The inaugural MLK Remembering the Dream Basketball Classic at SLUH had its share of excitement during the day, especially in the first two games. In the opener, St. Mary’s edged Vashon 48-46 in an overtime thriller. Junior Zach Ortinau led the Dragons with 20 points.
In Game 2, Webster Groves edged CBC 68-65 in a game that wasn’t decided until Jordan Barnes’ potential game-tying 3-pointer went halfway down the basket and sat on the rim for an instant before falling out as time expired. Senior Stephen Harris led the Statesmen with 14 points. Senior Sam Craig scored 13 points and hit four 3-pointers, including the big one with less than a minute to play to give the Statesmen the lead to stay. Christian Willis led CBC with 22 points while Barnes added 20.
In the finale, Hazelwood Central defeated host SLUH 67-56 as junior Xavier Sneed scored 22 points to lead the Hawks. Fellow junior Domonique Dobbs added 21 points while junior guard Steven Holloway scored 13 points.
Triple-double for Collier
There were some sparkling individual performances at this weekend’s St. Louis MLK Girls Showcase at North Tech in Florissant. The annual two-day event featured 10 games with teams from Missouri, Illinois and Alabama.
All-American Napheesa Collier of Incarnate Word had a triple-double of 34 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks to lead the Red Knights past highly-regarded Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill) on Sunday.
Sophomore Lauryn Miller of Kirkwood scored 33 points to lead the Pioneers past Huntsville Lee (AL) 75-52.
Junior Gabby Walker of St. Charles had 30 points and six rebounds to lead the Pirates past North Tech 67-40.
Senior Dominique Jennings of Cahokia had 25 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Comanches to a 53-51 victory over Miller Career Academy.
In the most exciting game of the event, East St. Louis defeated Hazelwood Central 54-53 in overtime. Forward BreLaNair Cox led the Flyerettes with 19 points, including the game-winning basket in the closing seconds of overtime.
More than two dozen collegiate coaches from all over the country were present at the MLK Girls Showcase. Congratulations to George Merritt and his staff at North Tech as well as the event organizers at Girl Powher Basketball Showcases.
Chaminade scores big win on ESPNU
Chaminade College Prep scored a big 88-78 victory over Washington D.C.-area power Paul VI in the Spalding Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield, MA. The game was televised nationally on ESPNU on Monday. All-American junior Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Red Devils. Junior guard Mike Lewis scored 23 points, including a game-high six 3-pointers. Junior forward Tyler Cook had 14 points, 10 rebounds and several rim-rattling dunks. It was a great team effort by the Red Devils on the national stage.
