REPUBLIC, Mo. — The College Heights Christian Cougars gave the state’s top-ranked squad a scare, but a trip to the Final Four wasn’t meant to be.
No. 1 Norwood scored the game’s final six points to earn a 53-48 win over No. 5 College Heights on Saturday in a thrilling quarterfinal contest of the Class 2 state boys basketball tournament at Republic High School.
Despite the valiant effort, the season concluded for the Cougars.
Norwood will meet Bishop LeBlond in Friday’s semifinals at JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State University.
The quarterfinal clash was close all the way.
The Cougars got off to a good start, leading 4-0 and 6-3. A pair of 3-pointers from Miller Long and a trey from Ethan Adel gave College Heights a 15-11 lead.
The Pirates, a team that finished third in last year’s state tourney, scored the final four points of the first quarter, and the game was deadlocked at 15.
The clash was tied on three occasions in the second quarter.
Norwood held a four-point lead at 26-22, but a hoop inside by Hagen Beck, two free throws from Long and a 3-pointer from Long gave College Heights a 29-28 lead at the end of the entertaining and back and forth first half.
After scoring 15 points in the first half, Norwood’s Garrett Davault scored all 10 of his team’s points in the third quarter.
Baskets from Ethan Meeks and Adel, and a free throw from Curtis Davenport pulled the Cougars within two at the end of the third period at 38-36.
Hoops from Beck and Davenport, along with four foul shots from Long, pushed the Cougars in front 46-43 with four minutes to play.
Peyton McDaris scored four straight points for the Pirates before foul shots from Long gave CHC a 48-47 lead with 2:05 left.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they would not score again.
McDaris, just a freshman, converted on a drive down the lane to give his squad a one-point lead at 49-48.
The Cougars had an empty possession before the Pirates ran nearly a minute off the clock.
After a timeout and a foul, McDaris hit two clutch free throws to extend Norwood’s lead to three at 51-48 with 25 seconds left.
Next, CHC’s Long misfired on a 3-point attempt with 12 seconds left.
Davault then converted two free throws and the Cougars had one final empty possession before time expired.
A senior who has scored more than 2,000 points during his prep career, Davault poured in a game-high 32 points for the Pirates, who improved to 29-1. McDaris added nine points. Davault and McDaris were the only Norwood players to score in the second half.
Long scored 17 points to lead College Heights, while Beck added 10 points. Davenport, Adel and Meeks each scored seven points.
CHC’s seniors are Long, Adel, Beck and Meeks.
College Heights, in the quarterfinals for the first time ever, ends a stellar and historic season with a record of 24-5. Eric Johnson’s Cougars captured conference, district and sectional titles this winter.
