The McCluer Comets have served early notice that they will be one of the top teams in the St. Louis area to watch this season. The Comets raced to the Pattonville Tournament championship with three runaway victories over Holt, CBC and Chaminade. McCluer defeated Chaminade 74-36 in the championship game.
Coach Erwin Claggett’s crew runs at a fast and furious pace with his stellar collection of guards and its overall experience and athleticism. McCluer’s version of the “Fantastic Four” includes senior guards Demetrius Floyd, Tyrone Griffin Jr., Leon Watkins Jr. and Chantel “Too Pep” Stanciel. Floyd leads the way, averaging 19 points a game. Griffin and Watkins scored 16 points each in the championship game against Chaminade while Stanciel ran the high-octane offense to perfection with 10 assists.
Inside, the Comets feature 6’4″ powerhouse Shacquille Edwards, 6’5″ athletic junior Malik Ray and improving 6’8″ junior Richard Reynolds.
Whitfield wins
Whitfield scored a big early-season victory when it defeated DeSmet 44-42 in the final game of the Whitfield Round Robin. Senior forward Darius Rucker scored 15 points to lead the Warriors, including the nine in the fourth quarter to rally Whitfield from a late deficit. Whitfield, DeSmet and Cardinal Ritter all finished with 2-1 records, but DeSmet won the tournament on the tiebreaker. Cardinal Ritter’s Cameron Biedscheid averaged 30 points a game in the three contests, including 33 points in a victory over Whitfield.
Dynamic duo
Imagine College Prep has been playing the role of the road Warriors during the first two weeks of the season. Imagine played in tournaments in Washington, Ill. and Springfield, Mo. and came away with a 5-2 record. Imagine features a dynamic scoring duo in junior guards Kevin Baker and Martavian Payne. Junior forward Miles Nettles is an all-purpose player while junior guard Taj Arazzaag-Muhammad can also shoot it from the perimeter. After advancing to the Class 4 state quarterfinals last season, coach Altonio Irons’ team has a chance to do even better this season. Maplewood also ventured out of town and won two of its three games in a tournament in Jonesboro, Ark. Junior guard Kahlid Hagens was selected to the All-Tournament Team. Class 4 powerhouse Soldan scored a big early victory when it defeated Alabama state power Lee High by 30 points on Saturday.
Webster tourney
The big local tournament this week will be the Webster Groves Invitational, which begins today with a strong field of teams. Today’s first-round games include: Lee’s Summit North vs. Marquette at 4 p.m. (A battle of top low-post players in Marquette’s 6’9″ Ryan Rosburg vs. L.S. North’s 6’8″ Tory Miller will be featured). SLUH vs. Maplewood at 5:30 p.m.; Miller Career Academy vs. Webster Groves at 7 p.m. and Oakville vs. Belvidere North (Ill.) at 8:30 p.m. The semifinals will be held on Friday night at 7 and 8:30 p.m. The championship game will be held on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Showdown Shootout
Remember to check out this weekend’s Molina Healthcare Midwest Showdown Shootout at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. The 10-game, two-day event is being presented by Terrell Ramey of Rameybasketball.com.
Friday’s schedule is: Imagine Prep vs. Crystal City at 6 p.m., Whitfield vs. Martin Luther King (GA.) at 7:30 p.m. and McCluer North vs. Birmingham Lee (AL) at 9 p.m. Saturday’s schedule: Hazelwood West vs. Christian O’Fallon, 11:30 a.m., Alton vs. Fort Zumwalt North, 1 p.m.; Hazelwood Central vs. MLK (GA.), 2:30 p.m., McCluer vs. Chicago Hyde Park, 4 p.m.; Cardinal Ritter vs. Pearl (MS.), 5:30 p.m., DeSmet vs. Memphis Oakhaven, 7 p.m.; Soldan vs. Chicago Morgan Park, 8:30 p.m.
Admission for Friday is $7 for adults and $5 for students. For Saturday, admission is $10 for adults and $7 for students.
Congrats
Congratulations to Maplewood head coach Corey Frazier on getting his 200th career victory last weekend at a tournament in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Frazier has done a great job in making Maplewood a state power in Missouri. He led the Blue Devils to back-to-back state championships in 2008 and 2009.
Congratulations to the Miller Career Academy girls on winning the Farmington Tournament title. The Phoenix defeated Dexter 50-33 in the championship game behind 16 points from senior Shanity James.
