St. Joseph’s Lafayette boys basketball coach had a clear message after his team’s 69-58 loss to Vashon in last Saturday’s Missouri Class 4 state championship game in Columbia.
“The V is back,” Neff said.
After a 10-year hiatus from the state tournament and the basketball conscious of Missouri, the Wolverines returned to the scene with fervor as they captured the state championship over a good St. Joe Lafayette team.
Leading the Vashon program back to glory was head coach Tony Irons, the son of legendary former Vashon coach Floyd Irons, who brought to the Wolverines to Columbia in what seemed to be on a yearly basis.
But, on this past weekend, Floyd Irons played the role of the proud parent as he watched his son restore the glory of a storied basketball program by bringing home another state championship back to St. Louis.
“My bucket list is complete,” said Floyd Irons as he hugged his son on the court after the championship game.
Vashon trailed Lafayette 17-13 after the first quarter, but it turned on the juice in the second quarter as they outscored the Irish 21-8 to take a 40-32 halftime lead. Vashon’s run was keyed by junior guard Daniel “Peanut” Farris and freshman guard Mario McKinney.
The 5’11” Farris finished the game with 22 points and five assists while McKinney finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Junior center Levi Stockard added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Vashon shot a toasty 63 percent from the field in the championship game.
As exciting as the state-championship victory was for Vashon, the real drama came the previous night in the semifinals when the Wolverines edged Sikeston 69-66 in an overtime thriller. The game featured the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state and it exceeded all the hype as they battled from start to finish at peak intensity.
The Wolverines held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Sikeston mounted a furious rally to tie the game and force the overtime, sending the huge throng of Sikeston fans into a frenzy.
Farris led the way again for Vashon with a game-high 22 points. Junior guard Koray Gilbert was another hero for the Wolverines as he scored 17 points, including a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range. Senior forward Daimon Taylor added 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
