After a ten-year hiatus from the MSHSAA Final Four, Vashon is back and can boast another state championship in the Class 4 Boys basketball.
Vashon battled back from an early first quarter deficit against Lafayette/St. Joe to win 69-58 win in the final game at Mizzou Arena on Saturday night. It is the ninth state title for Vashon.
The Irish outscored Vashon by two over three quarters of play, but it was the second quarter that was the difference.
Lafayette was up 15-9 with 1:51 left in the first, but turned the ball over seven times for the rest of the half and were outscored 28-12 to close out the final near 10 minutes. Vashon led 38-27 at the half.
Danile Farris led Vashon with 22 points and Mario McKinney scored 13 as Vashon shot a blistering 62% for the game.
The Benton Cardinals had to play an extra eight minutes to cap off their perfect season, but they held on for a 41-34 win over MICDS in the Girls Class 4 finals in double OT.
MICDS was coming off an emotional win the day before against rival Incarnate Word. MICDS beat IWA for the first time in school history after 11 successive losses dating back to 1995.
Benton was coming off their best defensive peformance of the year in the semifinals, a game in which the Lady Cards defense held an opponent to 25 points of less for the 15th time this season.
The Benton defense held MICDS to just 4 of their final 22, but yet it took two extra sessions to cap off the season. The Cardinals went on a 9-0 run in the second OT to secure their second state title in school history.