March 16, 2009                        Check Out previous Blogs

Games at Mizzou Arena always have special twists to them. Sometimes, a new star is discovered in the galaxy. Other times, a player who's been a star all year dominates in a game or series. Not often, but occasionally there is a game that fans will talk about for years. Once in a while, nerves make players perform in an unusual way. Losing Coaches are always 2nd guessed by those sitting in the stands. This first week had it all....

One of the most unbelievable rallies took place in the semifinals. Rock Bridge jumped to a quick 21 point lead in the first quarter 27-6 over Chaminade. The Bruins had it all working-- strong inside play by Jordan Dressler, 3 point bombs dropping in from all over from Ricky Kreklow and Skylar Tolson, transition baskets, Chaminde offense was stymied. Fans from all around the Arena (Rock Bridge is in Columbia so the huge majority of fans were Bruin fans) were smiling, nodding their head like -- oh yeah, it's our year!! Gradually, as the 2nd quarter opend up, the Red Devils crawled back into the game and when Bradley Beal hit a jumper at the buzzer, the scoreboard was 34-26 RB.

The tide changed again in the 3rd quarter, the Bruins had a terrific quarter from Justin Miller and held onto an 18 point lead, 55-37, going into quarter #4. Five treys and  a traditional 3 point play cut into the lead during early and mid 4th quarter action. Rock Bridge led by 8 points at 3:32; 5 points at 2:13. Chaminade tied the game at the 0:33 mark for the first time. Each team exchanged possessions with no score resulting. When Bradley Beal stole the ball with 3 seconds, raced to the basket was fouled with 1.3 seconds. He made the first shot despite thousands of screaming fans then intentionally missed the 2nd shot. Rock Bridge called time out. The clock was reset to 0.9 seconds. The Bruins ran a play ala to the famous Christian Lattner basket of years ago. This one had a different ending- the shot was partially blocked by Brandon Lockhart and it was over--66-65 Chaminade. This is one of those games that all fans will kick around for years! It was only the semifinals !!! Run down on championship on next page..

One of the most dominating performances for the weekend was in Class 4 Girls. 6-4 Morgan Johnson dominated completely!  In the semifinals, her Platte County team beat Miller Career Academy 62-50. Morgan Johnson had 41 points, 9 blocks, 7 of 8 from the line and 11 rebounds. The next time against a scrappy, talented Webb City Girls team. Johnson had 24 points, 26 rebounds, 14 blocks in a wild 81-75 win.  Pirate guard Kelsey Knox was fantastic from the line-- she was 18 of 21 as she scored 26 points in a track-meet type basketball game. Webb City graduates only 1 girl and many observers, including this one, expect them to be a powerful program again next year.

Some schools have the tradition. They may or may not have super athletes but they always seem to have basketball players. One school like that is St Francis Borgia. The Borgia Knights guided with a firm hand in discipline but a gentle hand in team strategy (as he lets his players play the game) by 500 win Coach Dave Neier won their 5th STATE Title. With no real tall player, this program relies on deadeye perimeter shooting, a zone press that they begin learning at an early age, ball movement, poise with the ball and tough rebounding. Following their time-tested formula, the Knights beat Helias 69-49 in the semis then jumped on Kearney early and won 59-41. The Knights and the Nixa Eagles get my vote as the best at using clock time while still looking to score. Some of the other teams in Columbia seemed to approach this topic as if they were mutually exclusive of each other in the 4th quarter and would invariably let leads slip through their hands.

Speaking of Nixa, the Lady Eagles won the Class 5 Championship over Blue Springs 56-39. The Eagles snatched an early lead then maintained a 6-10 point lead until the last 2 minutes when they broke open the game. Bethanie Funderburk led the way from the perimeter with 22 points. On the inside, Morgan Smith, Abby Bracker and Aly Stock scored some, rebounded a lot and nullified the inside presence of the Wildcats. Nixa held Blue Springs to just 27% shooting for the game with a stifling defense.

Class 5 boys Championship pitted the #1 ranked team in the STATE the Grandview Bulldogs against Chaminade. It was a matchup of Alec Burks (Headed to University of Colorado next year) and Bradley Beal (headed back to Chaminade for two more years !) Grandview was up by one point after 3 quarters. The threesome of Bradley Beal, Brandon Lockhart and Brandon Hannah  took over in the 4th quarter as they combined for 67 of the 80 points leading the Red Devils to a stunning 80-70 STATE Championship.

This weekend Prepcasts will again be back in Mizzou Arena. We'll be behind the microphones for the Class 1,2,3 semifinals, 3rd place and STATE Championship games. All games may be seen on the MSHSAA Internet Network. The PPV price is just $4.95/game.

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