It was quite a day of basketball at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the site of the Class 5 boys and girls state quarterfinals.
The Mark Twain Building was a magical place to be on this Saturday as we witnessed many milestone events. People saw the conclusion of one of the best high school careers in St. Louis prep basketball history. We saw a bunch of gritty kids from the country take down one of the city’s top powerhouse programs as well a huge case of redemption for another star player and his team as they gained a measure of revenge by taking down the state’s top team while clinching their third Final Four berth in the past five years.
However, the most memorable moment of the entire day at UMSL may have been provided by a 5-foot-4-inch ninth-grader name Nakiah Bell, who hit one of the most dramatic and cold-blooded buzzer beaters that I have ever seen. Bell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Incarnate Word Academy a heart-stopping 48-45 victory over Fort Zumwalt West to send the Red Knights to Columbia for next weekend’s Final Four while keeping their dream for a repeat state championship alive.
The young lady’s game winner was unbelievable. As senior teammate Brittany Carter dribbled out the final minute of regulation for the last shot, she dribbled towards Bell and handed her the ball with just three seconds left. Bell took the hand-off, squared her body in one motion and proceeded to drop home a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have made Kobe Bryant proud. I was stunned at the poise and confidence that Bell displayed in making that shot. And to be just a freshman made it even more remarkable. As much as it takes poise to pull off a play like that, it takes some talent. And young Ms. Bell has plenty of it.
Bell’s game-winner took me back 15 years to 1996 when Cor Jesu’s Niele Ivey hit a dramatic game-winner in the closing seconds to give the Chargers a 61-59 victory over Parkway South in the state quarterfinals at UMSL in one of the best girls games ever played in St. Louis.
I really felt bad for the Zumwalt West girls. Just two seasons ago, their season ended in the same state quarterfinal game at UMSL in the same manner when Hazelwood Central defeated the Jaguars on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Hawks to the Final Four, where they eventually finished in third place. On a good note for Zumwalt West, I was glad to see junior forward Marina Laramie back in the lineup. She broke a bone in her hand in late January and it was thought that she would miss the rest of the season. That was heartbreaking. However, Laramie made her way back into the lineup for the district playoffs. That was nice to see.
To have the last game of the day go down to the final shot was the only
fitting way for this great day of basketball to end.
As for the rest of the day, I was not able to attend the epic rematch between Chaminade and McCluer North. I was at the Chaifetz Arena doing the radio broadcast of the Saint Louis University-Xavier game. However, I had many people blowing up my cell phone with all of the developments as
they unfolded throughout the game.
McCluer North pulled off a stunning 57-56 victory over previously unbeaten Chaminade to advance to the Final Four for the third time in five years. The Stars won the state title in 2007 and finished second in 2008. It was been quite a run for head coach Randy Reed, who has also guided the Stars to five district titles in seven years.
Saturday’s victory may have been one of the biggest of his career as the
Stars rebounded from their nationally televised 22-point loss to Chaminade on Feb. 12.
The overflow crowd at UMSL was rocking the house from start to finish. In getting to Columbia, the Stars also defeated McCluer and Hazelwood Central along the way as well as the Red Devils. McCluer North lost to all three of these teams during their February tailspin.
Senior guard B.J. Young match Chaminade All-American Bradley Beal in the offensive department on this day. Young scored a game-high 32 points, including 27 points in the second half and all 14 of McCluer North’s points in the third quarter. Beal finished his marvelous career with 30 points, giving him 2,642 points for his four-year career. Wow. What a player!
I did make it up to UMSL for the evening session, which featured Troy vs.
DeSmet in the boys’game. The boys of Troy advanced to their first Final Four in more than a decade with a 68-56 victory over DeSmet. The Trojans are always known for how hard they play, but they took that intensity to another level in topping an excellent DeSmet team.
Setting the pace for Troy was its stellar guard pair of senior Neil Branham and junior Derek Deters. Branham scored 26 points while Deters added 22 points. They were unstoppable. The 6’1″ Branham was a ferocious competitor on this night as he willed his team to that win. Late in the game, he grabbed an defensive rebound from above the backboard square to help secure a late lead. He was incredible all game long with one tough shot after another while Deters was dropping some long 3-pointers.
Congratulations to coach Ryan Meyers on making his first Final Four as
Troy’s head coach. Ryan had some big shoes to fill as the replacement for former Troy coach Mitch Wilkins, who did a great job of making Troy one of the area’s most successful programs before he moved to Tennessee. Ryan has been able to keep that tradition of good basketball going at Troy and now they are back in the hunt for a state championship.
In Class 4, there is now only one undefeated basketball team in the area. With Chaminade dropping its first game, the St. Dominic girls are now carrying the banner all alone. The Crusaders defeated Westminster to improve their record to 28-0 and earn their second consecutive Final Four berth.
Two more familiar foes are back in the Final Four in the Class 4 boys tournament. Soldan and St. Francis Borgia will meet in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Soldan defeated Mexico while Borgia knocked off Springfield Hillcrest. Borgia finished second last season while
Soldan finished in third place. The winner of that game could very well
be facing the state’s No. 1 Class 4 team in Sikeston, who is bringing a
28-0 record to Columbia. Soldan will be trying to win a state title on the 30th anniversary of their 1981 team that won the Class 4A state championship under coach Marvin Neals.
