CLASS 2 DISTRICT 3 ROUNDUP: Meadow Heights upsets Valle, heads to final

The Meadow Heights boys basketball team seemed to be doing what it could to let a lead slip away -- foul trouble, late turnovers -- but the Panthers found the edge they needed in overtime to upset Valle Catholic 74-71 in a Class 2 District 3 semifinal Wednesday night in Bismarck, Missouri, to advance to the district championship.

The victory was one of the program's biggest in years as the third-seeded Panthers took out the second-seeded Warriors.

"Since I've been with the program the last two years, we just haven't had that big, signature win. ... but this was a big win," first-year Meadow Heights coach Nick Hermann said. "Valle was a team that eliminated us last year in the district playoffs. They're always good. They're coached well. Coach [Chris] Trimmer always has a good team. They're just good athletes. Everyone knows about their football and baseball success. They're a good basketball program, too. This was big for us. We finally got that big win where people can actually say that we've won something important."

The Panthers (17-7) took a 30-25 lead into halftime and then extended that slightly to 44-38 after three.

Valle (17-11) fought its way back to tie the game as Connor Basler hit a layup at the buzzer to force overtime, where Meadow Heights was able to gain the necessary, if slight, edge.

The Panthers were able to pull off the upset in large part due to their work at the free-throw line, where they frequently marched as the game wore on.

Meadow Heights had its own foul concerns, with starters Devin Wilfong and Blake Bollinger both fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Alex Thompson came off the bench after Wilfong's departure and went 6 of 8 at the line, including some critical free throws down the stretch.

"We had two guys foul out, and we had some JV guys step in," Hermann said. "We've been dealing with injuries all year, so we had some guys step up, fill some roles that they haven't established yet but probably will need to in the future. Alex Thompson probably saw maybe a total of two quarters all year on varsity. He came in when one of those big guys fouled out ... He's just one of those kids that comes into the gym early every morning and gets that extra shooting in, and that's something that I'm going to keep preaching to the boys.

"The sophomore group's a good class. They're not super big, but they've got a lot of length on their arms. In junior high, they went undefeated. They're a good group of kids, but there's still a lot of work to be done."

Lane Baremore, another sophomore, led the Panthers with 20 points, while Bollinger had 14 before his night ended. Jacob Douglas pitched in 12 points and Spencer Bragg had 10.

Southeast Missouri State baseball signee Basler led the Warriors with 20 points. Valle had three other players score double digits -- Cole Wood (13), Mason Skaggs (10) and Tristan Rollhaus (10).

Meadow Heights will now face No. 1 Ellington in the district championship. The Whippets defeated St. Vincent 81-54 in the night's other semifinal. Tipoff is scheduled for Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Bismarck High School.

"We knew Ellington coming in that they were going to be back," Hermann said. "Last year they had a solid team. If I remember right, they lost to Valle by single digits behind a strong sophomore group. They're juniors now, so they've got some good experience. ... They're a good ball club. We're going to have our hands full. We're going to go to the drawing board and try to come up with a game plan to where we think it can put us in the best situation to win the ballgame. We played our best game tonight, and we're going to have to play our best game again on Friday."

M. Heights 11 19 14 19 11 -- 74

Valle 17 8 13 25 8 -- 71

MEADOW HEIGHTS (74) -- Jacob Douglas 12, Spencer Bragg 10, Blake Bollingers 14, Dawson Lindgren 4, Lane Baremore 20, Alex Thompson 6, Devin Wilfong 8. FG 28, FT 14-19, F 20. (3-pointers: Baremore 2, Douglas, Bragg. Fouled out: Wilfong, Bollinger.)

VALLE CATHOLIC (71) -- Connor Basler 20, Cole Wood 13, Mason Skaggs 10, Tristan Rollhaus 10, Coleman Keeley 8, Colin Okenfuss 7, Nick Oberle 3. FG 24, FT 21-25, F 15. (3-pointers: Rollhaus, Skaggs. Fouled out: Basler.)

Ellington 81, St. Vincent 58

The Indians let things slip away in a lopsided second quarter as their season ended at the hands of Ellington in a Class 2 District 3 semifinal in Bismarck, Missouri.

The Whippets took control with a 26-12 second period to go into the halftime break with a 42-25 lead.

St. Vincent (11-14) was led by Joe Whistler's 14 points, while Trevor Leible pitched in 13.

Ellington (23-3) had a pair of 20-point scorers in Marshon Morrisey (25) and Wes Sharp (20).

St. Vincent 13 12 22 11 -- 58

Ellington 16 26 25 14 -- 81

ST. VINCENT (58) -- Joe Whistler 14, Trevor Leible 13, Tyler Monier 8, Trevor Lukefahr 7, Evan Clifton 6, Darren Ernst 4, Luke Wibbenmeyer 2, Riley Riehn 2, Blake Hellman 1, Matt Rellergert 1. FG 19, FT 8-33, F 17. (3-pointers: Clifton 2. Fouled out: Wibbenmeyer.)

ELLINGTON (81) -- Marshon Morrisey 25, Wes Sharp 20, Devante Miller 12, Shawn Chilton 10, Jacob Richards 8, Justin Tripp 5, Garrett Copeland 1. FG 30, FT 14-21, F 23. (3-pointers: Miller 4, Morrisey 2, Sharp. Fouled out: None.)

-- From staff reports