For the second consecutive year, half of the MSHSAA Class 3 boys basketball Final Four will be from the St. Louis area.
The defending state champion Maplewood Blue Devils and Whitfield Warriors are both seeking their second state titles in the school’s history. Both will play in semifinal games on Friday night at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Maplewood (28-3) will take on Blue Eye (26-3) in one semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Whitfield will play Lee’s Summit Christian Center (23-7) in the other semifinal game at 6:10 p.m. The winners play for the state championship on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with the third-place game scheduled for 7:50 p.m.
Maplewood won its first state title in 2008 with two thrilling one-point victories over Kansas City Hogan Prep and Lutheran North. Led by head coach Corey Frazier, the Blue Devils return to Columbia with a team that is bigger, more talented and more experienced. They also have one of the state’s best players in 6’0” senior guard Bryant Allen, who is closing out a tremendous career this weekend.
Allen, who is headed to the University of Minnesota to play football and basketball, is averaging 24 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.4 steals. He scored 32 points in Maplewood’s 73-58 victory over Charleston in the quarterfinals, including an electrifying 26-point first half to rally the Blue Devils from a early 10-point deficit.
The Blue Devils are far from a one-man show. Junior guard Bryton Hobbs is a top offensive threat who averaged nearly 16 points a game. Senor Les Williams provides a third perimeter threat, averging 9.4 points a game. Providing inside play is 6’6” senior Charles Brooks, who averages 10 points and 10 rebounds a game. He is joined in the post by 6’5” sophomore Calvin Belts, Jr., who averages 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. Senior Patrick Drake and sophomore Tony King provide valuable minutes off the bench.
Whitfield is making its first Final Four appearance since 2000, when the Warriors won the Class 2A state championship. Coach Mike Potsou’s Warriors battled their way through a difficult schedule and tough local district to get to Columbia. Whitfield sports a 19-12 record, but they have played the likes of McCluer North, Borgia, Parkway South, Gateway Tech, Maplewood, DeSmet and Memphis Manasas.
The Warriors are led by 6’3” junior forward Julian Johnson, a robust 215-pound athlete who averages 17.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. Versatile junior guard Maurice Burns averages nearly 10 points and six rebounds a game while fellow junior Mike Gallagher is the team’s top 3-point shooting threat. The Warriors have also been bolstered by a pair of talented freshman guards in Zach Ellis and Darrion Harris. The 5’10” Harris averages 9.8 points a game. He hit the game-winning free throws to give the Warriors a 53-51 victory over Trinity in the district title game. Harris is a defensive sparkplug off the bench with his quickness and fearless attitude. Senior Matt Wuester and junior Blake Diemer give the Warriors some size off the bench.
The Cardinal Ritter girls will be making their first appearance in the Final Four in the school’s history. The Lions (20-4) will face Fair Grove in the semifinals on Friday at 7:50 p.m. The winner will face either California or Skyline for the state title on Saturday night at 6:10 p.m.
The Lions won a district title by defeating perennial Final Four participant Metro 29-28 on a last-second shot by junior Hazaria Washington. Ritter defeated Greenville 48-29 to punch its ticket to Columbia. Washington is the team’s leading scorer at 13.3 points a game to go along with 83 steals.
Forward Breanna McCullogh averaged 8.4 points and five rebounds a game while Tiara Baker chips in nearly nine points a game. Senior Alexys Plummer averages 4.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and provides stellar defense with her 55 steals.