Earl Austin Jr: Earl’s Week in Review (Feb. 15-21)

Earl’s Week in Review (Feb. 15-21)
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Earl  Austin on 24/02/2010 13:26:00
 
UPSET OF THE WEEK: ROCKWOOD MARQUETTE PULLED OFF THE STUNNER OF THE WEEK WITH A
62-56 VICTORY OVER WEBSTER GROVES. THE MUSTANGS VICTORY WAS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE
BECAUSE THEY RALLIED FROM A 15-POINT DEFICIT TO WIN THE GAME ON THE
STATESMEN’S HOME COURT WHERE THEY RARELY LOSE. SENIOR GUARD JUSTIN JORDAN
WAS THE HERO OF THE NIGHT WITH A GAME-HIGH 25 POINTS, INCLUDING FIVE OF SEVEN
FROM 3-POINT RANGE.
Party Crashers: Belleville West upset No. 1-ranked O’Fallon 64-45 last Friday
night in the Panther Dome in O’Fallon. Earlier in the week, O’Fallon had
just risen to the No. 1 spot in the state of Illinois’ Class 4 rankings for
the first time in the school’s history. Friday night’s game against West was
also Senior Night as well, but the Maroons spoiled the party with a tremendous
performance in shocking the Panthers on their home court. Forward Kane Sweeney
led the Maroons with 18 points.
Althoff-Mater Dei Round 4: Belleville Althoff defeated Breese Mater Dei 52-43 on
Friday night to win the Class 3A regional title at Mascoutah. After losing three
times to Mater Dei during the regular season, the Crusaders finally solved the
riddle of the Knights in an exciting regional final. Mater Dei had defeated
Althoff three times during the regular season, including two thrilling overtime
games.
Senior guard Jordyne Crunk scored a team-high 19 points. Senior Jazmin Hill
added 11 points while 6’0” center Amarah Brooks Williams added 10 points and
10 rebounds.
The Knights were led by sophomore Brooke Schulte’s 20 points. Mater Dei
concludes a brilliant season with a 27-1 record, which included championships at
the Alton, Mascoutah and Highland Tournaments.
Althoff (22-7) moved on to the Mater Dei Sectional where its defeated Civic
Memorial Regional winner Highland on Monday night.
Edwardsville, East St. Louis win regional titles: Southwestern conference girls
basketball powers Edwardsville and East St. Louis won IHSA Class 4A regional
championships last week.
Edwardsville defeated Collinsville 49-31 to win their own regional on Wednesday
night while East Side defeated O’Fallon defeated O’Fallon 50-39 to win the
Belleville East regional on Thursday night.
Edwardsville and East St. Louis will meet tonight in the sectional playoffs at
Belleville East.
MICDS runs the table: The MICDS Rams completed an undefeated run in winning the
ABC League title last week. The Rams defeated Principia 76-48 to complete a 10-0
league slate. Seniors McPherson Moore and Michael Scott led the way with 20 and
18 points, respectively. After a 3-3 start, the Rams have won 16 of their last
18 games heading into this week’s district playoffs. They are the top seed at
the Clayton district.
End of an era: Wellston High played its final regular season game in the
school’s history last week. The school will be closing as the district will
merge with the neighboring Normandy School District.
A jam-packed crowd, which included many of the great players from Wellston’s
top boys and girls players from the past, saw a great show as Clayton edged the
Trojans 76-70. Clayton earned a share of the Suburban East Conference
championship with the victory.
The game featured two of the state’s top juniors in Ben McLemore of Wellston
and Christian Thomas of Clayton. Both stars brought the “A Game” as they put
on a great show for the fans. The 6’5” McLemore finished with 32 points and
17 rebounds while the 6’5” Thomas led Clayton with 31 points and 13
rebounds.
The Greyhounds trailed 67-58 with about three minutes to play, but they
outscored Wellston 18-3 down the stretch to earn their first Suburban East
title, which they shared with McCluer South-Berkeley. The Bulldogs earned their
share of the title by defeating Normandy 80-69 behind 30 points from standout
guard Gerald Jones.