The Vashon High boys basketball dynasty will add some more championship hardware to an already crowded school trophy case.
The Wolverines rolled to their 15th state championship with a 68-37 victory over John Burroughs on Saturday in the Class 4 state finals at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
With its signature pressure defense and superior depth, the Wolverines were able to break open a close game near the end of the first half as they sprinted to their fourth consecutive state championship. It was also the eighth state title for head coach Tony Irons. Vashon finished the season with a 26-6 record.
John Burroughs (27-5) managed to stay with the powerful Wolverines for much of the first half as the score was tied 21-21 late in the second quarter. But the Wolverines finished the half on a 11-1 run to take a 32-22 lead at halftime.
Vashon’s late second-quarter run was sparked by a pair of dunks from 6’4” senior forward Nassir Binion, who threw down a pair of transition dunks that came off of John Burroughs turnovers.
The Wolverines put the game away in the third quarter as they outscored the Bombers 20-4 to blow things open. Binion, transfer from CBC, finished an impressive personal postseason run by scoring a season-high 25 points in the championship game. He scored 20 of those points in the first half as he dominated the offensive boards and got numerous putbacks. He was 11 of 18 from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds.
Senior forward Jordyn Richard added nine points while guards Christian Williams and Andre Aaron had seven points each.
John Burroughs was led by 6’3” senior guard Ramzi Salem, who scored 21 points. The Bombers were making their first Final Four appearance since 1953.
Sophomore forward Sheek Pearson had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The Bombers were led by head coach Daryl “Pee Wee” Lenard, a former star player at Central High School in the early 1980’s. He also went on to play at Saint Louis University.
