louis University by setting one new record after another. The 6’5” Flowers tied a school record for most blocked shots in a game on November 20 when she had nine rejections against South Dakota. On November 30, Flowers became the school’s career rebounding leader in a game at Missouri. In addition to being the Billikens’ career leader in rebounding and blocked shots, Flowers also surpassed the 1,000-point plateau last week against Memphis. For her career, Flowers has more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
The holiday season is upon us, which means it’s time for the glut of high school basketball tournaments around the area. With the games underway as of press time, here are the times and dates of the championship games.
Boys
Coaches vs. Cancer (at Maryville University): Championship Game, Friday, December 30, 8 p.m.
Collinsville: Championship Game, Saturday, December 30, 7:30 p.m.
MICDS: Championship Game, Thursday, December 29, 7:30 p.m.
Legends of Winter (at SLUH): Thursday, December 29, 4 p.m.
St. Dominic: Championship Game, Thursday, December 29, 5:30 p.m.
Girls
Visitation: Championship Game, Wednesday, December 28, 8 p.m.
Mascoutah: Championship Game, Thursday, December 29, 4:30 p.m.
MICDS: Championship Game, Thursday, December 29, 6 p.m.
St. Dominic: Championship Game, Thursday, December 29, 4 p.m.
