St. Louisans Tamarr Maclin and Darren Brooks were named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Tournament Team on Monday night. The 6’7″ Maclin (CBC) averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds a game in leading Southwest Missouri State to the championship game. The Bears were defeated by Creighton for the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Maclin enjoyed a monster game in the Bears’ 65-51 victory over Southern Illinois in the semifinals. Maclin had 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Bears staged a dramatic rally from a 23-point deficit to get to the finals. Brooks, who became the first player in MVC history to win the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in consecutive years, had 41 points in the Salukis’ two games.
Vashon TV
A 30-minute documentary chronicling the 2005 Vashon High basketball season can be seen on FSN Midwest this weekend. The show, which is entitled “Vashon: March to Perfection,” can be seen immediately following the Class 5 state championship game on Saturday night. The Class 5 state championship game begins at 8:05 p.m. The show will air again on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m.
The FSN Midwest cameras have followed the Wolverines through much of their current 59-game winning streak with access to games, practices and the team bus in a reality show concept. FSN Midwest reporter Joel Goldberg sets up each segment of the show. The Wolverines will take on Springfield Kickapoo in the state semifinals on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Congrats: Bain & Slater
Special congratulations go out to a pair of basketball coaches who have led their respective teams to their first Final Four appearance in the Missouri State Basketball Championships this weekend. Eric Bain is the boys’ head coach of Westminster Christian Academy while Mike Slater is the girls’ coach at Nerinx Hall. Bain will led WCA into this weekend’s Class 4 state tournament while Nerinx is in the Class 5 semifinals.
Both coaches have done tremendous jobs in getting their programs to the apex of high school basketball in the state of Missouri. What is also unique about these two gentlemen is that they are African-American coaches who work at predominantly white private high schools. For years, you have seen many all-black teams with white head coaches, but it’s uncommon to see the reverse scenario.
Westminster (25-5) will face Willard in the Class 4 semifinals on Friday at 10:35 p.m. Nerinx Hall (22-8) will face Lee’s Summit in the Class 5 semifinals on Friday night at 7:40 p.m.
One of the best matchups to watch this weekend at state could be the Class 5 girls semifinal game between Incarnate Word and Springfield Kickapoo. The battle of the two top ranked teams in the state will begin on Friday at 9:15 p.m.
District highlights
Several area schools took home district championships last week. The winners of Wednesday night’s sectional games will advance to the state quarterfinals on Saturday. Here are some of the highlights from last week’s district tournaments.
Career Academy’s boys won their second consecutive district title by defeating Hancock 69-25 in the Class 3, District 4 tournament at Brentwood. Junior Chad Thompson led the Phoenix with 21 points while sophomore point guard Darrell Stokes added 18.
Lutheran North won the Class 3, District 5 title over Whitfield last Saturday at Brentwood. Sophomore Rolandis Woodland scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Crusaders, including a pair of resounding dunks in the second half.
Wellston won the Class 1, District 5 title with a 65-40 victory over Silex. The Trojans were led by senior Carl Stallings with 17 points. Wellston faced North Shelby, the No. 1 team in the state Class 1 rankings in last night’s sectional playoffs in Highland, Mo.
On the girls’ side, Metro and Hancock took the first step towards getting back to the Final Four by winning district titles. Metro defeated Valle Catholic 60-34 in the Class 2, District 3 tournament in Perryville. The Panthers were led by senior Deidra Dace with 17 points. Metro dropped down to Class 2 this season after finishing second in the Class 3 state tournament in 2004.
Hancock defeated Career Academy 49-33 for the Class 3, District 4 title at Brentwood. Senior Sonya Daugherty scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Tigers, who finished fourth in the Class 3 state tournament in 2004.
Lindy hot
Congratulations to my college alma mater, Lindenwood University, won winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship in men’s track and wrestling over the weekend. The Lions won their second indoor national title last weekend in Johnson City, Tenn. Lindenwood won the NAIA Outdoor national title last year.
