The College Heights Christian boys punched their championship game ticket in the Mercy/Warrior Classic with a 55-48 win on Friday night over city and conference rival Thomas Jefferson.
The Cougars were spurred on by a 16-9 advantage in the third quarter after the teams battled to a 22-all halftime score and then played even at 17 in the fourth quarter.
The Cougars (17-4) will play top-seeded and eighth-ranked in Class 3 Greenwood (16-6) for all the marbles on Saturday in the last game of this year’s Mercy/Warrior Classic at McAuley Catholic High. College Heights junior Caleb Quade scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half Friday, including 12 points in the fourth quarter, and his night was highlighted by six points — two old-fashioned 3-point plays — in a matter of a mere four seconds in the fourth. Those six points helped the Cougars extend their lead to 48-37 with 4:59 remaining in regulation.
“We got that off our press,” College Heights coach Eric Johnson said. “We forced them into a turnover there. TJ is well-coached and those kids play hard, so it was a tough game for us. I wasn’t happy with our turnovers in the first half and a lot of forced shots too. We felt that maybe we should have been up, but they were hitting their shots and we weren’t.
“We had a good second half and we tried taking away some things from them. 32 (Thomas Jefferson senior Tyler Brouhard), he’s a good shooter and he’s got good range. He’s tough to defend. … We had some key baskets and a key rebound on that free throw by Jayce Walker, 5-8 going up against 6-6 (Thomas Jefferson senior Jay Ball) and he got the rebound. Little things like that make the difference in the game.”
Curtis Davenport added 14 points for the Cougars, Walker finished with eight, Colsen Dickens scored all five of his points in the first quarter, Ben Thomas had all three of his points in the fourth with a tip-in and a made free throw and Bo Sitton rounded out the scoring with two.
At 4:14 in the third quarter, College Heights’ Ethan Ukena drew a third personal foul against Brouhard, stepping in and taking a player control foul.
Brouhard scored a game-high 24 points to lead the way for the Cavaliers, Ball added 15 points and five blocked shots, Levi Triplett scored eight and Ethan Renger made a free throw for his lone point.
Thomas Jefferson dropped to 14-5 overall and the Cavaliers face Sarcoxie for third place at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Bears rolled to a 57-32 victory over the Cavaliers back on Jan. 9.
College Heights and Thomas Jefferson are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday in Ozark 7 Conference play.
“We’ll have to improve,” Johnson said. “They’ll change up some things, too, but we’ve only got one day to do that. It might be a little different kind of game on Tuesday. It’s at our place, so maybe we’ll be a little more relaxed. We’ll see. Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes tonight and don’t make them again. Looking forward to the challenge.”
Greenwood defeated College Heights 77-72 last season.
“Looking forward to the challenge (Saturday) against Greenwood,” Johnson said. “That will be a big challenge. They were seeded ahead of us, so there’s no pressure on us. We’ll just go out and try and play our best. They’ve got two real good players and the others play their roles very well. It will be fun playing them.”
Aurora girls 56, College Heights 47
The College Heights girls entered the fourth quarter tied at 36 with Aurora, after holding the Lady Houns to only four points — one field goal and two free throws — in the third quarter Friday night during their Mercy/Warrior Classic third place game.
College Heights senior Addie Lawrence hit a trifecta to start the scoring in the fourth and give the Cougars their first lead since they ended the first quarter ahead 18-16.
It would be College Heights’ last lead, as well, since Aurora rattled off 14 unanswered points to build a 50-39 lead with 1:10 remaining in regulation.
“I could not be more pleased with my team,” College Heights coach John Blankenship said. “We battled with Class 4 Aurora extremely well tonight. We had a few careless turnovers late that were costly, but the game was lost at the free throw line.”
Aurora hit 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter, while College Heights went 0-for-3.
Sophomore guard Ava Lett sparked College Heights with a team-high 15 points, all on 3-point baskets, while Libby Fanning added 12 points and 17 rebounds for her third double-double of the tourney. Also for CHC, Maddy Colin and Lawrence scored six points each, Jayli Johnson and Lauren Ukena added three points each and Jesalin Bever chipped in two points.
“Jayli and Lauren are elevating our team with their incredible defense,” Blankenship noted. “It keeps us in games and gives us a chance to win.”
College Heights dropped to 12-9 overall and the Cougars return to action Tuesday in conference play at home against city and conference rival Thomas Jefferson.
Payden Blevins scored a game-high 20 points for Aurora and fellow senior standout guard Ellie Creasey added 14 points.
McAuley Catholic girls 39, Purdy 33
Tournament host McAuley Catholic earned seventh place in the Mercy/Warrior Classic with a six-point win Friday, sparked by a 12-3 advantage in the second quarter.
Kloee Williamson recorded her third double-digit scoring night of the tournament with a game-high 15 points on Friday.
McAuley Catholic senior Lily Black added 13 points, Kendall Ramsey finished with six, Avery Gardner added three, and Brooke Righter’s two points rounded out the Warriors’ scoring.
McAuley Catholic improved to 8-14 overall and ended a three-game losing streak. The Warriors are back on the court Tuesday at home against Ozark 7 Conference rival Golden City (17-3 overall and ranked eighth in Class 1).
Mercy/Warrior Classic
Friday’s scores
McAuley girls 39, Purdy 33
Aurora girls 56, College Heights 47
Greenwood boys 70, Providence 36
College Heights 55, Thomas Jefferson 48
