Friday night hoops

The McCluer North Stars defeated Columbia Rock Bridge 79-67 to win the championship game of the Troy/Peoples Bank Tournament on Friday night.
Rock Bridge, which finished third in the Class 5 state tournament, came in as the No. 1 seed, averaging more than 90 points a game. The Bruins had been beating opponents by more than 50 points a game.
On this night, it was McCluer North that provided a reminder that they had won the Troy Tournament for three consecutive years. Last night's big win gave them their fourth Troy Tourney title.
It was a great battle between two heavyweight teams as the lead changed hands several times in the first half, which McCluer North led 35-32 at halftime.
With the score tied at 37-37 early in the third quarter, North senior guard Ollie Roundtree hit two long 3-pointers in succession. Two run-out baskets by forward Denzel Reed completed the 10-0 run for the Stars, who held off many Rock Bridge charges for the rest of the game.
The 5'9" Roundtree was the star of the evening with 20 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals. The 6'5" Reed finished with 18 points and 6'5" Ryun Davis added 14 points.
The Stars did an excellent job on the defensive end in disrupting Rock Bridge's machine-line offensive rhythm. Their defense forced many quick 3-pointers and turnovers by Rock Bridge, which resulted in easy run-out baskets.
Senior Demarcus Carey also did a nice job of guarding Rock Bridge standout Ricky Kreklow. The 6'6" All-Stater finished with a game-high 21 points, but he had to work hard to get them as the Stars defenders hounded him all night and made him have to take tough shots on a consistent basis. To Kreklow's credit, he made some very difficult shots on the night.
It was a very good championship game for two teams that have very high aspirations in the 2010 season. Rock Bridge has a very talented team that will get even better once it regains the services of standout junior guard Justin Miller, who is still out with an injury.
For North, it was a big statement win that reminds everyone that the Stars are still around and a program to be reckoned with.
It was also a very busy week for McCluer North, which won four games this week, including a Tuesday night victory against Oakville, giving the Stars two victories over Final Four teams from 2009. McCluer North plays a fifth game this week when they travel to Marion (Ill.) to play in the Marion Shootout against the host school.

The championship game of the National City/Webster Groves Classic will be a neighborhood battle between host Webster Groves and Kirkwood. Roberts Gymnasium will be rocking around 4:30 p.m. with the teams tip off.
Webster Groves raced to an early lead and cruised to a 77-50 lead over Belvidere (Ill.). Senior Cortez Conners led the potent Statesmen attack with 18 points. The Statesmen are still in the process of getting their basketball legs with several members of the team playing such vital roles in the run to the Class 5 state title in football two weeks ago. Jay Blossom's crew should be very salty after Christmas.
Meanwhile, Kirkwood battled their way to a 49-46 victory over Lee's Summit North in the other semifinal game. I was very impressed by the play of 6'3" senior Mycole Pruitt in Kirkwood's first-round victory over Maplewood. The muscular Pruitt played like a man-child in scoring 28 points that night. His strength and athleticism makes him a tough match-up for high school kids.

St. Charles West defeated Fort Zumwalt South 48-45 to repeat as champions of the SCW Warriors Classic. The two teams have met in the championship game for three consecutive years. Junior forward Christian Kirk led the winners with 21 points. Junior guard J.R. Alexander scored a game-high 27 points for the Bulldogs.

Old Jefferson County rivals Hillsboro and DeSoto will meet in the championship game of the Gene Steighorst/Hillsboro Tournament tonight. The host Hawks edged Francis Howell Central 46-45 while DeSoto slipped by JeffCo rival Festus 58-56 in two very exciting semifinal contests.

On the East Side, Edwardsville defeated Belleville West 59-53 in a battle of undefeated Southwestern Conference teams. Edwardsville had four players in double figures, led by sophomore Quincy Morgan's 13 points. The big differene in the game for E'ville was 6'4" 250-pound football standout Rodney Coe, who scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.
I watched Rodney play last Tuesday and he gives the Tigers a big boost inside with his size and athleticism on the front line. He is a real nimble young man. This is his first year out for basketball, so he is just going to get better as he continues to develop under the tutledge of veteran coach Mike Waldo.
The O'Fallon Panthers continue to roll with a 68-55 victory at Collinsville. O'Fallon is now 8-0. Junior Roosevelt Jones scored 26 points. The 6'4" Jones is playing at a very high level.
East St. Louis has quietly posted two big SWC wins this week. After knocking off Alton earlier this week, the Flyers defeated Belleville East last night 59-50 as football standout Keonte Minor scored a team-high 19 points.
Minor is a standout wide receiver on the Flyers high-powered football team, but he is also a known quantity in basketball, having been a starter since his freshman year.

St. Franis Borgia continued its early season roll with a 61-44 victory at Jefferson City Helias in a battle of Class 4 Final Four participants.