In the hours leading up to Sunday’s evening Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, I was really looking for something to do other than laying in bed and passing the time.
While looking on my phone, I came across the Instagram account of the St. Louis Griffins of The Basketball League. They were playing their Midwest Conference championship game on Sunday afternoon at St. Louis Priory.
“It was just a great feeling to put on for our city,” Griffin said. “It’s special because these young men have been putting on for the city of St. Louis for a very long time.
I thought to myself, “Yes. That’s the ticket right there. I’m headed to Priory. I’ve been telling my friend Nate Griffin for weeks that I was going to make it to a game if my schedule ever lightened up. Sunday was the day to make good on that promise.
It turned out to be the best three hours of my weekend. I witnessed a tremendous championship game as the Griffins defeated the Modera Timberjacks 127-121 in double-overtime to win its second consecutive Midwest Conference championship. It was the third and deciding game of this best of three series in which the road team won the first two games.
It was a wonderful atmosphere at Priory as the Griffins rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to force overtime and eventually outlast a very talented Timberjacks team. The music was loud, the crowd was raucous and the action on the court was heated as would expect for a championship game.
The Griffins were formed last year by its namesake Nate Griffin, who is the founder and head coach. In order to compete in the hyper-competitive TBL, he needed a lot of talent and he found what he needed right here in St. Louis. Most of the squad is home grown with many former St. Louis area prep stars from years past.
“It was just a great feeling to put on for our city,” Griffin said. “It’s special because these young men have been putting on for the city of St. Louis for a very long time. A lot of them have won state titles, Pro-Am titles and men’s leagues, and for me to be able to give them a stage and platform to show their professionalism is great.”
One of those players was former Jennings High standout Courtney Stockard, who scored a game-high 40 points. Stockard was also a collegiate standout at St. Bonaventure, who led the Bonnies to the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
“This was big for us because we had a target on our backs after winning last year, Stockard said. “A lot of teams wanted to knock us, but our team showed a lot of resilience throughout the season and in this round in particular.”
Former Hazelwood Central standout Ranell Crossland scored 18 points and Marcus Latham (Alton) added 18 points, including seven points in the second overtime. He hit the big 3-pointer to give the Griffins the lead to stay in the second extra session. Martavian “Tae Tae” Payne, a former Imagine Prep standout, also scored 14 points.
