It will be a battle of state champions tonight in the championship game of the St. Francis Borgia/Pepsi Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Class 4 state-champion Borgia Knights will face the two-time Class 3 state-champion Maplewood Blue Devils in tonight's championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Both teams advanced to the finals with easy victories. The host Knights defeated Carnahan and Washington while Maplewood bested University City and Pacific in lopsided victories.
It should be a fun early-season matchup, featuring two of the two programs going in the state of Missouri. The Knights feature the senior duo of 6'5" forward Nathan Scheer and 6'1" guard Tyler Ressel. Scheer is headed to Missouri State while Ressel signed with Missouri Southern. Ressel had 25 points in the Knights 72-37 victory over Washington in the semifinals while Scheer added 22.
Junior center Ben Reuther has added some inside presence to the Knights while sophomore Bryce Dolan has stepped in nicely in the Knights backcourt.
Maplewood is started to get used to life without do-it-all guard Bryant Allen, who is now at the University of Minnesota. So far, so good. The Blue Devils are led by returning starters Bryton Hobbs, a 5'10" senior and Calvin Belts, Jr., a 6'5" junior. Junior guard Tony King is a 6'0" guard who played a lot of minutes last season.
You also have a matchup of two of the top coaches in the state. Borgia's Dave Neier has more than 500 victories to his credit and five state titles at Borgia. Meanwhile, MRH's Corey Frazier has quickly established himself as a top young coach with his back-to-back state titles and great intensity on the bench.
Frazier also has a history with Borgia going back to his high school days as a player at Charleston High School in Southeast Missouri. Frazier was a top player on some Charleston teams in the mid-90's that had some classic battles with Borgia in the Class 3A state tournament.
So, if you don't have any plans on a Saturday night, get yourself down to Washington, Mo. and enjoy this early-season showdown.
A couple of other championship games will be held tonight on the Illinois side. Southwestern Conferene foes Belleville East and Alton will meet in the championship game of the Alton Tip-Off Classic tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams are 3-0 and needed late rallies to remain undefeated and advance to Saturday's finals. Alton trailed Vashon by six points in the fourth quarter before rallying to take a 49-47 squeaker. Belleville East rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat Carbondale 53-50. Belleville East is the defending tournament champion.
Metro East Lutheran and East Alton Wood River will meet tonight in the championship of the Metro East Lutheran Thanksgiving Holiday Tournament. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. Senior forward Bob Schnietz of Metro East Lutheran has been on a tear during the tournament, averaging 28.6 points in the first three games of the tournament.
(Stayed tuned for the unveiling of my new and improved basketball website, earlaustinjr.com, which celebrates the past, present and future of St. Louis basketball. It should be up and running sometime next week, so make sure to check it out).
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