The treks to state tournaments begin this week as postseason basketball takes hold on both sides of the river.
On the Missouri side, small schools take center stage with district tournament competition. The Class 3, District 4 boys’ tournament will be held at Soldan, with the District 5 Tournament to be held at Duchesne.
The boys’ team to watch in Class 3 is Principia, which will take a 23-1 record into the postseason. The Panthers are the top seed in District 5 while Sumner is the No. 1 seed at Soldan.
For the girls, Principia is the No. 1 seed at the District 5 tournament at Duchesne. The Panthers were moved up to Class 3 after finishing second in the Class 2 state tournament last season. The girls District 4 tournament will be held at Hancock.
On the Illinois side, the girls’ action is off and running with their state playoffs. In Class 4A, metro east powers Alton and O’Fallon won regional championships last week. One of these two teams will be playing for a sectional championship tonight at Normal West. The Supersectional will be held on Monday, March 3 in Bloomington at Illinois Wesleyan University. Alton advanced to the supersectional last season while O’Fallon won the state title in 2023.
STL helps S&T win GLVC championship
Missouri S&T will be the No. 1 seed at the upcoming GLVC Tournament at Lindenwood. S&T, located in Rolla, won the regular season championship last weekend with a dramatic one-point victory at Rockhurst in Kansas City. Former Vashon standout Cameron Stovall scored on a tip-in at the buzzer to give the Miners the victory and the championship. The 6’6” Stovall is one of five players from the St. Louis area on the team
Former Marquette standout Ryan Young is a leading candidate for GLVC Player of the Year. The 6’9” forward is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds a game while shooting 57 percent from the field. Stovall is averaging 10 points and four rebounds a game. Also on the team from St. Louis are freshmen Dwayne Foley (Ladue), Adam Rickman (Borgia), and sophomore Jack Zarr (Oakville).
Hazelwood East wins conference title
The Hazelwood East Spartans started the season with an 0-3 record at a three-game tournament at Triad (IL). After the slow start, head coach Steve Hall got his young team on the right track; and now his Spartans are champions of the Suburban Conference Green Division. East defeated Parkway South 60-56 last Friday to clinch the conference championship.
The Spartans are led by senior guard Jaylen Vance, who is averaging 16 points and five assists a game. East also has one of the area’s top young players in 6’10” sophomore Tyran Frazier, who averages 13 points and 13 rebounds a game. Another talented sophomore is 6’3” guard Paul Crawford, who averages 10 points a game. Junior Aarron Brown and seniors Kris Heard and Brian Lee have also been solid contributors this season.
Earl’s World
St. Louis is ‘Tourney Central’ next week. The Missouri Valley Conference will hold its annual “Arch Madness” postseason tournament downtown at the Enterprise Center from March 6-9, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line…The Great Lakes Valley Tournament (GLVC) will be holding its postseason men’s and women’s tournaments at Lindenwood University in St. Charles from March 6-9, as well…Former Parkway North basketball standout Ade Popoola is having an excellent sophomore season at Moberly Area Community College. The 6’5” guard led MACC to a 24-4 regular season record and a No. 1 seed in the upcoming National Junior College Athletic Association Region 16 Tournament. Popoola is currently averaging 19.4 points and 9.7 rebounds a game while shooting 50% from the field and 47% from 3-point range. He has received more than a dozen scholarship offers from Division I programs across the country.