The Alton Redbirds have been a consistent winner in high school basketball for many years, but have operated somewhat under the radar behind fellow metro east programs such as East St. Louis, Edwardsville and most recently, Belleville West.
The Redbirds took a big step in changing that perception last weekend as they won the championship of the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East. In the semifinals, Alton rallied from a 15-point deficit to stun previously unbeaten Trinity 64-62. The following night, the Redbirds defeated Chaminade 67-59 to win the championship and end the Red Devils’ two-year reign as tournament champions.
Alton’s leader all season has been 6’7” senior guard Donovan Clay, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He had nine points and eight rebounds in the championship game, but it was his back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that broke open a close game. The multi-talented Clay is averaging a team-high 20 points a game.
Senior guard Malik Smith scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Redbirds in the finals against Chaminade. The 6’3” Smith is a talented offensive player, with a wide array of skills to get buckets. Smith and Clay are Alton’s top returning scorers from last season.
Junior forward Moory Woods is a versatile 6’4” performer who averages 10 points a game. Junior guard Andrew Jones is a crafty left-handed point guard who can penetrate in the lane and make open 3-pointers. Seniors Ky’Lun Rivers and Charles Miller are solid performers who play their roles well.
The Redbirds have a chance to be very dangerous down the stretch with the return of 6’3” senior forward Josh Rivers, who missed the first 13 games of the season while serving a suspension. He saw his first action over the weekend at Belleville East and made several impact plays in both the semifinal championship game. He scored the game-winner with 15 seconds left in the victory over Trinity.
Christian-O’Fallon wins Rotating 8 Championship
A very young and talented Christian-O’Fallon team took home the championship of the Rotating 8 last Saturday with a thrilling 60-59 victory over host Whitfield. The Eagles were led by sophomore guard Sharrod Alexander, who scored 17 points while freshman Kristian Davis added 16 points. Sophomore forward Kalin Black added 11 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.
These three underclassmen have been leading the Eagles all season during their 11-7 campaign. The 5’10” Alexander is averaging 16.4 points and 3.8 assists a game while the 6’3” Davis averages 13.6 points a game. The 6’2” Black averages 12.1 points and a team-high 11.9 rebounds a game. He is a rebounding machine. The Eagles also get contributions from sophomore guard RJ Horry, freshman guard Raynard Horry and sophomore forward AJ Taylor.
Kaylah Rainey returns to court
The most amazing event of last week occurred at the Highland Tournament last week as Belleville East won the championship with a 64-58 victory over Civic Memorial. What made the Lancers’ victory even more memorable was that it marked the return of standout senior guard Kaylah Rainey to the lineup.
The 5’7” Rainey underwent open heart surgery on January 30 and was on the court less than two months later and helping her team win a big tournament championship. What a tremendous story. She had four points in her first appearance against Mater Dei in the quarterfinals, six points in the semifinals against Highland and 12 points in the championship game against Civic Memorial.
An All-Southwestern Conference performer, Rainey will attend Northwestern University on a basketball scholarship.
In the championship game against Civic Memorial, senior Nyah Ford led the Lancers with 20 points while senior guard Bryce Dowell added 18 points. Dowell was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Cardinal Ritter Classic this weekend
Cardinal Ritter College Prep will be holding an excellent six-game basketball Shootout on Saturday. The opening game will be a girls’ matchup between host Cardinal Ritter and Gateway STEM at noon. That game will be followed by five boys’ games which include: Confluence vs. Granite City, 1:30 p.m.; Hazelwood East vs. St. Mary’s, 3 p.m.; Jennings vs. Memphis Douglass, 4:30 p.m.; Bloomington (Ill.) vs. Soldan, 6 p.m.; Romeoville (Ill.) vs. Cardinal Ritter, 7:30 p.m.
Tournament action this weekend
There are a group of late-season tournaments that will be concluding this weekend. The Fort Zumwalt North Tournament will hold its championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. The favorite in the field is Southeast Missouri power Sikeston … The Circle 7 Ranch Showdown Tournament at Parkway West will hold its championship game on Friday at 8:30 p.m. DeSmet is the top seed with Hazelwood Central, Parkway Central and Wentzville Liberty following.
