The Cardinal Ritter Lions are to boys basketball in Missouri what legendary fighters Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr are to the sport of boxing.
They keep moving up in class and they keep on winning championships. The Lions defeated Chaminade 52-42 to win the Class 6 state championship on Saturday night at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
It was the fourth state championship in five years for the Lions under the direction of head coach Ryan Johnson. The most impressive part of Cardinal Ritter’s championship run is that the Lions have won in three different classes.
The Lions defeated Charleston to win the Class 3 state championship in 2020. The Lions were then moved up two classes to Class 5 due to the success multiplier the following year. They went on to win two Class 5 state championships in 2021 and 2023 with victories over Bolivar and Ladue, respectively.
This season, Cardinal Ritter was moved up to Class 6, which is the biggest class of schools in the state. The result was the same as the Lions defeated Springfield Central in the semifinals and Chaminade on Saturday in an All-St. Louis championship game. The Lions finished the season with a 21-11 record against a challenging schedule that featured many top out of state teams.
In a battle between two powerhouse programs in the St. Louis area, the senior-laden Lions were able to prevail with its experience and tremendous defensive prowess. They held a talented Chaminade team to 42 points while also limiting them to 36 percent from the field and no made 3-pointers.
The scoring was handled by 6’5” senior forward Nashawn Davis, who scored 18 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Davis also threw down three entertaining dunks during the game. Senior guards Derrick Rivers II and Clayton Jackson had nine points each while senior guard Quenton Parker added eight points.
Chaminade (22-10) was led by 6’8” sophomore Jamo White, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Collin Perry had eight points and nine rebounds.
