The road to Columbia begins for small schools in the state of Missouri as district basketball competition gets underway next week. Most of the small schools in the St. Louis area are competing in Class 3 district tournaments. Here is a preview of those upcoming Class 3 tournaments. If you want to see the entire brackets, visit www.mshsaa.org.
District 4 (at Principia)
Boys: Maplewood is the No. 1 seed and Whitfield is the No. 2 seed. Both schools are on a collision course for the championship game, which will be held on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Whitfield defeated Maplewood for the district title last season. The two teams have split two meetings this season. Maplewood is led by 6’0″ senior guard Satchel McDonald, who is averaging 17 points a game. Senior forward Chris Blocker is averaging 11 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks per game. Whitfield will counter with a balanced team, led by freshman guard Torrence Watson, who is averaging 17 points a game. Senior guard Bryce Barry and 6’4″ junior forward DeVaughn Rucker also score in double figures.Â
Girls: In a wide open tournament, Whitfield is the No. 1 seed. The Warriors are led by freshman guard Taylor Lawson-Hicks, who averages 17 points a game. No. 2 seed John Burroughs is led by talented freshman post player Allison Gill while Brentwood has an excellent freshman duo in guards Nija Price, Marshelle Franklin and forward Sophia Rivera. The semifinals are set for Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 5 and 6:30 p.m. The championship game will be held on Friday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.Â
District 5 (at Cardinal Ritter)
Boys: This district features the past two Class 3 state champions. No. 1 seed Cardinal Ritter won the state title in 2014 while No. 2 seed Madison Prep won the state title in 2013 and finished fourth last season. Both teams are talented and primed to make another run for the title in 2015. Cardinal Ritter is led by its outstanding senior guard duo of Jah-Kobe Womack and Jahmouri Robinson and 6’7″ junior Brandon Jackson. Madison Prep has an excellent sophomore guard in Daniel “Peanut” Farris and 6’7″ sophomore post man Levi Stockard. Carnahan and Northwest are also in the field. The championship game is set for Friday, Dec. 28 at 1 p.m.Â
Girls: Top seed Cardinal Ritter will try to continue its recent run of success. The Lions are led by guard Andreana Wash and forward Romekia Wallace, who averages a double-double. No. 2 seed Metro features 5’8″ senior Dymond Randle and 6’3″ freshman Brooke Flowers. Carnahan and Lutheran North have two outstanding individual talents in senior Alexian Collie of Carnahan and junior Renetha Dickson of Lutheran North. The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.
District 6 (at Duchesne)
Boys: North Tech gets the top seed in this competitive district field. North Tech is led by senior guard Michael Henderson-Burt and 6’6″ junior Tyree White, who averages a double-double. Host Duchesne has a junior dynamic duo is guard Ryan Briscoe and forward Alex Moore. Lutheran-St. Charles has a solid unit led by guard Jeff Masters and forward Will Brockmeier. No. 4 seed Orchard Farm also cannot be overlooked. The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.Â
Girls: No. 1 seed Duchesne has enjoyed a fine season with 17 wins entering this week. The Pioneers have a balanced team led by Katie Sportsman’s 10 points a game. Lutheran St. Charles has a prime player in 6’2″ junior Savannah Kluesner, who averages 20 points and 10 rebounds. North Tech is also a threat with its excellent trio of Janelle Randle, Janaye Randle and Constance Jackson. The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 29 at 6 p.m.
Illinois girls playoffs beginÂ
Postseason play is also underway in the Metro East on the girls side with regional competition. Undefeated Edwardsville is the No. 1 seed in the Alton Regional. The championship game is set for tonight at 7 p.m. Belleville West and East St. Louis are the top two seeds at the O’Fallon Regional, which concludes with Friday’s championship game at 7 p.m. The regional winners will square off in the semifinals of the Pekin Sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. The game will be played at Granite City. The Sectional championship game will be played on Thursday, Feb. 26 at Pekin.
Jordan Barnes is clutchÂ
Junior guard Jordan Barnes of CBCÂ provided one of the area’s most dramatic moments Friday night when he drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cadets a 55-54 victory at Metro Catholic Conference rival SLUH. The Jr. Bills had taken a 54-52 lead on a pull up jumper by sophomore Brandon McKissic. After a CBC timeout, Barnes took the inbounds pass, dribble twice to the left wing and let fly with a double-pump jumper that found nothing but net as time expired.
Marshawn takes overÂ
Fort Zumwalt South senior forward Marshawn Blackmon led the Bulldogs to a dramatic victory over rival Zumwalt North last Friday night to give his team the Gateway Athletic Conference title. The 6’4″ Blackmon had 26 points and 15 rebounds, including a dramatic three-point play in the closing seconds to give his team the victory.
