Six seniors from Crane High School make it a Show-Me Showdown sweep
The first weekend of MSHSAA’s Show-Me Showdown ended with six great championship games from Classes 1-3. Great individual accomplishments, total dominating team efforts and history in the making were all in play on Saturday.
In the first game of the day, Saxony Lutheran showed great poise twice coming from 12-point deficits to make it a one possession game, including a two-point game with 31 seconds left, but Strafford shot 12 of 13 from the free throw line and 58% from the floor to win 50-46.
Father Tolton and Barstow had two of the best individual performances we’ve seen in a long time. Â Michael Porter Jr. and Jeriah Horne combined for 70 points and 33 rebounds as both star players carried their teams to the wire. Â A last second shot off an intended free throw miss would have sent the game into overtime for Barstow, but the defending state champs lost 62-60 to Tolton.
The Crane Lady Pirates will send off six seniors who cap their high school careers with four straight Class 2 championships and a combined record over the four years of 122-7. Â Crane jumped out early and never looked back in a 78-57 win over Neelyville.
Hartville made three of their first four three-point attempts then went cold missing on their final nine attempts. Â Iberia, a team that came out of the toughest district in the state, went just 1-for-13 from three-point range, but the Rangers could never recover as Hartville never led by fewer than double digits in the second half to capture the Boys Class 2 title with a 64-37 win.
Mound City got a combined 38 points from Cameron Freemyer and Kendy Eaton as the pair shot 13-of-24 to play through two ties, but never trail in their near perfect season with a 57-45 win over Naylor. Â Mound City finishes the season with a 30-1 record.
Perfection was the story this season for Stanberry High School. Â After the football team went undefeated in 8-man, the boys basketball team wrapped up their season undefeated with the Class 1 Boys championship in a 52-44 win over Glasgow.
Stanberry becomes the first team in MSHSAA history to win football and boys basketball titles in the same year while going undefeated.
Daniel Hailey, who caught a touchdown in the football title game, led the Bulldogs with 20 points in the basketball final. Â Team quarterback Cory Luke was 6-for-8 shooting while scoring 14.
Saturday’s Schedule
C3 Girls Championship Strafford def. Saxony Lutheran, 50-46
C3 Boys Championship Father Tolton def. Barstow, 62-60
C2 Girls Championship Crane def. Neelyville, 78-57
C2 Boys Championship Hartville def. Iberia, 64-37
C1 Girls Championship Mound City def. Naylor, 57-45
C1 Boys Championship Stanberry def. Walnut Grove, 69-49
