The Final Four of this weekend’s Missouri Class 3 state tournament turned out to be a coronation of the dominant Principia boys basketball team.
The Panthers were one of the top teams in the country throughout the season and they displayed their dominance by rolling to their second state championship. Principia defeated Miller Career Academy 98-34 on Saturday evening in an All-St. Louis state championship game on “314 Day.”
Senior guard Quentin Coleman closed out his stellar career in spectacular fashion by scoring a career-high 50 points. The 6’4″ Coleman achieved this massive accomplishment efficiently, making 18 of his 21 field goal attempts. He was also five of seven from 3-point range and a perfect nine for nine from the free throw line. Coleman also had eight rebounds, three assists, seven assists and one block.
Several other Principia players also got into the scoring act as junior guard Wyatt Slay scored 11 points, including a perfect three for three from 3-point range. Junior guard Kingston Money and 6’9″ freshman forward Majok Ater each scored nine points, while junior guard Gassim Toure added seven points.
The Panthers rolled out to a 20-4 lead to open the game and finished the first quarter with a 36-12 lead. The lead grew to 60-18 at halftime. The state championship was also the fifth for Hall of Fame coach Jay Blossom, who led Webster Groves to three state titles in 2008, 2017 and 2018.
Miller Career Academy was led by guard Rashad Butler with nine points and guard Calvin Nelson with seven points. The Phoenix were making their first appearance in the state championship game under the direction of head coach Brandon Wright.
In the semifinals, Principia defeated Mt. View Liberty 70-33 as Coleman scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures. Slay scored 12 points, senior guard Jaedyn Jones scored 10 points while junior forward Sekou Cisse added 10 points.
Miller Career Academy defeated North Platte 75-56 in the semifinals on Friday. Senior guard CJ Nelson led the Phoenix with 27 points and five rebounds. He also made four of his eight attempts from 3-point territory. His brother, Calvin Nelson, added 20 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.